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Hmmm. Probably a deity thing.

Petals still fell around us, the melody a force to be reckoned with. Alistair and Lia were in awe of what they were seeing. Memories of elves gone by, all the way back to the days when the whole world knew there was a deity for each race, not just Aidan.

Cool. Good to know it was working.

“…the melody of blood begins with undying…” Those words. That vile truth.

First the immortality.

Then the declaration of love.

Then the end.

A harp shimmering.

Huh?

The soft tinkle of a piano.

What the hell?

Breath on my neck, the sensation of pulling on my right arm. To get me away, to take me somewhere else.

“Paris?”

The sound of Silvanus’s voice swooped me away into his memory.

Not one of mine, but one of his.

In his bed, a golden-haired lover naked beside him.

Chapter Ten

Silvanus

White petals.

My old chambers at Clarence Palace in Selene Haven, when eternal moonlight still bathed the lands. And Aidan, naked beside me, his golden, sun-kissed skin glistening with sweat. We had been fucking in that rough way he enjoyed so much. Raw, intense, devoid of love now that I looked back without his golden taint infecting my mind.

There never had been love between us. Only from me, from my delusions.

He raked a hand through his golden locks. “Incredible. You always make me feel so good.”

Past Me chuckled, all giddy on my back. “Give me a moment and I will make you feel good again.”

Present Me wanted to tear this memory apart. But the song was showing me something yet again, and maybe it would reveal something key for defeating him.

“I love you,” he told me.

My insides clenched with disgust while the carefree Past Me fell for it, returning those three words. A merry little lamb skipping cluelessly toward the abattoir.

Love was a powerful force in so many contexts, many of them not positive. Like the scene unfolding before me, one of the besotted vampire wriggling on the end of a manipulator’s hook.

Bastard.

Aidan rolled onto his side, folding his hands under his cheek. He seemed afraid suddenly. He pulled his knees up, shivering.

Past Me rolled onto his side, reaching out to stroke Aidan’s torso. “What’s wrong, my love?”