“What else was I supposed to do? I’m not letting those things put a damn finger on my mate,” I told him fiercely, making his smirk soften, becoming a surprised smile.
“I promise I’ll explain everything.” I caressed his face, following the line of that sharp cheekbone, before running my fingers across his soft lips. “But right now, it’s time to get as far away from those things as possible.”
“Okay,” he agreed, pushing my hair, which was admittedly all over the place from the fight, back behind my ear. “As long as it’s not me, or us. I could take a lot of things, my réalta, but losing you would destroy me in a way nothing else could. My kingdom and the realm besides could burn to ash, every damn thing in my life lost, and I could find a way to recover. But losing you? There isnorecovery from that. I would rather burn down my own kingdom than face a day without you, and if that’s what it took to keep you, I’d torch it all tomorrow.”
I felt breathless in the wake of his words, knowing how much his people and kingdom meant to him. I couldn’t help pulling him back down for another kiss, my lips caressing his with all the passion and feeling pent up inside me. The next roar sounded ever closer, and I forced myself to pull back, looking into those lilac eyes I loved so much.
“You’ll never have to, because you’re stuck with me, okay?” I replied, a soft smile on my face. “I would burnallthe realms myself to keepyou.”
Chapter Forty-three
Calix
Her words were reassuring,but I couldn’t help the worry I still felt. She’d been slowly closing herself off, her emotions dulled or shut away entirely. It started slowly at first, and I couldn’t think of anything that had happened to make her pull away. I could only assume it was me, as the bond between us became fuzzier and fuzzier until I could barely feel her.
She was so insistent that it wasn’t the case, and Iwantedto believe her. The thought of losing her, after only just finding her… I couldn’t bear the thought of it. Four hundred years of hoping to one day be blessed with a mate, followed by twenty-one years of feeling her but being unable to reach her…
No, the thought was inconceivable.
And there was no time for it right now anyway. The Ladon were getting closer, and we needed to get the Tartarus out of range of the abyss before it was too late. One of those things was hard enough to put down.
We made for the doorway off to the side, and we ran through it, only to stop short on the other side. Right in front of us stood a glowing portal. A shimmering light encased it, and the portal itself was a swirling, milky white inside. So different from the portal we entered to get to Tartarus.
“What do we do?” Asteria asked, distressed. Her worried eyes were looking all over the place, like an answer might come to her if she looked hard enough.
“We have to trust the gods will lead us. This must be where we need to go,” I told her assuredly. I trusted they wouldn’t steer us wrong in this.
We couldn’t stay in Tartarus. We’d have to eventually cross into the city of the gods. Maybe this was the way?
“Come on, my réalta,” I urged, with a smile, hoping my own confidence would bleed through to her.
She nodded, taking a deep breath. I was in awe of how she managed to adjust to her new life. So much had changed for her so quickly, and she just kept rolling with it.
Though, obviously, somethingwasbothering her. I just needed to get to the bottom of the issue. After this, I swore I would.
But for now, my priority was getting her far away from the Ladon. I nearly shivered, something I’d not done before an enemy since my very first battle as a green boy. Those fucking things were hard to kill, and stronger than anything I’d fought thus far. Anything that could brush off my shadows and take a blade to the back without blinking was something I didn’t want to tangle with more than necessary.
So, with Asteria’s hand firmly in mine, we threw ourselves into the portal before us.
I was blinded by white for a moment as we moved from one realm to the next within the milky smoke of the portal. When we fell through to the other side, I blinked slowly, taking in the realm in front of us.
It was as different to Tartarus as could be. The skies were blue instead of the constant bland grey. The ground was bursting with green, lush grass and wildflowers as far as I could see.
“Is this—” Asteria cut herself off, shaking her head as her wide eyes scanned the horizon.
“Elysium?” An eerily familiar voice answered, and my eyes widened in disbelief as I quickly spun to face them, unable to trust my memory of it after so many years. “Yes, it is.”
“Mother?” I somehow managed to say, barely even cognizant enough to notice Asteria’s gasp.
My vision felt like it was narrowing, while my body felt unmoored from the ground. Fresh grief ripped into me anew, paired with wonder and relief that nearly overwhelmed me. It took everything I had not to fall to my knees. Asteria grabbed onto my arm, her presence helping to center me back into reality. I grabbed onto her hand, her own strength helping to bolster me as I felt myself falter.
“Calix, my darling boy.” My mother smiled, her eyes misty as she looked me over. “Look at you! So grown.” She shook her head wistfully, a tear falling down her cheek.
“Is it really you?” I whispered, unable to believe this was happening.
My mother’s smile softened, and it hit me like a punch to the gut. She’d given me that smile so often as I was growing up. When she died, I lost that reassuring smile forever. Seeing her now, with her silver-tinted blonde hair and warm pink eyes, I felt such a morose nostalgia for a time long gone.
“It’s really me, love.” She stepped toward me, and Asteria made to step back, but I grabbed her hand to stop her from going more than that single step, needing her near.
