“I will free you if you swear not to take out your wrath on this realm,” I say calmly, coldly.
“And if I don’t agree?” she grits out. “You can’t keep me here forever.”
“What’s one more dead god?”
She laughs almost hysterically. “Foolish baby goddess, you can’t kill me.”
I frown, looking to Kian, and he shrugs, clearly not understanding what she means.
“Kyros’ ashes would imply otherwise,” I say.
“Go ahead. Stab me. See what happens.”
“I do not wish to play games with you,” I grit out.
“All I will say is that Cary must have truly loved you for his blade to strike true,” Luna says. “It takes quite a sacrifice to kill a god as ancient as Kyros.”
My heart skips a beat, and I glance at his body, an odd grief threatening to overtake me, but I swallow and shake it off.
“There are very few things that can permanently contain a god, and by the sound of it, you just destroyed one,” Luna coos.
“But I have a fae who is more than willing to reactivate the wards,” I say, hoping to all the other gods that she won’t call my bluff.
Luna looks at me suspiciously, her starry eyes trying to bore through me.
I clear my throat. “Do we have a bargain? You will not harm this realm?”
Luna sneers at me but then nods. “We have a bargain. I have no desire to return to this gods-cursed realm anyway.”
“A blood bargain,” I say. “One you cannot break.”
Surprise flutters across Luna’s face. “You’re learning, baby goddess. Fine.”
She swipes a finger through her bleeding middle and holds up the shimmering substance to me. With a grimace, I gather some onto my finger and put it into my mouth. Magic surges through me, and I know her oath is binding.
Grabbing the hilt of the blade, I yank it out of her and am rewarded with an ear-piercing shriek. Kian carefully removesthe golden net, and she rises a little unsteadily to her feet. She is striking to look at despite her disheveled appearance.
She licks her lips and sniffs the air. “You don’t mind if I have a snack before I leave? I smell cowards.”
I raise a brow at Kian, but before I can think of a response, the goddess is a blur of silvery light disappearing into the trees.
“What in the hells was that about?” I ask. “Oh gods, what if she goes after Alex and Sera?”
Kian shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure she’s tracking down Cary’s men who helped trap her.”
“Should we stop her?”
“Personally, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of a hungry goddess.”
“I’m glad she didn’t ask for proof that Sera can remake the wards. I don’t even know if that’s possible.”
Kian’s eyes widen. “Sera? I have much to catch up on, it appears.”
“Do you think Luna will stay away? I’m still figuring out how this all works.”
“I don’t know anything about blood bargains, but if she somehow finds a way to break it”—he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into him—“I believe I know a powerful sun goddess who will fight to protect her realm.”
He rests his forehead on mine, and I glow with warmth. His belief in me makes me want to prove him right. Kian presses a kiss to my forehead, and I melt into him. He’s my strength and my wings.
