Chapter Forty One…

Sypher looked horrible. Vivid bite marks adorned either side of his throat and a third one decorated his wrist, all in varying stages of healing. When Gira and Elda returned to the villa he was winding a bandage around the wrist sporting the most recent bite.

Clover had returned and was looking revitalised, his bright silver eyes signalling a recent feed. Julian and Yani were also refreshed and sparring playfully in the gardens. Sypher, by comparison, was a mess. His skin was pale and sallow, dark circles ringing dull red eyes. He slumped over, elbows resting on his knees as though he didn’t have the strength left to lift his arms.

“Are you alright?” Elda asked, sitting beside him in the grass and carefully placing the satchel on her lap.

“I’ll be fine in a few days, maite,” he replied with a tired smile. “Feeding three Vampires in quick succession is hard work.” His eyes tracked down to the bag in her lap. “The King gave you a gift?”

“No. Gira took me on a detour.” She considered telling him what Artan’s scouts had seen first, but decided to show him the book. “We went to a book store and the owner asked me to bring this to you.” She lifted the cloth-wrapped tome from the satchel.

“Why to me?”

“He said you’d know how to read it.” She passed him a pair of the cotton gloves Bennigan had stuffed into the bag, not handing him the book until they were settled in place.

“It’s Angelic,” he realised, brows creeping upwards when he removed the cloth. The sun caught the multitude of tiny white scales used to construct the binding, highlighting them in pearly tones of pink and lilac.

“Can you tell what it’s about?”

He nodded. “The Seraphim.” He opened it and carefully scanned the pages, fingertip tracing the words as he read them. “They were the highest ranking soldiers in Iliria. I’m mentioned in here by my full name.”

“You are?” Elda gasped.

“Sypher Lurien Arravanthos, First Seraph of Iliria.” He showed her the words on the page, still unrecognisable to her since she couldn’t read Angelic. “I know all of this already, yet it’s still a shock to see it on the page.”

“Does that make me Elda Arravanthos?”

He cocked his head thoughtfully. “No,” he decided after a moment. “I’m not that person now. You’re Elda Gild and I am your husband.” He leaned forwards and pressed his lips to hers gently. “You told me I can find joy in the things that are here with me right now, so I am. Clinging to a name from a life already lived won’t help me.” He smiled and went back to reading the pages.

“So,” Elda grinned, shooting him a sideways glance. “Your middle name is Lurien?”

“After my grandfather.” He chuckled at her impish smile. “If you start calling me Lurien, I won’t make you those pancakes I promised when we get home.”

“That’s hardly fair.”

“Those are my terms. Take it or leave it, Princess,” he winked. Despite his drawn appearance, the red in his eyes brightened a fraction. She watched him wrap the book in its cloth and slip it back into the satchel, stowing the gloves away with it.

“What do I get for the book?” she asked. He arched an eyebrow. “I brought you a book you’ve never read before. What do I get in return?”

“What do you want?” Not expecting him to agree, she blinked. He chuckled. “You must want something.”

“I thought you’d laugh me off,” she admitted. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“So think now.” The tone of his voice made her cheeks pink and a broad grin split his cheeks. “Oh, I see. You want me as your reward.” He leaned forwards and took hold of her chin gently, his breath tickling her cheeks. “All you had to do was ask.” His lips captured hers until she was breathless and dizzy, only releasing her when Julian heckled them from a few feet away.

“Put her down, soldier,” he teased, sauntering over and hunkering down beside them. “She might be your lover, but she’s still a lady.” Yani snickered behind him.

“You really need to learn to read the room,” Sypher muttered, scowling at his friend.

“Did you get any news from the King?” the Vampire asked, ignoring Sypher burning holes in his head. “I tried to ask Gira but he told me we should all talk about it together.”

“He’s right,” Sypher sighed before Elda could tell them what she knew. “No doubt Lillian will be a nightmare if we don’t keep her in the loop. I don’t have the energy for her attitude right now.”

“Do you ever?” Elda asked.

“Nobody has the energy for her tantrums,” Julian glowered. “I’ll get everyone together in the kitchen.” He cast a glance over Sypher. “After that you should eat something and sleep.” He rose and turned away to find the others.

Elda turned to study the Soul Forge. “He’s right. You look awful.”

“Gee, thanks,” he muttered, but the corners of his mouth quirked upwards. “I could use some rest. I’m still replacing the blood I’ve lost.” He rolled his neck to ease an ache, wings shifting behind him. He glared at them over his shoulder. “These things get heavier by the day. I haven’t been able to train properly in too long. I need time to get used to fighting with the constant weight but things have been coming at me one after another.”

“Hopefully you can take that time before we decide to follow the Corrupted to their hiding place and flush them out,” Elda told him. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.” She got to her feet and offered him a hand, helping him up with one quick tug.

“You’re getting a lot stronger,” he remarked.

“I have you to thank for kicking my ass up and down the garden most days,” she grinned, leading him to the kitchen by the hand. It didn’t take long for the others to congregate around the large wooden dining table.

“Let’s get this over with so I can go back to ignoring you all,” Lillian muttered. Sypher didn’t even react, giving away just how exhausted he was.

“Pleasant as always,” Clover commented dryly.

“Try not to start an argument today, please,” Gira implored, fixing Lillian with a serious look. “There are far more important things to be dealing with than you upsetting everyone in the room.” The Fae rolled her violet eyes, but kept her mouth shut.

“King Artan sent his scouts into the valleys the moment he got word of the Corrupted attacking Arden,” Elda began. “He contacted my father who also sent his patrols out to find them and report back. The last sighting of the Corrupted by Artan’s men was at the eastern border of Valdren. They used the cloud cover to hide from there.”

