Janka hesitated. He nodded.
“And you were okay with me being raped and fucked to death?”
A loud cry echoed from the hall. Kinzer knew who it was. He didn’t know how he’d gotten there, but hearing him tore him up inside.
“Do you hear that?” he asked. “That’s a helpless mortal. He doesn’t have anything to do with this. He’s never hurt anyone, and you let your sick friends terrorize him.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
The tear in Kinzer’s eye rushed down his cheek. “I don’t want you to say anything. I just want you to take a moment and acknowledge the terrible immortal that you really are and the horrible things that you’ve done.”
“Don’t be so hard on him,” Veylo said. “I think it’s safe to say that we’ve come around.”
“What?”
“Kinzer,” Janka said, “you’re so much stronger than we realized. Stronger thanIrealized. Even without your wings…without your powers…you destroyed a Morarke. Do you have any idea how miraculous that is? We never imagined that you would have been able to do that by yourself, but you have. Join us, and we can restore not only your wings and gift, but also your place in Heaven.”
Kinzer couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all he’d just said, how could Janka ever believe that he’d side with him?
“Are you out of your mind?” he asked. “What makes you think I’d ever want to be in Heaven?”
“Kinzer,” Janka said, “I know you can’t possibly forgive me right now, but give it time, and we can have all the love that we had before. Come to Heaven and be with me.”
The rage that fueled Kinzer dissipated as it was steadily replaced with wild confusion.
“After all I’ve seen you go through,” Janka continued, “after all I’ve seen you endure, I know now that you are the one I want to spend an eternity with.”
Kinzer’s eyes glazed over, as if he was trapped in Janka’s spell all over again.
“Help us. With the Christ—”
“The Christ?” Kinzer asked. He was even more confused than before.
“Yes. Before we faked my death, I told Dedrus that this child was the Antichrist. I had to. The Council was too close to discovering the truth. If they believed it was the Antichrist, the Almighty would never be implicated, and the Council would come after the Leader. But I hadn’t realized that Dedrus would take matters into his own hands. That’s how this whole mess began. If he would have just let the Council take care of it, the Leader would have been punished, and we would have taken the Christ to a safe place to be born.”
“That’s the Christ?”
“Yes,” Janka replied.
“Fuuuucckkkk,” the half-conscious Maggie moaned.
“And now that he’s here,” Janka continued, “soon the Almighty’s work will be carried out, and all that will be left is Heaven…where we can be together forever. Don’t you want that?”
Kinzer looked away from Janka as he contemplated all that he was saying.
“See,” Janka continued. “You’re thinking about it. It means that a part of you still loves me. You still want to be with me.”
Tears slid down Kinzer’s face. He rushed to conceal his vulnerability with his hands.
Janka grabbed his wrist and pulled him close. Kinzer dropped Dedrus’s sword, but clung desperately to his own.
“Look in these eyes, Kinzer. I love you, and I can see that you love me. You know there’s only one thing you can do.”
They stared into each other’s eyes, as they had done so many times before. Kinzer’s face twitched, his muscles spasming, reflecting the emotional war that waged within him. But the war was easily won. He knew what he had to do if he ever stood a chance at being happy.
“I’ll be with you,” Kinzer said, his gaze still lost in Janka’s.
Janka smiled. He wrapped his arm around Kinzer and pulled him close. Their lips locked. Kinzer lost himself in their embrace. He felt his palms across Janka’s rigid back, recalling many nights of pleasure and pain. He caressed his fingertips through Janka’s feathers. He bathed in Janka’s hot breath, delighted in how the tip of Janka’s nose felt on his face. What he would have given to spend eternity in that moment…a moment where he allowed himself to forget all that Janka had done…a moment where he could pretend that he and Janka were still together and in love and that everything was just as it should be.
