“Thank you as well.”
“No thanks needed. I’ll always be here. Here’s my extremely helpful advice: there’s a certain someone’s lap you’re sitting in that could use your help right now. This seems like a grand bonding time and Verlet agrees.”
“How did you know I was in his lap, and Verlet’s here as well?”
“V’s telling me and I’m telling Verlet.”
“Nosy and a gossip.”
“Very much,”V hoots as he glides down to my lap, and I run my finger down his wing.“I’ll leave the two of you. If you need me, call for me.”
He starshoots away and a sigh falls through my lips as I lay my head back to Creed’s chest. His heart is pounding both so loud and hard, its pulse thuds through my cheek.
“Are you okay?”
“Me? You’re the one who just realized it’s basically my fault your parents left you.”
I push myself up and rotate until I can face him fully. “What? That thought didn’t even cross my mind.”
“Well, it was the first fucking thing to cross mine.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why, Thayla? The true number of lives I took that day should scare the shit out of you. Losing that many people on top of us being in the Godsdawn led to our father’s reactions, which led to your parents’ decision, which led to every damn thing else that came after that. How can you say it’s not my fault? You can’t place the blame anywhere else but on me. Fuck, us, really.”
“Okay, hard stop, asshole. You’re not going to tell me where I can and can’t place blame.”
He tries—okay, well, not tries—he stands, and I latch onto him before I can tumble to the floor. His hands grip under my ass and I lace my fingers together behind his neck so he can’t put me down like he’s attempting to.
“I’m not trying to argue about this. Think what you want.”
“No one is arguing, Creed. You have a nasty habit of thinking when anything bad happens it’s your fault and I don’t understand. It’s one thing when you do that to the rest of the realm, but you’re trying to make me believe right now that this is somehow your fault, when it’s not. Why?”
“I’m not doing—”
“Why?” I say more firmly, gripping his hair at the nape of his neck.
An oomph falls from my lips when he slams me back into the mattress and covers my body with his.
His soul smothers mine, or maybe mine is smothering his, I don’t know. All I do know is one of them is looking for an outlet as his eyes blaze and power coats his skin.
“I’m the God of Death, Thayla. How can you possibly hear that title and not think when devastation of that magnitude happens, it isn’t my fault?”
The pain lacing his voice literally slices through my soul.
That’s his problem…he thinks death can only be bad. Evil.
My hands untangle from behind his neck, and I drag them around until I’m cupping his cheeks. The veins in his forearms bracing around my head tremble from whatever restraint he’s trying to keep in place.
“You’re so much more than your power. I really wish you could see that. Would anyone who’s evil truly care about making sure someone’s soul stayed alive and well? Would they drive themselves crazy trying to find a way to protect it until they could heal it and make it whole again?”
“I failed at that.”
“And I’m so happy you did. It’s right where I want it to be. What happened to make you think everything you do is so bad, Creed?”
“Be born.”
My hands flinch and my soul rushes into him, snatching a grunt from his mouth. “Don’t say that.”
