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I don't want him anywhere near this psycho, I snarled, turning to shove Busty away from me. And you don't get to ask. He's been through enough.
Have you so easily forgotten that he stood alongside you to fight Cronus?
I bared my teeth in his vague direction. Have you so easily forgotten that he was thrown so hard he was left unconscious?
His heartbeats are full of rage and blood, Halwen. Don't deny him what he might need.
My nostrils flared. I said nothing as I turned away and stalked down the pitch tunnel, wishing I could see my feet as I placed them on the ground, wishing I could smell anything other than blood.
Wait, Erebus said, catching my arm. Before you enter, I should warn you—
But I powered ahead, and only grounded to a halt when I flew through a door—or walked through the wall, I couldn't fucking see—into a tall marble room lit in shades of muted grey.
It was completely empty except for the great and hideous throne made of black stone, carved with screaming faces and scenes of violence—and the man kneeling before it, black wings slumped on the cold floor and his head bowed, his bare back rising and falling with rapid breaths.
I blinked and the throne was no longer empty; Cronus sat there, lounging casually with a gleam in his eye that promised another torturous scene to add to his throne.
Halwen, Erebus said in a tight voice. You need to prepare yourself for—
But Cronus leant forward in his throne and a third man appeared from the darkness, dark-skinned and tight-eyed, his movements stiff like he was hiding an injury. This man—immortal but not godly—stood behind the kneeling figure, the figure I would recognise anywhere.
Don't fucking touch him, I snarled, and raced across the room, my footsteps echoing off the high marble ceilings. But when I grabbed the stranger's arm, my touch slid off him like he was made of light, and all I could do was stand there as Cronus ordered Wane to stay kneeling, using his oily, disgusting magic to force my mate still as—
Oh gods.
He knelt, unmoving, not struggling, as his wings were hacked messily and cruelly from his back. My own wings wrapped tight to my body, phantom pain chasing through them. I couldn't tear my eyes away. Wane didn't flinch, didn't even move until the heinous man stepped back, severed wings in his hand, and Cronus nodded.
Wane fell forward with a scream, his forehead pressed to the marble and his arms wrapped around his middle, the wounds on his back weeping violent blood. Even though it was grey in Erebus's vision, I saw red, saw it spill across his bronze back and bloom on the floor as he screamed until his voice broke and only hoarse, sobbing noises escaped his throat.
I knelt beside my mate, trying to hold him and snarling in frustration when my hands slid off his body.
This had happened. It wasn't happening right now, it was only a memory, but it had happened. This is what Cronus did to my mate. What that bastard holding Wane's wings did.
When I find you, I told the stranger in a voice colder than ice, I'm going to make you wish you'd used that knife to cut your own throat.
Wane is not here, Erebus said soothingly. He's at your home, waiting for you. You need to go back Halwen.
I swallowed hard. Your home… No, my home was burned to the ground. But the safe house, the house Wynvail painstakingly and thoughtfully made for me … was it home?
You can't protect him while you stay here, Erebus went on, his voice low and soft.
But it was like a match struck against my rage and fear, and I jerked back, baring my teeth at him. That's why you let me come here, why you showed me what Cronus did to Wane. So you could use it to manipulate me into leaving—
Because you won't listen! he snapped, shadows flaring around him, swallowing every part of the room except Wane bleeding on the floor and Cronus smiling on his foul throne. The entire world is at stake, your mates' lives are at stake, and anyone else you love. Everyone will be enslaved or slaughtered—those are the only options.
And you think I can change that, I replied flatly.
There's an unbreakable prophecy that warns you will. It isn't a promise to those fighting Cronus; it's an omen for the titan himself. You can, and will kill him, Halwen. But not if you stubbornly cling to death. You should be alive, thriving, and murderous. So go!
I tried to kiss Wane's head, my throat tightening when he was like a ghost against my lips. I stood, glancing at Erebus, my friend nothing but a writhing mass of darkness in front of me, not even his body or features visible now.
Why do you care so much? You can't even touch the living world, in your own words, so why does it matter what happens to the rest of us?
The darkness ripped away until Erebus stood there, a thousand emotions churning in his black eyes. Wouldn't you care about your children and your children's children? Would death erase the love you felt? Would being locked away from the living stop you wanting them safe and cared for?
All my anger drained away, sympathy and pain tangling in my chest.
No, I admitted quietly, remembering the first impression I'd got of Erebus when he swept me away from the brutal site of my murder: safety and parental love. Sorry, I added, my shoulders slumping.
