“I'm not letting go!” I shouted.
The vines tightened. Constricted. The jungle shivered.
“Never!” I cried.
My skin burst under the pressure. Blood coursed down my legs. I whimpered, closed my eyes, and held on.
“It's not real,” I whispered to myself.
“Yes, it is,” Ranu said. “And you will die if you don't let go of him.”
“Then I die. But I won't leave him.”
The vines covered my pelvis. My stomach. They squeezed. I coughed up blood. Not-Shale stood resolute, staring at me without emotion. I grabbed my left wrist with my right hand and held on.
Something ruptured inside me. Another blast of pain. I was expecting it, and it still made me shout. But I knew it wasn't real. Despite what Ranu said, this couldn't be real. If it was, I would have passed out. I would have died. But I lived. And I held on.
The vines eased their pressure. Slid away. I shuddered with the sudden relief as the cracked bones and crushed organs inside me reformed. The jungle laughed, trees creaking and leaves rustling. Beasts ran the perimeter of the clearing, calling out to each other that a meal was near. I prepared to be torn apart.
A gentle hand pressed against my back.
I looked over my shoulder. “King Vaxarion?” I gaped at him. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You could be mine, Sebastian. I haven't found my mate yet. Come with me.” He opened his arms, and he was suddenly naked. Gloriously so. A god of a man. His shimmering hair hung down to his hips, framing that divine beauty in silken waves. “I will give you immortality, share my soul with you. This man has nothing to offer but a broken heart. But I can make you happy. Truly happy.”
“No, thanks, Your Majesty.” I held onto Shale. “I'm happiest here. Even when he makes me sad.”
“Foolish,” Vaxarion said sadly. “So foolish. What if you are denying us both true happiness?”
“I don't fucking care,” I growled. “I love Shale. Forever. I don't care if my forever isn't that long. It's done. My heart is his. I will hold on to him until death takes me.”
“Is that so?” Suddenly, King Vaxarion was someone else. Taller. More muscular. Paler. Midnight hair hung in a straight line to his shoulders. His eyes were just as black, two voids that threatened to suck me in. But his face was lovely, beyond the beauty of a normal man. He smiled at me, revealing a pair of sharp fangs. “Come to me, Sebastian.”
“With all due respect, Ranu, not a chance,” I said.
He smiled, and it soothed me. “This is the last test, Sebastian Dahl.” He opened his arms. “To hold him, you must hold me.”
And then he vanished.
“What the fuck?” I whispered. Then I turned my head back to Shale and found Ranu instead. “Son of a bitch!” I almost let go, but instinct told me that would mean failure. “Where is Shale?”
“Shale was never here, Sebastian. You know that. It has been me all along.”
“I love him. Do what you have to do, but I won't leave here without his love.”
“I like you.” Ranu smoothed my hair back from my face. “You are so surprising, Sebastian. I've never seen such courage and resilience in a human. And you are no warrior.”
Warrior. That's what Shale's mother had called me. Now, I knew why.
“Is this a warrior's test?” I asked.
“In a way. You think I'm testing your endurance. But what I'm testing is your love for my child. I saved Shaleros from his gods. He is special. I could not give his love into the keeping of anyone less special.”
“I'm not special,” I said. “But I'm determined to make him happy.”
“For how long?”
I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly defeated. “You've already decided that I'm not worthy of him.”
