But I wouldn’t be his equal. At least as an immortal I could hold my own at his side, visit the worlds he plays in. I would shackle him to an eternity of boredom should I remain mortal.
“Whatever you are thinking, stop,” Archan growls as he stands.
I jump to my feet and hold my hands out. “No, you stop. I can’t think straight when you are all up in my space. This is the first time we have spoken about this with you giving me a little distance to pick through my own thoughts. I need time, Archan. You have already lived more lifetimes than I can comprehend. I need just a fraction of that. Please.”
He blinks and pauses. “I may have had lifetimes, Natia, but I have never even contemplated a bonding. That should tell you everything you need to know. You are my match, my mate, my soul. Can you imagine calling another’s name whilst blissed out in his arms?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Can you envisage another’s touch on your skin as you kiss him with lips that declare you’d go to war for him?”
Tears sting my eyes. “No.”
“Could you give another the storm in your soul and surrender everything you are?”
I spin away and wipe the stray tear from my cheek. “No.”
“Then what is the problem?”
I look over my shoulder and fist my hands. “You are hiding behind pretty words and declarations.”
He frowns. “Hiding what?”
“Secrets. I need to be the one you run to, not the one you run from. I’m not the girl to walk behind you as you fight her battles. I need a partnership, someone who will be at my side through thick and thin. Therefore, I will not tolerate lies or fakeness.” I drop my head and stare at the floor. “When you touch me, I glow from the inside out. You have a power over me that is terrifying. I need to know I can trust you with that power,” I murmur and walk toward the stairs.Where the hell do you hide in a glass castle under the ocean?
“Stay here,” Poseidon says. “I shall make sure she is okay. In the meantime, Sire, I suggest you do some soul searching yourself, and tell her everything.”
Footsteps patter on the floor behind me. A warm hand rests in the center of my back just as I begin my descent down the stairs. “He’s still learning,” Poseidon says as we reach the bottom floor. He guides me to the left, towards a tunnel.
“He’s older than dirt. He’s had time.”
Poseidon chuckles. “He may be older than dirt, and that makes him knowledgeable in matters of the universe. In matters of the heart, he is a novice. Archan has had many opportunities to lose himself in beautiful women, but never has he risked his heart. You caught him by surprise. Eons of knowledge couldn’t prepare him for the woman who would tear his world to shreds and protect him with her own life. When you are one of the strongest beings in the many universes, sacrifice is that much more powerful.”
I hum in my throat. “Then it shouldn’t be difficult for him to tell me everything.”
“He’s adjusting to a future with two souls. Give him time. His lifetime means he’s made monumental mistakes, and he will continue to make them. Lifespan equals experience, not wisdom.”
I glance at Poseidon as he enters the tunnel at my side. “He’s an asshole.”
Poseidon huffs a laugh and taps on the glass. A bright blue glow sparks, then expands like a wave around us. The dark tunnel glimmers under the thousands of tiny glowing creatures. My mouth drops open as I pause and press my hand to the glass. “I believe humans have named it bioluminescence,” Poseidon states.
“They look like the stars of the ocean.”
“Hmm, a better name,” he says. A cluster of the stars reorganize themselves to mirror my hand and plaster themselves against the glass. “They like you, they are saying hello.” I wave and they return the gesture. Despite my heavy heart, I find a smile pulling at my lips. Of the four elements, I have always felt at home with water. Here, at the bottom of the ocean—away from prying eyes, arguments, apocalypses, god games—I feel more grounded and at ease than I have in a long time.
“Why does this feel like home?” I whisper.
“I was part of the process which made you,” he says. “The ocean is part of your very being. It will always answer to your call, human or goddess. Come, we have more to discuss, and I have more to show you.” He walks ahead of me as I trail my fingers along the cool surface and follow him, my eyes mesmerized by the awesome sight.
The tunnel opens up to a smaller dome, about the height of a three-story house. In the center, on a three stepped dais, suspended in the air, is the golden trident. About six feet tall, with the classic three prongs, power radiates from the brilliant gold. I swallow back a lump in my throat as I move closer and circle the weapon.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“I think I got the best of the three gifts,” Poseidon says, standing opposite me.
“Three?” I ask.
“Zeus, as the god of the sky, received thunder bolts. Hades received invisibility, and I the trident. Zeus can cause the storm, but with the power of the ocean, I can control it. I can level the largest city with a tsunami and trigger an earthquake to swallow civilizations. But Zeus never thought to learn the flip side of his power, to refine the art of the weapon he yielded. I can make it rain in the desert, I can calm the waters for safe passage, and shroud islands from view. I have a reputation as being a temperamental god with a violent nature, but that is because history rarely remembers the good things. You cannot control the storm with a tame heart.” He catches my eyes. “But you already know that.”
