Chapter 30 Blood Proof
MIREYA'S POV
The Devourer charges, and I meet it head-on.
The poison burning through my veins doesn't feel like death anymore—it feels like fuel. Like rage given form. My claws extend, longer and sharper than ever before, and when I slash the monster's chest, it actually bleeds.
"Impossible!" Kieran shrieks. "You're dying! You should be weak!"
"I've been dying my whole life," I snarl. "I'm used to it."
The creature swings at me. I dodge, but barely. My body is screaming, the poison and exhaustion making every movement agony. But Kael is unconscious against the wall. Azraeth is wounded. And this abomination wearing pieces of my face needs to stop existing.
I drive my claws into the Devourer's side. It roars and throws me across the laboratory. I hit equipment hard enough to shatter metal.
"Mireya!" Azraeth moves to help me, but the creature blocks his path.
"I've got it," I gasp, forcing myself up. Through the bond, I feel his terror. "Trust me."
The Devourer lunges again. This time, I don't dodge. I let it grab me, let those twisted claws sink into my shoulders. The pain is blinding.
But it brings me close enough to touch its chest—where its heart should be.
"You're made from my blood," I whisper. "Which means you're mine to unmake."
I channel everything—the poison, the demon power, the chaos magic I've been learning to control. I push it all into the monster's core and command it to stop.
The Devourer screams. Its body starts dissolving from the inside, unraveling back into the stolen magic and blood used to create it.
"NO!" Kieran runs at me with a knife.
Azraeth catches him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. "You've done enough damage."
"Wait." I pull myself free from the dissolving creature. "Don't kill him. Not yet."
"Why not?" Azraeth's grip tightens, and Kieran chokes.
"Because I want him to confess." I grab Kieran's face, forcing him to look at me. "You created the homunculus. You attacked Kael. You made those refugees fear me. Say it."
"I—" He tries to struggle, but Azraeth's hold is iron. "Fine! Yes! I did all of it! You deserve it for making me look weak!"
"Record that," I tell Nyx, who's appeared in the doorway with the refugees she tracked down.
She holds up a magical recording crystal. "Already done."
"Good." I release Kieran, letting Azraeth handle him. "Now everyone knows the truth."
The refugees stare at me—at my wounds, at the dissolved monster, at Kieran writhing in Azraeth's grip.
"She killed it," someone whispers. "She actually killed it."
A little girl—the one whose mother died in an angel raid last week—steps forward. "You're hurt."
"I'm fine," I lie, even though blood runs down my arms and the poison makes my vision blur.
"You're lying." Kael's voice. He's awake, leaning against the wall. "You're hurt bad. Because you saved me."
Tears burn my eyes. "Of course I saved you. You're my kid."
"I'm sorry," one of the refugees says—the woman who called me a traitor earlier. "We should've trusted you. We should've known that thing wasn't you."
"It looked exactly like me. You had reason to doubt." I try to smile. "But now you know. I'd never hurt any of you. You're my family."
The word catches in my throat. Family. These demons and outcasts—they're the family I never had. The one that chose me instead of tolerating me.
"We need to move," Azraeth says, still holding Kieran. "Seraphina knows where we are now. The fight drew too much attention."
He's right. Through the bond, I sense angels converging on our location.
"Cathedral," I order. "Everyone back to the cathedral. Now."
We move fast. Nyx leads the refugees through escape tunnels. Azraeth drags Kieran, who's sobbing and begging. And I bring up the rear, shadows covering our retreat.
But the poison is winning. My legs give out twice before we reach safety.
"Almost there," Azraeth says, supporting me with his free arm. "Just a bit further."
We burst into the cathedral as dawn breaks. The refugees scatter to their rooms. Kael stays close to me, holding my hand like he's afraid I'll disappear.
Azraeth throws Kieran into a cell in the crypts. "You'll stand trial after we stop the Old Gods. If the refugees want you dead, that's their choice."
"You can't—" Kieran starts.
"Shut up," I say tiredly. "You lost. Accept it."
We leave him screaming threats and return to the main hall. I collapse on the steps, too exhausted to make it further.
The refugees gather around me. Silent. Watching.
"Thank you," the woman who doubted me says. "For saving us. Even after we—"
"It's fine." I wave her off. "People make mistakes when they're scared. I know that better than anyone."
Kael climbs onto the step beside me. "When I grow up, I want to be strong like you."
Something in my chest cracks. "You're already strong, kid. You tried to save me from the Devourer. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen."
He beams. Other children crowd around, asking questions, touching my hands to see the claws. The adults thank me quietly, one by one.
I realize with startling clarity: I'm not just Azraeth's bonded mate anymore. I'm their leader. Their protector. The one they look to when things go wrong.
The responsibility should terrify me. Instead, it feels right. Like I've finally found where I belong.
"Mireya." Azraeth kneels beside me, his expression grave. "The poison. It's spreading faster after you used so much power. You have maybe two days now. One if we're unlucky."
Through the bond, I feel his terror of losing me.
"Then we stop the Old Gods ritual in two days instead of three," I say simply. "Not a problem."
"It is a problem. We don't have a plan. We don't have enough fighters. And Seraphina has—"
The cathedral doors explode inward.
But it's not Seraphina standing there.
It's Celeste, my perfect sister, covered in blood and holding a star-metal blade. Behind her, the entire Celestial Guard waits.
"Hello, sister," she says, and her smile is heartbreaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But they have Mom. They said if I didn't bring them to you, they'd kill her."
Tears stream down her face.
"So I made a choice. The same choice Mom always made." Her voice breaks. "I chose the daughter she actually loves. I'm sorry, Mireya. But they're here for you and the demon king. And I'm the one who led them straight to your door."