“Yes.”
“How old are you?” she marveled.
“Old. But as I told you, where I’m from, time is irrelevant. We think in terms much grander than years or centuries.”
“Eternity,” she whispered, clearly recalling my comment from the other day. “You kept saying all these things that didn’t make sense, but now…”
I smiled, palmed her cheek, and used my thumb to trace the tear falling from her eye. “I never lied.”
“No, you just evaded.”
“Even then, not entirely.”
She twisted her mouth to the side. “I suppose not. But you could have told me when we first met. Uh, again, I guess.” Her brow crinkled. “Actually, did we ever meet before?”
“I didn’t tell you because I thought you already knew. It didn’t become clear to me until after I took your maidenhead that you had no idea of your true nature, nor mine. And as for meeting before, we did in passing, yes. But we were never afforded the time to speak like we’ve done this week. Which is now officially one of my biggest regrets.”
“Why?”
Apparently, I’d not made myself clear earlier.
Time to rectify that.
“Because had I paid attention to you, none of this would have happened. I expected to experience thousands of years by your side and never once considered an alternative. So my entire focus had been on protecting my kingdom, not realizing that a demigod had swooped in right under my nose to steal one of the most precious beings from my life.” I brushed my lips over hers, needing to reassure myself of her presence. “I’m sorry for failing you, Kailiani.”
Her irises flickered, her nails curling into my bare chest. “I don’t blame you.”
“You should.”
She shook her head. “From what you’ve told me, Corban—or Dolos, I suppose—is to blame.” Her lips twitched. “I can’t believe I just said that. It implies I’m starting to believe this madness.”
“It’s not madness.”
“Oh, but it’s definitely not normal, either.”
“Depends on whom you talk to.” Because in my world, it was very typical.
“Considering you’re the first god I’ve ever met…” She trailed off, her pupils contracting. “Wait, Corban is a god, too?”
“A demigod, yes. Still powerful, but not quite as strong as a full deity like me and Morpheus.”
“And I’m a siren.”
“You possess the soul of one, yes. But you are very human.”
“Right.” She chewed her lower lip. “So that dream I had was real? All the stuff about Trident? The cosmos? Being created for you?”
I nodded. “All accurate.”
“So, uh, what happens when you free my soul? Do I die?”
“No.” An emphatic response because I refused to allow such a thing to happen. “You resemble your former self in every way, apart from your siren abilities and resilience. In theory, once your soul is unleashed, it will merge with your current form.”
“In theory.”
“Yes. This is why I need Dolos, to determine what he did so we can undo it—safely.”
She swallowed, her naked body suddenly appearing even more fragile in my arms. Mostly because all the color had drained from her face. “I… Do I get a say in what happens?”
