Larkin’s words echoed in my head as I left, but she was wrong.
All it took was for one person to change their mind and Quentin could exist for eternity.
The grounds of Gray’s home were exactly how you would expect them—dark and foreboding. There was a gentle rolling fog that made it difficult to see too far ahead. After three laps of the vast estate, I settled down amongst the Odessa calla lilies that grew in clusters along the path.
It didn’t take long before a strange tension crackled through the air. It forced me to sit up straight, and when I looked over my shoulder, Erik was walking towards me with an umbrella in hand.
“It looks like it’s about to rain,” he said, and I bit back on the response that it always looked ready to rain here.
I turned away and focused my attention on my mug. My silence didn’t deter him. Erik folded himself on the ground beside me and opened up the umbrella, holding it above us as the first drops fell.
“I’m sorry,” he said without prompt. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“It’s not just you,” I told him.
“We never meant for you to feel like we’d abandoned you.”
The word ‘abandoned’ was like a bucket of icy water being tossed over me. I was used to the feeling, but it had been years since anyone had a chance to commit the act again.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have trusted so many of you in such a short space of time,” I said, picking at blades of grass.
Erik’s hand landed on mine, stopping my assault on the ground. “You guard your heart fiercely, Quentin, and I understand why.”
I’d always hated that Erik knew more about me than the others. He accessed my vulnerabilities before I could offer them to him.
“But you have so much love to give. You didn’t make a mistake.” He squeezed my hand. “Matters are complicated and—"
“You did what you thought was best,” I finished shortly.
“There’s so much you don’t understand. Gray has plans—"
“I know about his plans, Erik,” I said, finally looking up at him.
“He told you?” Erik’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
Being mad at Erik was a difficult task. He was the only God who had no agenda or malicious intent. He didn’t quite understand my boundaries, but he tried harder than any of the others. Untangling my hand from his, I brushed some of the white blonde hair out of his eyes. There were moments where he reminded me of Cass—always spreading himself thin, trying to keep things afloat.
“He told me,” I confirmed.
“He adores you.”
“He loves me.”
Erik’s face broke out into a grin and there was a faint red glow that surrounded him. “If you matter to him, you matter to us. But we need to tread carefully.”
“I understand,” I said, letting go of my anger towards him. “You have a lot more to lose than I do.”
His expression crumpled, and I looked away. Erik grabbed my hand again and said, “Please don’t say it like that.”
“You have a wife and children. Gray is yours. You need to protect them.” My voice was thick with emotion.
The truth was a painful pill to swallow. We all had people we cared about. People who we placed importance on in our lives. I didn’t expect to have even made a dent in that list to the Gods when they’d known me for a few months and I’d hardly set the best impression.
“You have—"
“Why am I not surprised that you’re both out here in the rain?” Gray’s voice boomed across the grounds.
I crawled out from under the umbrella and looked at him as he strode towards me. No cuts. No bruises. No blood. I could breathe easier again.
