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So, which one of us was Icarus, and who was the sun?
Well, I think it worked both ways. We were drawn to one another, knowing it could be deadly, but if one fell, we’d go down together. My mother had said it best. Our love story wasn’t a fairytale or anything to be envious of, but it was ours.
Epilogue Two
Two weeks.
That’s how long I’d stay here before going home. Lilith had no idea we’d be relocating to a new location—somewhere better and safer than the lodge.
Bella sidled up to me, following my gaze. “Aren’t you going to join them?”
I watched Lilith and Cam talk, side by side near the bonfire. My mom and Blue sat across from them, checking on me every few minutes.
“Nah. They should have some time together.”
“Hm. What’s the deal with him?” She nodded her head in the general direction of Jin.
“Nothing. He’s being himself.”
“A statue is himself?”
“For the most part. Why are you bothering me?”
Almost everyone seemed to be here aside from Addy. She’d barricaded herself away somewhere, and Nyx hadn’t come back from doing a well-check yet. Her fuck buddy had gone with her. Thank Satanas for his blessings. I couldn’t deal with him trying to make small talk with me.
“Stop being so unapproachable and smile,” Bella reprimanded jokingly.
“You can go away now.”
She laughed and came even closer, turning serious with her next question.
“Why did you never tell her I was in on everything?”
“Why would I do that?”
“I called you Malum and realized she didn’t know. I had to smooth it over during breakfast. You could’ve told her.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to tell Lilith a lot of things.
I wanted to open up to her.
That didn’t mean sharing shit that would potentially hurt her. I couldn’t predict how she’d react to knowing Bella had been in on my plan since being taken from the abandoned gym; therefore, I wouldn’t say anything. I didn’t want my cousin to be potentially hurt, either.
“Let me be the bad guy. I’m used to it.”
She frowned, shaking her head.
“And a heads up, Amo and Aurora will be here in two days with some friends of Lilith’s. I wanted to let you know he was coming so you didn’t get blindsided.”
From my peripheral, I saw her blue eyes studying me closely. With a slight sigh she stepped back. “You’re not a bad guy, Mal. You’re the opposite.”
She walked away, stopping halfway back to where the fire was when she saw her mother approaching with her little brother.
“You made the right choice.”
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.”
My father came forward, shedding the cloak of the shadows as if they were his second skin.
“I agree with him,” Uncle Romero cut in, approaching from the opposite direction with Cobra at his side.
Great. It was my lucky fucking day.
My dad laughed, picking up on my annoyance.
“You’re going to be good to her,” Cobra stated.
“I always have been. To both of your daughters.”
Yeah, it was a dig at him. I didn’t care. Who the fuck was he?
Romero laughed softly. “The more I’m around you, the more I like you.”
Cobra grinned, catching me off guard for once. “I just wanted to hear your response. I’m not going to lecture you.”
“He doesn’t need it anyway,” my dad replied.
I sensed a bit of hostility there. Dad was right, though.
I wasn’t going to listen to a speech on how to treat Lilith. I valued her more than anything. It’s what had me anticipating the day I would leave here and take her home.
She couldn’t see what I did. The way she saw herself hurt my fucking heart. This empire I created wasn’t solely mine. It was ours. I would stick to the shadows and she could sit on the throne. I just needed her by my side.
I would make sure she didn’t ever have to compare herself to anyone else, because they’d all be fucking beneath her.
We’d made it through some fucked-up situations together. We’d learned to thrive in a world of darkness. Darker times were ahead of us, but it was better to face the abyss together than apart. At least now we wouldn’t be doing it alone.
