“We’re not blaming you for not stopping it,” Lark cuts in. “We’re alive… many of us are alive. Most of us. And we have all of you to thank for that. Everything that happened in our world was bound to happen long before the four of you showed up… you just made it so that not everyone died as we were destined to.”
“I know, but it’s hard losing your homes, your possessions, and people you cared for or loved. You are welcome to live in my realm, but I will warn you that I have very little. My own people were…” Torin hesitates, and I know he’s choosing his words carefully because he’s afraid of making me feel guilty. “My people are gone, and this group is all who remains. I know that I do not have my full strength back, but every day I grow stronger. You are welcome to live here with me. We will repair the homes, fix the stores, and work the fields. You will never be hungry again, I promise that. But I do not have the luxuries of many realms, although I’m willing to bring what I can here with those… sun thingies.”
“Solar,” I whisper.
“Yes! Solar! But no vehicles will be allowed. Those have emerged from the gates of hell. And don’t get me started on subways. If you don’t want to join my world, Riley can take you to his where they have horrible things like escalators that will split your balls in half. And their transportation is all horrific and bloodthirsty.”
I stare at Torin while he does his best to make my world seem like a hellscape.
“But they have pizza!”
Everyone is confused. They had vehicles in their realm, although I encountered very few and only inside the capital, but Torin is doing his best to make them sound like torture devices.
Lark turns to the crowd as she holds Story’s wrist tightly in her hand. With Onyx and Sterling gone, it seems like she’s the new leader of her people. She glances back at Torin. “It has been a long time since a god has looked at us with anything but hatred in their heart. We are so thankful. I think for tonight, we should stay here. And then tomorrow, we will reassess. We are used to living with scarcity, so the lack of supplies will not frighten us. We need very little. We just need each other. If you truly offer us freedom, we will have more than we’ve ever been offered.”
I look at Torin. “The palace won’t hold this many people.”
“We’ll have to make do with the houses and the halls in the town,” Torin says. “We’ll bring food from your world. I have plenty of gemstones that I can sell that will get them anything they need. What do I need such things for? I would rather have people.”
“Okay,” I say.
“TOMMY,” Mickey shouts, and it startles everyone near us as Mickey rushes forward and practically falls into Tommy’s arms. “I thought you were gone. I missed you so much! Where is Joy?”
“Right here, you wild goose,” Joy says before giving him a playful smack on the back of his head. “Is this what your hairlooks like without Tommy to pamper you? No wonder you can’t find a man. You look like a mess.”
“I feel like a mess,” he replies, grabbing them in a hug.
I turn to Torin while Mickey mauls the two of them. “I could borrow Mickey’s magic and we could have the undead help us,” I say before realizing that any undead I brought back here would be people Torin knew. That’s something he’s never asked for from me or Mickey. I hastily add, “When I get to my world to figure out the food situation, I’ll raise them up then.”
Torin hesitates before nodding at me. “Yeah. Okay. Sounds good.” He turns to the crowd and calls out, “We have a short walk, so we’re going to take anyone who is injured into Riley’s world for medical attention. Anyone who is not, wait here and I’ll come back to guide you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Torin
Riley smacks around on his tappy device just outside the Door in his world, and Imani and Vinny soon arrive. After a quick introduction, Imani starts escorting the wounded. Thankfully there aren’t many, only about sixteen, and almost all have minor injuries. Sadly, just about anyone who was involved in the attack had no hope of getting out of it.
It upsets me that I couldn’t save them all. It seems like almost everyone from outside the capital made it, but those inside weren’t as lucky. It was harder for me to get a Door open for them, and by the time I managed to make it inside to create a portal, many had perished.
I can’t fathom how a god could take such a precious thing and destroy it. Of course people can make mistakes. They’ve only been alive for so few years; we can’t always assume they’ll know what’s best compared to us gods who have been around for hundreds or thousands of years.
But to kill them all because of choices a tyrannical leader made hundreds of years earlier?
“What are you thinking about?” Riley asks while we lead everyone who wasn’t injured back toward the palace and the houses that are right outside of it. We’ve finally passed the mark where the grass is dead and petrified and moved into the area where the foliage blooms with life.
“It’s so beautiful,” Story says as he touches a flower. “I’ve never seen wildflowers before.”
I beam at him, pretty proud of my greenery. Riley offers me a soft smile, so I reach out to my sweet man who looks a little beat up. His face is bruised and he has blood on his forehead. I gently push his hair up and check the cut before drawing him in and kissing the side of his head.
I nearly lost him. I could have lost him… and that just…
“I would find you again and again, no matter how many times I needed to,” I whisper.
“What’s that?” Riley asks.
“He’s being creepy,” Vero says. “He’s saying that if you die, he’s going to find you and raise you and then romance you again. That’s illegal where I’m from.”
“I didn’t…” I glare at the irritating man. “Fuck off. I was being romantic!”
