She smiles, and the galaxies shift to black holes. With a flick of her finger, the palm of my hand slices open. I hiss and cradle it against my chest. Bright, hot blood spills. She dashes to me and yanks my hand to her, staring at the crimson now pooling in my palm.
She lifts it to her mouth, and drinks.
It is done,her ancient, cold, horrifying voice echoes inside my head. Horror crawls like tiny spiders along every inch down my spine. I just made a deal with the Goddess of the Underworld.
As suddenly as she appeared, she vanishes.
And Asmo’s chest moves.
Chapter 51
MAE
Asmo groans,and I burst into tears. The thump of his heart against my cheek is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard, but I can’t bring myself to look at him. I’m terrified he’s not the male I remember. Terrified I just signed away his soul. Terrified he’s some Cursed version of my mate.
His hand cups the back of my head. “Princess.” The “ss” is slithery and I’m brought back to the very first time I met him. I let loose another sob.
Please, please, please.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re okay.” His voice is warm and comforting and feels like home.
His shirt grows damp from my tears. He shifts beneath me, propping himself on his elbows. I force myself to look up at him, and something in my chest warms as I find those fern-green eyes. I reach for the mating tattoo on my chest, for the way I know he’s still there, still a part of me. He wouldn’t leave me. Not the male whose eyes soften when they fall upon mine, who would rather look at me than the stars.
I curl my fingers in his hair, still damp from the rain and gritty with dirt from the riverbed. “Az,” I whisper. Even with that one syllable, my voice breaks.
“Princess.” One corner of his mouth quirks upward, and I threaten to break again.
I press my lips to his, tasting sweat and dirt and everything that makes him real. Alive.
“Mine,” I whisper.
He doesn’t repeat the sentiment. He just smiles against my lips. That’s all I need.
“Where are we?”
“The river that runs through the mountain,” I answer.
He blinks. “How did we get here?”
“You…Cora hurt you,” I say. “I shifted and managed to get you here.”
“Well, I guess that explains why you’re naked.”
I look down, at my fully nude body sprawled all over him. A laugh threatens to spill, but then I remember Thera finding me on top of him. And what came after.What have I done?
Asmo glances down, assessing himself. He moves his arms, then pats his stomach, his legs. “I feel fine…But it must have been bad if I don’t remember it. What happened?”
“You jumped on Cora and…She pushed you away, but she used her lightning.”And then your body hit the ground and my chest cracked and you—I squeeze my eyes shut. “And you didn’t get back up.”
He pushes himself into a seated position and pulls his shirt up. Unlike my interaction with Cora’s lightning, there isn’t a single mark on Asmo. It looks like it never even happened.
“How am I alive, princess?” His voice is deep, commanding. He knows. And yet, something in me screams to keep the truth from Asmo. For the second time, I wonder what he would have done. He would’ve made the deal and lied about it so I wouldn’t worry.
I force a smile. “My tears, remember?” I wipe them from my cheeks. “I don’t know how or why, but they can heal.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re…”
“Made by the Mother,” I whisper.
