The pressure had to be unbearable.
The earth rumbled again. Lightning zagged down and struck the earth all around Ulric, throwing up ice and snow. The smell of ozone burned Hope’s nostrils.
“That’s enough! Everyone back but the Seven,” Garrett yelled. “Trust me.”
Pax lifted Hope, turned, and started to run from the circle.
She looked over his shoulder, holding him tight as the members of the Seven formed a tighter circle and moved even closer to Ulric. The energy between them was visible in sparks and zapping plasma until the air morphed from a gaseous state to a thickly violent liquid.
The Seven halted right around Ulric and propelled that glue-like liquid around him.
Then everything went silent. The sun remained darkened, but the earth stopped trembling and the wind fell silent. It was the calm before the storm.
Then Garrett’s head jerked up. “Run. Retreat now!” The Seven turned and started to run away from the circle, pausing a few yards out to turn and watch.
Hope held her breath.
The atmosphere changed, grew heavy. The earth roared; the sky crackled. Ulric turned and looked at her, shock sizzling across his face. Then he exploded. As if he had eaten dynamite, his entire body splintered into pieces that flew in every direction.
Hope ducked as a femur careened by her head. Gasping, she turned to look at where the Cyst leader had stood. The earth held a perfectly scorched outline of his feet and nothing else. Everybody was silent.
Benjamin Reese, one of the Seven, appeared next to Hope. “Well, that just happened,” he mused.
Paxton looked around at the assembled group. “Did it work?” He groaned, his hand to his chest as he placed her back on her feet. Her chest was covered in his blood, and she kept a hand on his arm to steady them both.
“Certainly looks like it,” Dage drawled, his face slack. “I’ve never seen anything like that. How’s your heart?”
“Mending,” Paxton said. “It’ll be fine.”
Hope looked at him, love all but consuming her. “You saved me.”
“Yeah, and we’re going to have a discussion about you being willing to cut out your own heart a little bit later, sweetheart,” he said grimly, pulling her into his side.
Yeah, she was up for that.
Paxton looked at the group. “I would like to see peace between the Realm and the Kurjan nation. Are those cameras on?”
“Yes,” Dage said. “We made sure they recorded the entire battle. We wanted the Kurjans to see that we didn’t kill many of their soldiers when we could have. We do want peace. It’s time.”
Vero stood next to his brother and spoke in a clear and authoritative tone. “I agree. My name is Vero, son of Talt, cousin to Drake, who was the leader of the Kurjan nation until a few hours ago. As you know, the line of succession is clear.” He gestured toward Pax. “This is Paxton Phoenix, my older brother, son of Talt, cousin of Drake. Let them stand.” He pointed to the kneeling Cyst and Kurjan soldiers.
Dage nodded. The Realm warriors took a step back, and slowly, all of the injured but still living Cyst and Kurjan soldiers stood.
Vero stared at them, his gaze hard, his jaw set. “I align myself with my brother, Paxton. You have a choice, and you have free will. You accept him as your king, or you leave here and never look back. That goes for every Kurjan and Cyst soldier alive.” He flicked his gaze to the camera.
Paxton jerked next to Hope. “What are you doing?” he snarled.
Vero looked at him, his gaze serious. “This is how it’s done. The line of succession in the Kurjan nation is clear.” He turned back to the soldiers. “Paxton Phoenix is now our king. Declare your allegiance or leave. You are free.”
The assembled Kurjan soldiers looked at each other and then at Vero and then at Pax. One by one, they dropped to one knee and pounded a fist over their heart. Several of the Cyst soldiers did as well, but at least three turned and strode out of camp.
Hope gaped at Paxton, her eyes wide. Pax looked at the group. What in the hell had just happened?
Chapter Forty-Two
Christmas music played in the background as Paxton sat in the Realm conference room, negotiating peace with the Realm. He sat with Dage, who represented the Realm; Talen, who represented the vampire nation; Zane, who represented the demon nation; Brenna Dunne-Kayrs, who represented the witch nation, Jordan Pride, a shifter who represented all the shifter nations; Garrett Kayrs, who represented the Seven; and Hope, who was a strategic liaison between them all. Apparently, he now represented the Kurjan nation, which was a shock to his entire system.
“I don’t want to be the king,” he said. Both Dage and Zane threw back their heads and laughed as if he’d just told the world’s greatest joke.
Dage sobered first. “Nobody wants to be king. I would give my position away in a heartbeat if I could. Sorry, kid. Welcome to the club.”
“Yeah,” Zane muttered. “Believe me, we all know that Garrett’s going to take over for Dage at some point, and then Hunter will probably give Garrett a break when he needs one. At some point, Dage will most likely take over again. But we’re talking hundreds of years from now. If I could find somebody who’d be willing to give me a break, it would be fantastic.”
“Quit your whining,” Talen said. “Both of you. You’ve got jobs to do.”
Paxton wanted to smack all of them. “You all knew you were going to be king from birth. I didn’t.”
“Neither did I,” Zane said. “I had to cut the head off my uncle to become king, and I still didn’t want the job.” His green eyes were appraising. “You’re king. Step up.”
Of course Paxton was going to step up. It’s what he did. He didn’t want to do so, however.
“What’s the status right now?” Dage asked.
Paxton rolled his neck. His body had healed from the battle two hours ago, and yet here he was in Realm territory. He should be with his brother. “The soldiers who swore allegiance to me are being led by Vero and Hunter back to the main headquarters in Canada. I’m going to go there and submit to some coronation celebration before taking over.”
Hope looked up. “Hunter is still a Kurjan in disguise?”
“Yes,” Paxton said. “We decided he should remain so for the time being in order to help facilitate the takeover. Vero will need backup, and Hunter is an excellent warrior. I know you want him back home, King. I appreciate your letting me keep him for a while.”
Raw emotion glinted in the king’s eyes before a veil dropped down. “I do want him back home. As soon as things are stable, I expect you to send him.”
“Not a problem. I understand,” Paxton said. He still didn’t want to be king. This turn of events was the craziest thing he’d ever experienced. “Maybe Vero will want to take over soon.”
Both kings laughed again, as though he was purposely telling jokes.
He was not amused. “All right, let’s get the treaty going,” Paxton said, in no mood to deal with any levity. He had a nation to fix. He looked at Hope. “We’re going to need to bring the Kurjans into the modern age, and it’s not going to be easy. Are you on board?”
She looked up, her eyes gleaming. “Oh, I am so on board. I can’t wait to liberate the Kurjan females. I’m sure it’ll be difficult, but they deserve freedom.” She glanced at her father and then back at Paxton. “Some of them may not want to remain mated, and we’ll need to offer them the virus that negates the mating bond. That is going to cause all sorts of problems within the Kurjan ranks.”