“Wait…you two have been working together the entire time?” My sister backs away from the prince, confusion still etched in her brow.
“Yes,” Drayven breathes against my skin. “And your sister’s actions will be the reason your little rebellion succeeds one day.”
“I’m sorry, Nina. I know you wanted it to be Mikais on the throne.”
“Ha!” Nina’s unexpected reaction startles me. “This rebellion was a power grab. Mikais was just a means to an end. The Wolf God doesn’t hold a fraction of his brother’s power. But if he couldoverthrow him, if he could dispose of Nobus for us, well…we could easily place a better ruler on the throne.”
Whether the child prince that hovers in the shadows will be a better ruler is yet to be determined. But if he grows up away from Nobus’ influence, he might have a fighting chance.
He could be kind. He could be merciful. He could have love in his immortal heart instead of hatred—and that in and of itself would be worth all this mess.
The ground under our feet trembles, causing Drayven to mask the child again. We lock eyes in the fleeting darkness, his emerald eyes shining in the first light of the rising suns.
“We don’t have much time,” I whisper.
“Flame,” Drayven growls as he takes my face between his ringed hands. “Give us a moment to say goodbye.”
Nina starts to reply, but before her words reach my ears, shadows encase us. Wispy bands of dark magic block us from the rest of the world as Drayven’s lips crash into mine.
Time fades into nothing as the god consumes me, body and soul. There is no inch of me that he does not devour, no part of me that is not thoroughly ruined.
A stabbing sensation throbs in my chest. I ignore it, pushing past the pain to kiss him deeper. It grows sharper and more intense by the second, as if I’m being physically, methodically cleaved in two.
I pull back from Drayven slightly, staring deeply into the eyes of the deity who owns all of me.
“Don’t go.” His whispered plea skates across my lips, but we both know there is no stopping what is coming.
“Promise me, Drayven.” The sensation intensifies, my time here rapidly diminishing. “Promise me that the next time you see me, you will take me home with you.”
Home.
No matter which realm my body lives in, my heart will forever be in the Under Realm. And one day my soul will be reunited, with it, withhim, dwelling there for all eternity.
“Promise me you will live, my light.” Death’s lips caress my neck, urgent kisses coating my skin as our time together further depletes. “I know you would die for me, but I need you to live for me now. Live for our daughter. Live for the future of the pantheon. Do whatever you must to ensure they succeed.”
The Dark God of Death places the Prince of the Gods in my arms. The tiny life inside my womb flutters frantically, the pulse of their connection evident even now.
A flare of viridian light forces me to close my eyes and stumble backward. Drayven moves, wrapping us in his stony embrace and pulling us against his granite chest.
“She is strong.” He chuckles. “But I would expect nothing less from a god of two realms.”
Drayven kisses the top of my head devoutly. He slips a silver ring from his pinky onto my thumb as the earth quakes again. “Hold tight to them, my light.”
“Drayven,” I plead against his neck.
Darkness of a different kind clouds my vision. Not the shadows of the dark master, but the obsidian fabric of space and time. Specks of light flicker into view— individual realms, each its own world. One glows brighter than the rest and I feel my internal compass train on its coordinates.
The beautiful face of the Dark God of Death fades rapidly from view, the feel of his hold disappearing by the second.
“I love you,” I call out in the darkness. “I think I have always loved you.”
Drayven dissolves into bleak nothingness as I tumble through the chasm of eternity with the Prince of the Gods clutched in my arms. The connection in our blood weakens as the distancebetween us increases. One thin strand remains, a single string tethering me to the deity.
What remains of my body evaporates as the whispered words of the Dark God of Death fill my head.“Alak ayo nora.”
All that I am is yours.
CHAPTER 16
