A Kingdom of Bloodshed

*¬*Chapter Thirty Six*¬*

Rushing for her, I cup her face and shush her, "Thea, angel heart, it's ok. I'm here. I'm here darling."

"Kaz?" she questions. Her voice shaky and thick. Clearing her throat, I watch as a necklace of bruises begins to appear upon her beautiful skin. Her eyes meet mine, sharp, beautiful, and wide.

"I'm here." I whisper. She blinks at me, disbelief evident on her face until she reaches out and cups my cheeks in her hands. "You came." She whispers, "You're here." Nodding I place my forehead to hers, tears streaming down my face as I hold Thea to me.

"I'm here sweetheart. I'm here."

"Kaz... there's so many people dying. We have to stop him. Stop your brother and Curseclaw. This can't keep happening. I...I need to stop this. I'm the only one who can."

Frowning, I pull away from her and ask, "What do you mean?"

Thea chews on her lip and sighs before curling forward; hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm the only one that can stop this war. My blood has to be shed in some way to stop this war. I'm part fae and part demon. Only someone as rare as me, can stop this war."

I blink at her. Part demon? What is she going on about? "What?" I ask.

Thea meets my stare, "When I was being torn from Curseclaw I saw it. I saw my past and my future. I saw the life I could live and the one I'm living right now. I saw all of it. I am the end and the beginning. I am magic and life. I am death and salvation. I am everything. Kaz, your great grandfather Xavier experimented when Myra was pregnant with a baby. It wasn't his baby, but they were lovers at one point. He injected the baby with demon blood. A very powerful demon line, the same one Curseclaw is from. Which is why I could survive the joining and detaching. The baby didn't make it obviously, it died before Myra could conceive. When she found out what he'd done, she fled and had to bury her child."

Thea takes a breath before continuing, "After that Xavier and Myra were enemies. She spent the rest of her life hating him for what he'd done. According to the vision, that child's soul waited until a stronger vessel was created for it to join this world."

I blink, "That vessel being you?" She nods. "Fuck!" I growl. Shooting to my feet I pace back and forth. Thea stands on shaky legs, her face ashen when she strides for me. "I have to end this war. I have to give something back. I have to make a decision and I have to do it soon; before too many more lives are sacrificed."

I don't want to hear this. I can't. "There has to be some other way."

"There isn't" She shakes her head, her eyes soft with understanding but wide with fear. "I am it. I am the end, Kaz. It has to be me."

Whirling, I grip Thea to me; holding her close and staring into her eyes. "Will you survive this?" I don't want to know the answer but I have to know it. She smiles softly, "I don't know. Probably not?" Something cracks within my chest.

I can't lose her, not again. Not after I just got her back.

I'm overwhelmed by the sudden urge to kiss her, to claim her once more. To show her how much I love her. "Thea..." I whisper, but she shushes me, her fingers falling to my lips before sliding over the lower one in such a soft manner that it drives me mad.

"Kiss me Kaz. Kiss me before we lose this opportunity. Before time is up and we must return to the raging war outside."

The ground shaking is a prompt reminder that there is in fact a war still raging, yet; right now, right here; there is only Thea. Only Althea and I and I don't want to let this moment go.

She's looking at me with such sadness that I want to remove that emotion from her life; permanently. Gripping the front of her throat, I pull her to me and crush my mouth to hers. Our lips move in sync, tongues sliding along each others. Her lower lip opens for me and I sweep my tongue in even more. Tasting her. Feeding from her fear and her desire.