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Tali's head vibrated on my knees, her question a gentle rumble.What changed?
My bottom lip wobbled; I pressed my mouth thin until I had it under control. "We went to find Adhiti, but instead—Adhiti's been dead for years. We found a titan. Rhea. She was captive, and tormented, and—and she used me as a tool for her suicide."
A hot tear spilled down my cheek. Lili leaned across and brushed it away, the touch, the friendship, doing far more to heal me than getting Wynvail's knife back.
"She's my great grandmother. I'm—I'm descended from a titan."
"Shit," Renna breathed, subdued for once.
"And the whole reason Wynvail set up Alphaven and started collecting alphas was because—because he had to. He was made, not born, and—I'm telling it out of order." My breath shuddered when I inhaled. "The cave started coming down around us. We were going to die. And then Wynvail showed up and got us out. He took us to a safe house, but—"
My hands shook, every word painful. I tasted blood.
"Rhea killed herself to escape her captor. Another titan had imprisoned her there. Cronus. And he—he stole my mate from me a hundred years ago. My Wane. He made me forget, cursed him so no one would remember him. Even Lucifer forgot him. Cronus is—he's a monster. Never Wynvail. He's a villain and a bastard, but not a monster."
"How did he die?" Asta asked, a furrow on her pale brow.
I scrubbed my face, and shoved the cracker in my mouth because I was sick of holding it. It tasted like ashes, like nothing.
"Cronus was pissed off that Rhea died, and that Wyn came to save us. So he—punished us. He tore a portal through the floor of our living room, and sucked us into the Labyrinth."
"TheLabyrinth?" Renna exploded, jerking forward in her seat so suddenly that she dropped her knife. It plunged into the floor tip-first and shimmied there.
"I don't—want to talk about what happened in that place. I can't—I haven't even processed. We all nearly died so many times, and Wyn, he was—he was like one of us. Cronus commanded him to kill my mates, to break me I think, so I was easier prey."
"He didn't kill them, did he?" Lili asked gently, her eyes wide and sad.
I shook my head. "The stupid idiot helped us. And we—we fought our way out of there, half-dead and broken. And then we went to find Wane."
"The mate Cronus had captive?" Renna clarified, speaking the words like she couldn't quite believe them. Like she doubted the titans were real like I had.
I nodded, my throat tight. "I thought Cronus would be furious if we found him, freed him. But it was what he wanted all along."
My throat closed up so tightly that I couldn't speak. I flicked tears off my cheeks, jumping when Tali began to purr a low, comforting sound.
"Wane was bait, wasn't he?" Asta asked, figuring it out faster than I had. I didn't realise it until Wynvail started to—until he—died.
I nodded, sniffling. My whole body shook. "When I crossed the threshold with Wane at my side, my magic flared. Like a—a trigger. Wyn said it broke the seal on Cronus's prison. On Tartarus."
"Shit,"Lili gasped, and flew to her feet. "I'll be back. Tali, you're on cuddle duty."
Tali leapt up onto the sofa when Lili rushed out the door, laying half her massive, furry body over my legs and purring a deeper rhythm of comfort.
I needed to finish the story, I had to end it. The words clawed up my throat, digging in like barbs that fought me with every syllable, but I spat them out.
"Wynvail knew it would kill him, but he did it anyway. Because I needed Wane. He'd outlived his usefulness to Cronus. The only reason that monster made him in the first place was to push me to that moment, so my magic would shatter the seal. I don't even know how I did it, or if I can—undo it."
"We'll figure it out," Asta assured me, kindness swimming in her hazel eyes.
"He died in my arms," I rasped. "And then he just—he turned to dust. Like Cronus wiped out every trace of him."
It was silent for so long after I said that. Even Tali's purr died.
"No wonder you needed the dagger back," Renna said eventually.
My lips trembled. "I just want him back so I can hate him again, because this—this hurts too much."
"He's your mate," Renna replied, her sharp edges worn blunt. "It's unspeakable to lose part of your soul. Of course you need him back."
