Ash threw his arms around her neck, wailing harder. “I am sorry. I am so, so sorry.”
Marina embraced his small frame, holding him tightly against her.
Naia shot forward and engulfed them both, suffocating them with her inhuman strength. “I love you both so much.”
Marina smiled against Ash’s hair through the stream of her tears, a sign of old wounds healing.
Thank you, Father, for instilling this love in us.
39
UNTIL THE NEXT
Acacius
For the weeks that followed,they did not leave the comfort of his mattress.
Lying in bed had become their favorite activity together. It was a new, reformed safe space with just the two of them—talking, laughing, watching endless movies on the television that Marina carted to Tavora from her home, dozing off to the sound in the background, just to wake up and spend hours exploring each other’s bodies. A place where only the two of them existed.
Marina often teleported to Hollow City to see Naia and check in on Ash. The hunt for Soren persisted, but Marina let another take over that task—one more acquainted in the ways of the High God.
Acacius held back from sending his Olethros after him, knowing it would only tighten the tension amongst the deities.
Instead, he fixed on crafting more jewelry for Marina’s collection, teaching himself how to delicately forge the tiny pieces of metal into something beautiful enough for her to wear.
She also made monthly visits to Isolde for Viviana and Mansi, and regularly stopped into Tenebris to assess its state under the veil of her Night.
Every Sunday, they ventured to Augustus.
On arrival, Finnian would drag Marina to the basement that Acacius called hiswitch lair, and examine her like a science project, all for the sake of monitoring the complications of his antidote.
Meanwhile, Acacius found joy invading Cassius’s kitchen, tying the apron around his waist, assisting in chopping and sautéing. Things that greatly distressed Cassius, as they were not done in slow, perfect movements.
“Follow the instructions.”
“That is too much paste.”
“Where did you place the can opener?”
“The kitchen is in disorder now. Put things back where they go.”
“Stop, please for the love of all gods, you are going to kill us all with the amount of garlic you are dumping in there.”
“Here. Just chop these and let me handle the rest.”
Cassius’s micromanaging made Acacius feel boyish again, recalling their mortal days when they would set off on a hunt, and how Cassius would hover over him, nitpicking the way he skinned their kill.
Acacius grew a soft spot for Finnian and Cassius’s dog, Juniper. After dinner, he’d sink down on the living room floor to play with it. Cassius lounged back on the couch with whiskey in his glass, eyes closed and a small grin to his lips. It was as if the sound of Acacius’s high-pitched affections toward his dog and the aggressive threats rolling off Finnian and Marina’s tongues as they arm wrestled on the kitchen table brought him the peace he’d always longed for.
It branded Acacius with a protectiveness to preserve this life for his brother.
When Marina’s thoughts plagued her of past mistakes, the burden pressing heavy on her chest, Acacius lulled her to his hot spring. He’d learned that the sensation of his fingers in her hair provided relief to her anxious mind.
One morning, Acacius lay with her body bare and snug against his side. Moths danced around the corners of his bedchamber in gentle silence. It was opposed by the sweet calamity of the sea that raged outside of his windows.
“I haven’t laid in bed with another since Evander.” She spoke low, running her long nails up and down his arm in a hypnotizing motion. “You are the first.”
Pride flared in his chest as he twisted his fingers in her hair, kissing the side of her head. “We can stay here for as long as you wish.”
