Alrik stopped as if slapped. He looked back at Arianna confused, deranged. “I-I used to. I don't know if I can anymore.”

Telal didn't know either, but where each of his family had the power to kill they had the power to save life. Telal just didn't know if there was any more goodness in Alrik's heart to save her.

Alrik kneeled beside her, laying his hands upon her chest. Tears splashed on her dress, darkening it in wet spots. He started to speak the words. Ones Telal had used a year ago on Alpha Lyonis Keelan. The amount of power it took to do such a spell had left him immobilized for a week, barely able to stand or feed himself. Without the help of his trusted guard Kearnyn, he might not have made it.

Alrik chanted and chanted and Telal tensed, waiting to see if the white energy would flow for him. Minutes past which felt like hours. Telal realized the room was silent save for Alrik's chanting and he looked around and found the demon assassins dead and his team behind him, waiting for him, watching Alrik with a mixture of sorrow and pain. After some time, nothing happened and Alrik sobbed, his tears falling faster.

Suddenly he whirled around, seething with rage. “You did this! You killed her!”

“I could have saved her if you hadn't sent the dargens after me. Relinquish now before more get hurt, Alrik. You are not right, but if you stop this now we’ll fix it.”

Alrik stood, panting like a beast. His eyes slowly trailed away from him and locked on Lily who was struggling to sit up.

“Fix it? Fix it!” he roared. “You don't deserve to have a woman!” Then he took off on a hard sprint. Telal went after him, pumping his legs hard and fast, panic guiding him. He stayed several steps behind him no matter how hard he ran. Lily screamed then crab-walked backwards in a rapid motion. Telal used a burst of energy, tapping his already nearly empty reserves and launched into the air, catching Alrik in a tackle and taking them both to the ground. He slammed his fist into Alrik's face hard—once, twice. It had to hurt him more to do it then it did Alrik to take the blows.

His head rolled to the side, his eyes slow to blink. “Do it. Kill me now. I don't want to live anymore.”

His brother's miserable voice felt like a knife in his gut. Someone nudged his shoulder and he jerked, barely pulling his fist back in time to see Kearnyn there, an enspelled dagger held hilt-first to him. Telal slowly curled his fingers around it.

Alrik sat up, his back resting against the wall, his head bowed.

“Het'emu daraganu, brut'em. Het gronna hesh.”

Telal's eyes filled with tears at his brother's heartfelt words. End me, my brother. End this pain.

“Irran tresulu.” I can't, he replied.

His brother looked up at him with those black, black eyes, tears swimming in their endless fathoms.

“For me,” his brother said in Demonic.

Telal fell to his knees, the knife gripped so hard in his hand his arm shook. Wet streaks fell down his cheeks. He kneed his way closer, then clasped his brother’s head in his hand and pressed their foreheads together. Their sweat-slicked skin kissed and years of longing and pain flowed through them both easing and tightening the hurt in his heart.

“Alrik,” he whispered. I love you.

He pressed the point of the dagger against his brother’s chest then let out a harsh, unsteady breath, choked with grief. He started to push but a soft hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him.

Blinking until tears dropped and his blurred vision cleared, he looked up into Lily’s beautiful face. Her face was wet with tears, her lashes dark from the moisture.

“Don’t do it,” she said in a soft, unsteady voice.

Her hand tightened over his wrist and he opened his fingers, the dagger falling to the ground with a metal clink. Staring into her deep eyes he said, “Alrik Demzui, I banish you from this kingdom from this day forth. You are never to return or else meet your death.”

“Please kill me,” his brother pleaded in a ragged voice.

Telal jerked himself away, unable to look at his brother, afraid he might give in to his wishes. “Get him…take him out of here.”

A flurry of movement appeared. Faces he recognized on some level but that he didn’t quite comprehend. A soft, small hand curled around his, and when Lily stepped into his arms, he held her as close as possible.

CHAPTER 45

Three Weeks Later

Telal set his feet onto the floor by the bed and slowly stood up. He felt so much older now. A raw pain now lived in his heart that he wasn't sure would ever go away. Yet, he knew it could be worse. Could he ever thank her enough for what she’d done? She’d saved his brother’s life, and in turn, his own in a way. Alrik was gone. Tossed out into the night and hadn’t been seen since. The questions of where was he and how was he doing tormented him. But it was for the best. His people needed him now.

 And he needed her, needed her more than he could express. And he'd tried to. He'd tried to tell her how much he loved her, how much her constant patience at his side had helped him through the experience. Yet, he hadn't been able to say more than I love you.

It wasn't enough. Not by a long shot. Actions spoke louder than words,

Standing, he went to the dresser and flipped through the different style of clothes in there. Most were elegant robes embroidered with gold thread and gems on the collar. The kind of shit his father used to wear. Eschewing the ridiculous garbs, he pulled on a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt. Did he look like a king? No, and the royalty could barely disguise their disgust at his appearance but he didn’t care. He had their support in making their people an equal and just one, which started at the bottom up. Already demons ported to the earthen-realm to rediscover the “old world” as they called it. Everything should have been right in the world. But it wasn’t quite.

Telal went back to the bed and studied the succubus who slept next to him every night. Her dark hair spilled around the pillow in wisps; her arm had flung out across the bed after he'd gotten out. His heart pulled tight with love. How could someone love so much it hurt? It seemed impossible—and completely foolish—yet all he had to do was look at her and the world seemed to stop turning. Well, at least while she was sleeping and had her mouth shut. She still had the uncanny ability to make him roll his eyes and give him a headache. But that was just a part of her, a part he accepted. It wasn't like he was perfect.

He leaned down and kissed her bow-shaped mouth.

“I love you.”

She mumbled, her lips moving against his. “Looove you,” she said, then her breathing deepened again. Yeah, his chest felt like it could burst right now.

Telal made his way outside. The fresh air breezed across him, stirring his hair. The sound of a giggle brought him to the side of the castle. He turned the corner and smiled.

“Ah, sir, sorry about that.” Kearnyn had Rosa pushed up against the wall, his face in her neck. She blushed and hid behind his big body—not a tough feat.

“Carry on.”

Even with Alrik's banishment, the death of the Atal Warriors, and all of the demon guards some good had come out of it. Kearnyn had proposed to Rosa and he had Lily. He couldn’t help but wonder if this had all been necessary. Could he have done things any other way that would have resulted in a better outcome? Every day he saw Lily's death flash in his eyes, remembered holding his brother, hearing his agonizing pleas. Tears formed in his eyes and Telal shook his head to get rid of them. He was a king now; he'd better start acting like it.

Fredrick, his new lead councilman, hurried towards him from the bailey, his yellow-blonde braid trailing behind him. “Sir, we are making great progress on rebuilding the homes. Some of the royalty though have concerns about this 'work' endeavor. They say they have no work skill, and to be perfectly frank, most don't.”