Just like that, my good mood snaps. “He’s lying to me.”
“He’s protecting you.”
“I don’t need to be protected,” I argue with a wave of my hand. The trident hums louder and the ocean around us grinds against the glass walls, the iridescent stars swirling in the turbulent sea. “I need a partner. He doesn’t love me, he loves the idea of controlling me and owning me for eternity.”
Poseidon’s crystal eyes glimmer with gold. “He’s learning, give him time.”
“This isn’t something you learn,” I growl. “He said I was his queen, but what king holds things back from his queen?”
“One with trust issues.”
I throw my head back and laugh. The glass creaks and the trident spins. “Archan’s trust issues can kiss my ass. I warned him I wouldn’t give my heart to someone who wasn’t all in.”
Poseidon rushes towards me and wraps me up in a hug. I squeal in shock. Badassness be damned, when a notorious god rushes you, you are allowed to freak. “Feel that?” he whispers in my ear.
“Dude, if you think this is that kind of daddy daughter relationship, you are sorely mistaken.”
“The trident answers your call because you are a daughter of the ocean. My daughter. It is linked to your emotions. This is why I have a reputation. A cross word results in a storm; a tantrum, a hurricane; a breakdown, a tsunami. When you wield this weapon, you do it with your emotions. Stay calm until you no longer need to.”
I draw back and look at him. He grips my arms, keeping me in place as he studies my eyes. A grin breaks out across his face. “You have my eyes.”
My brow furrows. “How did you know we came for the trident?”
He releases me, steps back, and plucks the trident from the dais. “Ah, no one comes to visit for a chat anymore. They all come seeking something from me. Even the mermaids come for the bragging rights of being in the King of the Sea’s bed for a night.”
I blink. Archan was right. Poseidon is lonely. Like really freaking lonely. I glance at the trident as he stretches his hand to me. “What’s the catch?” I ask. Gods always have a price, some oath to be extracted. I should know.
He tilts his head. “Oh, Natia, you really have seen the unpleasant side of our race. I have no price, just kill that evil brother of mine.”
We stand staring at each other as I weigh up whether he’s joking. He sighs and drops his arm. “Would you feel better if I gave you a price?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes.”
He clicks his fingers with a smirk. “Fine, my price is that I will officiate your bonding.”
“You want to be the one to get me and Archan hitched?” I check.
He nods and thrusts out the trident. I lift my arm. “Fine,ifwe bond, you can do the honors.” The trident touches my fingers, sending power skittering through my fingers, up my arms and down my body. I hiss a breath out.
Poseidon grins. “Packs quite the punch.”
I curl my fingers around the pole and grit my teeth. His eyes flick to the curse on my wrist. “Now about that curse…” he starts.
24
Chapter Twenty Four
Duncan
When a Pisces feels something, they really feel it in every inch of their soul.
Hell is a tormented construct built to play on our fears and weaknesses. It wears down our defenses until our mind admits defeat and then it devours every inch of our souls, savoring it until we are an empty husk. Of all the levels to live out my eternal life, Greed is the least likely to sway me to partake, to make me a slave like the damned souls wandering the streets in an endless thirst for more. More of everything—money, material things, food, drink, sex, love; there’s a reason this level is deeper than the others—it’s the culmination of all of those desires. These people wanted everything, and they didn’t care how they got it, or who they hurt in their pursuit.
My heart sinks as the glass elevator descends to the ground. The doors sweep open and I am met with a troop of terrible creatures dressed in various black uniforms altered to fit their various appendages. I glance around, spotting a trio of Renevate demons, similar to the ones Natia and I slaughtered back in the clearing when we were hunting Khalkaroth. I swallow the lump in my throat. The girl who gave everything deserves to live a long and happy life with the man who has stolen her heart, and my sacrifice means she can have that.
A half lizard man is the closest. I tense and ready myself for a battle. “The Prince of Greed welcomes you Duncan and wishes to extend his hospitality. If you would follow us.” His voice sounds like metal grinding against stone. It grates on my nerves, setting my teeth on edge.
Huh, a welcome party of demons. “I will have to decline,” I state as I pull my magic to my fingertips in readiness.
