A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(62)

“I meant what I said, Serena.” He smiled gently. “I owe you my life.”

“Remember I owe you mine, too,” I replied. “You were the first to save me when I first went beyond the protective shield and nearly became shifter dinner.”

He kissed me, soft and deep and tender enough to send fireworks bursting through my veins. When it was over and we looked around, I found nothing but smiles and bright eyes looking back at us. Hansa’s, in fact, were glazed with tears, and Anjani noticed.

“Forgive my sister.” Anjani grinned. “She gets emotional sometimes.”

“How can I not get emotional?” Hansa conceded, wiping her eyes. “The Druid has been at the center of this for a long time. It would’ve been a shame for him to miss out on the best part of restoring Eritopia’s freedom! Thank the Daughters that Serena was up there with us and stubborn enough not to give up on him!”

“There is nothing that love can’t do, if it’s genuine and honest,” Draven said, wrapping one arm around my shoulder and dropping a kiss on the top of my head.

“Look who we found trying to run off through the north passage!” Two succubi burst in, dragging a bruised Sverik by his arms. He whimpered and struggled against them.

The succubi were tall and fierce, their leather garments tattered and bodies bruised. They carried broadswords and shields on their shoulders as they tossed Sverik in the middle of our circle.

“Isla!” Aida gasped when she recognized one of the succubi.

Bijarki left Vita’s side and took Isla in a brief hug, following up with a pat on her and the other succubus’s back. Our group growled at the sight of Sverik on the floor. He’d been punched a few times, judging by the dark gray swells around his eyes.

I felt my blood boil, after what we’d been through because of him. I darted from Draven’s embrace and rammed my fist into Sverik’s face, no longer able to contain my rage. I felt his nose break beneath my knuckles.

“You betrayed us! We risked our lives to save you, and you took us for idiots! You bastard!” I snarled, as Bijarki pulled me back.

“He’s not worth getting your hands dirty, Serena,” he said. I could hear Sverik sighing with relief and moaning from the pain. Then Bijarki straightened his back and smirked. “Okay, I’m lying. He’s definitely worth getting your hands dirty, but I can’t let you have all the fun.”

He immediately turned and grabbed Sverik by his shirt, forcing him to stand as he threw blow after heavy blow, splitting his lips and cracking his jaw before Field and Grezzi finally pulled him back.

Sverik fell backward, landing with a thud, crying and coughing on the floor in a mess of his own silver blood. He could barely keep his eyes open, and I felt my anger subside slightly at the sight of him in such a pathetic state.

Draven stepped forward, crouching to get a better look at the incubus.

“Please… Please, don’t hit me anymore… Please, spare me…” Sverik sobbed.

“That was merely a sliver of what everyone here would like to do you, myself included,” Draven replied dryly. “You actively worked with Azazel against your own people. Such actions are unforgivable and most vile. And for what? Why did you do it, Sverik?”

“Please… I… I had no choice…”

“You filthy liar!” Vita shouted, moving forward.

Aida pulled her back, looking into her furious turquoise eyes.

“Vita, it’s enough,” she said gently. “We all owe Sverik here a great ‘debt’. He’s wronged us all. He nearly got us killed.”

She looked at him, and her lips curled with disgust.

“His father is dead, burning outside along with half of his army,” she added. “He’s kept Isla locked in the dungeons. She deserves justice more than anyone else here. He stood between her and Kristos, after all.”

Isla swallowed back tears, nodding her approval and glaring at him.

“He betrayed his own brother,” the succubus said. “Kristos and I loved each other. We’d been together since we were little. He used to sneak out to come see me. I got in trouble with my tribe every time, but I couldn’t stand to be away from him. And Sverik was obsessed with me. He couldn’t accept the fact that I’d chosen Kristos over him. He had me captured and told Azazel where he could find Kristos… of course Sverik had choices! He just made the wrong one every damn time!”

“Indeed,” Draven added, looking at Sverik. “Everything he did was to attain some kind of power among the incubi in Azazel’s ranks.”

“He’s the one who convinced Arid to join Azazel in the first place,” Isla hissed. “He pretended to be on his brother’s side while feeding information to Azazel, until Arid had no other choice but to fight against the free people of Calliope. Not that he had a big problem with that! Kristos was the only good thing to come out of that family, anyway!”

“So, Sverik was basically complicit in every part of Azazel’s elaborate plan to uncover and obliterate the rebellion,” I concluded, finding more hatred to project at the incubus, who was whimpering from the pain, unable to look any of us in the eye.

“From day one.” Isla nodded. “I warned Kristos before we were separated, before he ran off to work with Grezzi against Azazel. I told him not to trust Sverik, who kept showering me with expensive gifts and telling me that he could keep me safe, no matter what happened. He knew what was coming! He was just trying to keep me out of the bloodbath, the snake! All because he wanted me for himself!”