Also empty.
Panic began to surge. While she was free to leave, Alexion wasn’t. Because of the mistake Acheron had made in bringing Alexion back to some semblance of life, Alexion was trapped here in a limbo existence.
What had happened to the man sickened him.
Artemis was using Acheron’s stolen powers in order to bring the dead back to life so that she could use Acheron’s guilt to control him. To make him responsible for the men she was enslaving to serve her selfishness. Her army of immortal Dark-Hunters.
Unable to stop her, he’d come up with a bargain. Those she enslaved could earn their souls back provided a person who loved them was willing to restore their soul to their undead bodies.
What Artemis had failed to tell him was that the soul medallion would scorch the flesh of any human who touched it. Burn them deep enough to cause a permanent scar. That was how Alexion had died.
Staring into the eyes of the woman he loved while she told them both that she’d never loved Alexion, and that the children he’d been desperate to protect had been fathered by the man who’d killed him.
Acheron had done everything he could to save Alexion from dying a second time.
Nothing had worked. He’d been powerless as he watched the life Artemis had returned to Alexion fade from the man’s eyes. Only this time, Alexion had died with no soul. The only way Acheron could make his mistake right was to bring Alexion back as a soulless shade.
Damn me.
He still couldn’t believe he’d screwed up so badly. First, his stupidity had cost Simi’s mother her life, and now, Alexion existed as a ghost with no soul.
All because of him.
Sickened by his ineptitude, Acheron started past Simi’s room, then froze.
Simi was asleep on her bed with her legs running up the wall while Alexion sat by her side, watching over her.
As soon as Alexion saw him, he got up and moved silently across the room. “You’re home.”
Acheron frowned at the sight of his daughter in blissful slumber. “What happened?”
“I fed her, then started telling her human stories. She was curious until she fell asleep.”
That made him feel better. Normally, Simi fretted whenever he was away. And by the time he returned, she was agitated and anxious. It was nice to see her calm and resting, and not venturing off on her own to places he didn’t want her to go.
Alexion inclined his head to him. “Thank you, Acheron.”
“For what?” Ruining his life and his screwing up his death?
Alexion glanced back over his shoulder to where Simi lay sleeping. “I’ve been at war for so long that I forgot how much I missed being a father. It was good to spend a night with a child again. She’s quite remarkable.”
Yes, she was. “She saves my sanity … and drives me crazy.”
Alexion laughed. “Fatherhood. The scariest adventure of all.”
Especially when it involved an amoral demon. Even one as sweet as Simi.
Acheron cleared his throat. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
Alexion looked down at Simi. “Will she be all right if I leave her alone?”
That was an interesting question. “Simi’s actually several thousand years old, even though she’s still a small child. Charonte age a lot slower than other species. So we need to keep an eye on her only because she’s mentally young. Even so, she’s remarkably self-sufficient.” And at least she couldn’t take a bite out of Alexion if she became hungry.
That was a big bonus.
Even three thousand years later, Acheron remembered the pain of the bite she’d given him. But it was nothing compared to the pain he felt at the thought of something happening to the only person he’d ever known who didn’t judge him. In Simi’s eyes, he was perfect. She didn’t see the mistakes he’d made or curse his birth the way his own twin brother had done.
Simi only saw her father. There was no purer love than that, and he was so grateful to her for it. For the first time in his extremely long life, he felt cherished and valued. Not pitied as his sister had done.
