31
Chapter Thirty One
Natia
Tauruses like a lot, but rarely love. But once they do love, you’ll never see another love like it.
The embrace is short-lived as we only descend one floor. I drag the trident from my back, place it on the table and then collapse on the sofa whilst holding my head in my hands.
“Here,” Zee says, prying my hands from my face. He swipes a cool damp flannel across my forehead, then my cheeks, collecting blood and tears to reveal the hard mask I must wear to survive what comes next.
“Are you really done with him?” Zee asks.
I glance up at Zee and swallow the lump of denial as I shake my head. “I—”
He edges back and sits on the coffee table with a frown. “I don’t agree with what he did, but I believe he loves you.”
“He’s in love with the idea of me. He wants someone he can manipulate, a weaker woman who feigns a fight, but will ultimately crumple to his every demand. I am not that woman.”
Duncan appears from the bedroom in fresh clothes. He’s paler and his features are tense. “What happened?” Duncan asks.
“Archan tried to alter my memories, erasing you from my life so I wouldn’t be distracted in the fight against Zeus.”
He nods and folds himself into the sofa beside me. “He did it with good intentions. Try to see the bigger picture.”
I shake my head. “No, he hasn’t understood the finer details of this war. I don’t fight for an idealistic idea of humanity. I fight for the people I love; they come first. That fight might translate to facing off against Zeus, but it’s by circumstance. If he didn’t pose a threat to you guys I’d be hiding out in the bat cave and leaving the apocalypse to the gods that engineered it.”
“How is what he has done any different?” Zee asks, tilting his head. “He tried to stop you from endangering yourself, so he could protect you, someone he loves.”
“We have more important things to worry about than my love life,” I declare, grabbing Duncan’s cold hand. “I’m sorry, I thought I knew what I was doing.”
Duncan stares at me, his warm chocolate brown eyes, now cold and hard. “I can’t say I’m not angry with you, Locks, but I understand. William had set into motion my future only a few hours after you left.” He glances at Bernard over my shoulder. “I’m a soul eater, a reaper in training. Within a few years, I would become a death demon. You have saved me from that.”
“But damned you to a different future,” I utter.
His palm wraps around my cheek, and he draws my face towards his. “You fought with your heart. We should stop trying to change that about you and embrace it. There is nothing more deadly than a woman protecting her family.”
“Can we undo the soul eater thing?”
He shakes his head. “No, neither the soul eater nor the Prince of Hell can be reversed. The only way out of either is death.”
I search his face, finding forgiveness that I don’t deserve. “What now?” I ask.
Bernard rubs his chin. “Greed must always have someone in charge. You can stay and enforce your rule, or you can delegate for a short time whilst you join the fight with your friends,” he explains. “Either way, Lucifer needs to do something about that power. It’s too much, it will consume you.”
Duncan nods and grips my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I will join Natia in the fight against Zeus. Once he is dealt with, I will return.” I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding.
“Then you will need to delegate your authority in your absence,” Bernard starts. “I can recommend—”
“You,” Duncan cuts him off. “Bernard, you are the only one I trust.”
Bernard nods. “There’s a short ritual, but we will need Lucifer’s approval.”
I shudder at the memory. Every cell in my body was convinced I was about to lose my hand. I’d gotten a glimpse of why Lucifer lorded over Hell, and it terrified me. It was easy to mistake him for someone kind when that’s all he’d shown me. I knew better now.
“We need to head back upstairs,” Duncan says, pulling me up to my feet. He spins to face me. “Don’t rule Archan or the rest of them out of your heart yet, Locks. You made a bunch of jaded gods fall in love with you.” I open my mouth to repeat the reasons me and Archan will never work. He puts a finger across my lips, silencing me. “Perhaps show him why your independence is more seductive than your submission. Force him to stand in the center of your storm and open his eyes to the beauty of the calmness that surrounds you.”
I blink at him. The solid arguments to deny what he is saying turn to ash under his stare. I want so much to believe he could see me as an equal; but he’s made it clear again and again that he doesn’t, and for what’s coming, perhaps it’s best to cut the cord now. Duncan’s eyes soften and he drags me in for a hug.
