“Don’t let me touch you.” He didn’t lower his arm, just rested his forehead against the bars. “I can’t trust that I won’t hurt you.” He curled his fingers into a fist. “You shouldn’t have come. I’m not in control. You should have left me here to rot.”
A trail of warmth rolled down my cheek. “Did you want to hurt me?”
“No,” he growled, whipping his head toward me. “Never.”
“Then that’s what matters.” Relief slid between my ribs, making it easier to breathe. “You’re not responsible for what Dis Pater forces you to do.”
“I almost killed you.”
“Eh.” I sniffled to hold back fresh tears. “I’m tougher than I look.”
A second strike of lightning might have barbecued my cerebellum, but I probably would have survived it. That was thewhole point of killing me, right? So I couldn’t die. Again. I would just be zapped back to…
Huh.
I wasn’t sure where I would go if I were injured to the point of requiring Abaddon to heal me. I wasn’t even sure that was a thing for demigoddesses, and I had no one to ask unless I broke my promise and hunted down my divine parent for answers. Answers that would further complicate my life.
Happily, I had other options.
With the Alcheyvaha as my allies, and their magic in my soul, I had more than enough power to draw on to heal myself. As long as I could reach one of their burial grounds. Which meant Ireallyhad to work on my teleporting until I learned whether my ties to their lands would summon me back there on autopilot.
“Why are you here?” He clenched his hand into a fist, I hoped not to better envision choking me. “Abaddon is too dangerous.I’mtoo dangerous. You should go home, where you’ll be safe.”
“As long as Dis Pater is holding a grudge against me, I’ll never be safe. Neither will my family.” I shored up my courage, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake in admitting it out loud to him. “I have to kill him.”
“Frankie, no.” The bars groaned as Kierce gripped them in his fists. “You can’t kill a god.”
“Maybe not.” I drew in a long breath. “But Ankou seems to believe you can.”
“Me?” A furrow pleated his brow. “Why would he think that?”
“Trust me when I say you’ve killed gods once,” Ankou said, “and you can do it again.”
“Trust you?” Kierce rammed the bars with his palms until a hard crack sent Ankou scurrying back. “Who in their right mind would do that?”
“Frankie will never be safe as long as your god is out there.” Ankou remained tucked behind me. “She’ll never be safe with you as long as he’s out there either.”
“Give us a minute.” I waved him and the others away. “I want to speak to Kierce alone.”
“Take one step closer,” Josie threatened me, “and I’ll wrap you in vines next.”
“I’ll behave.” I watched them give us space then regroup before facing Kierce. “I don’t understand how it all works.” I picked at my thumbnail. “I know Dis Pater can tell you to go places you don’t want to go and do things you don’t want to do. I’m sure he can probably make you say what he wants too.” I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “Things with us didn’t feel…scripted…to me, but I didn’t realize Armie wasn’t real, so clearly I’m not the best judge of character.”
“Frankie…”
“I don’t want to chase you if you don’t want to be caught.” I ignored the prickle in the backs of my eyes. “I don’t want to convince myself there’s something between us if there’s not.” I tore my nail to the quick with a hiss. “Tell me you care about me the way I care about you, and I will never stop fighting for you.”
“I can’t ask that of you.”
“I wasn’t done yet.” I lifted a finger, hating the slight tremor. “Tell me this was all him, and I’ll let you go so he quits using you against me.” I lowered my arm. “Tell me the truth,yourtruth, and we’ll figure out the rest together.”
“I want you more than I have ever wanted anything for myself, but?—”
“No buts.” I scrubbed my face as stupid tears spilled down my cheeks. “Are you in, or are you out?”
“I’m out.” He braced his shoulder against the bars. “I can’t be freed. I’ll only hurt you again.”
“You’ve hurt her enough telling her you care about her and then expecting her to leave you,” Josie, who made no apologies for eavesdropping, threw up her hands in frustration. “Idiot.”