“They were sighted again at the northern border of Eden, skirting the edge where Shade and Eden connect,” Gira continued. “King Hrothgar’s soldiers reported seeing them still skirting the border several miles east.”

“So they travelled towards Shade as we thought, but they didn’t cross?” Julian frowned.

“They must have their base settled somewhere else then. Perhaps in the valleys?” Yani suggested.

Sypher shook his head. “Too many villages. Word would reach Hrothgar that the Corrupted were camped on his territory. They’re dangerous, certainly, but not enough to take down an army.”

“Even one that’s dwindling?” Lillian commented. Elda glared at her.

“They don’t know the army is depleted,” Sypher answered coolly. “They don’t have scouts capable of monitoring the soldiers movements across a kingdom as big as Eden and they can’t observe the army themselves without risking discovery.”

“We think they’re holed up in Rift,” Gira stated, folding his thick arms across his broad chest and leaning back against the kitchen counter.

Yani frowned. “Rift has been inhospitable since the fall. Even the Corrupted would struggle to operate from the desert.”

“Would they?” Sypher countered. “They’ve spent decades navigating Shade, a land teeming with monsters and cut through with rivers of molten rock. Living in the desert would be simple by comparison. They’re close to Shade which means an easy escape if they’re caught. They’re protected by the mountains too.”

“So we follow them,” Lillian suggested with a shrug. “There’s two of them and a bunch of us.”

“Out of the question,” the Soul Forge asserted. “The mountains are dangerous and enormous. There are too many of us to fly over, which means climbing them after days of travel. We’d be too exhausted to take the fight to them.”

“We’re Keepers,” the Fae argued.

“And we would be stupid to underestimate them,” Sypher insisted. “We travel to Eden, we watch the border and we wait for them to come to us. They have the advantage in the desert.”

“You’re the all-powerful Soul Forge,” Lillian scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”

“Of the woman that forced me to wipe out an entire race? Of course I am.” He got to his feet, sliding off the bench and setting his hands on his hips. “We go to Eden and we go together. The Corrupted can’t pick us off in a group. Once we’re in Eden we can think of a way to bait them out of the desert and away from an endless supply of demons under Cynthia’s control. We need to be smart about this.”

Lillian stood and glared up at him. “The element of surprise will be on our side. We can take the fight to them, maybe even cut them down in their sleep. We might not have to fight them at all if we play this right.”

“You’re wrong,” he insisted. Elda’s brows crept up when the Soul Forge put a hand on Lillian’s shoulder. “Listen to me, Lillian. I want to keep everyone alive, including you. The best way to handle this is by playing the long game. We need to think carefully about our next move. We can’t just run in there, swords raised. Cynthia can call an army of demons through the border to help her. She may already have hordes of them protecting her in Rift. We go to Eden, draw them out and face them together.”

Lillian looked down at her shoulder and for a moment Elda thought she might see reason, but her face twisted into a grimace and she knocked Sypher’s hand away from her.

“Coward,” she hissed, and then she stormed away. Sypher sighed, his head dipping.

“I’m too tired for this horse shit,” he muttered, passing a hand over his eyes. “Someone please follow her and make sure she doesn’t pack a bag and try to take them on herself.”

“I’ll go,” Clover offered, detaching himself from the wooden bench and disappearing through the door Lillian had taken.

“You should eat,” Yani commented, frowning at Sypher. “You fed all three of us very close together. Your wounds still aren’t healing.”

Julian held out a plate of sliced beef he’d been quietly gathering while the group spoke. “Here,” he agreed. “Red meat is what you need.”

“I’ll butter you some bread,” Yani offered. Elda smiled at their kindness and picked up a fresh orange from an overflowing bowl of fruit on the counter. Sypher watched Gira fetch a jug of apple juice and a goblet.

“Go,” the Shifter said with a smile. “Take the food to your room, eat and rest as long as you need. We can head to Eden when you’re strong again.”

“You go ahead,” Elda agreed. “I’ll bring the food with me.” Sypher looked between them all, surprised by their combined kindness.

“Thank you,” he conceded with a faint smile, and then he turned and disappeared into the hallway beyond the kitchen door.

“Somebody really will need to watch Lillian,” Elda remarked. “She seems like the type to rush into things sword first.”

“Clover has it handled,” Yani beamed. “She dislikes the rest of us but she tolerates his company.”

“Spirit knows why,” Julian muttered, wrinkling his nose. “He’s stone-faced and serious. I’d think he’d be the last person she’d get on well with.”

“You’re just mad that she prefers him over you,” the red-headed Vampire teased, adding several slices of buttered bread to the plate of fresh beef and handing it to Elda. She placed it on a tray with the orange and the apple juice.

“Thank you all for letting him rest,” she said fervently, flashing them a grateful smile.

“He fights for us and everything we have left to love,” Yani shrugged. “We need him rested if we want to continue fighting beside him.”

“Go see to him,” Gira agreed. “He’s too stubborn to know when he’s had enough. You seem to relax him enough to let himself be helped. We won’t disturb you.”

Elda thanked them again and made her way to Sypher’s room, knocking lightly and balancing the tray on one hand. When there was no answer she pushed it open and stepped inside to find Sypher already asleep on the bed.

Smiling, Elda set the tray aside and approached him quietly. He was laid on his front, arms tucked under his pillow, wings spread out and completely relaxed. His eyes were closed, long lashes fanning his cheeks. Elda reached out and stroked his cheekbone gently, marvelling silently at the slope of his jaw. He looked peaceful, his breaths slow and even. She kicked off her boots and laid down beside him, smiling when he shifted in his sleep to lay one arm over her stomach, his wing stretching out to shelter her beneath the soft feathers.