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“If things were different, we would let the situation play out,” he said. “A resurrected human can do only so much damage in a single lifetime. Unfortunately, her newfound durability is an issue.”
“I’m inclined to disagree.” It was a blessing. A wish come true.
His eyes narrowed. “You shared your power with her, Atlas.”
“I did.”
“Humans aren’t meant to hold the power of a god. Their structure, their very essence, doesn’t allow for it.”
“And yet.” I motioned to my quarters.
“I’m just speculating here, but I imagine it has something to do with the stain on her soul. A stain, I might add, that could spread given enough time. And even if doesn’t, she still should not be here. Her soul is meant to rest in the Alius. You know it as well as I do.”
A bitter laugh bubbled up my throat. “Rest? There is no rest in that place. No peace. It is violence and pain and torture.”
“True. It can be those things, but there’s so much more to it. It’s a tricky realm.” He tugged the sleeves of his shirt up, revealing muscled forearms that were covered in ink. The words written on his skin looked like the language of the ancients, but it was hard to tell for sure with the way they moved, swirling and overlapping each other like the ink was alive. “But I suppose the heart is also a bit tricky, isn’t it?”
It was, very much so. Tricky and troublesome and all manner of unpredictable.
“You love her, correct?” When I didn’t respond, he nodded. “Your silence is answer enough, boy. Of course you do, and I’m sure you’ve told yourself you will do anything to keep her in your life. I understand that desire, but her continued existence is already causing ripples. The longer she avoids her destiny, the more chaos she’ll create. Until the day comes when we can’t undo the damage. I’m telling you right now, the others will intervene before it comes to that.”
“You’re already intervening,” I pointed out.
“To offer you a chance. This is a one-time offer, Atlas. Undo what you’ve done. Let her soul cross back to the Alius as it was meant to, and your slate will be wiped clean.”
Was that all? Condemn the soul of the woman I loved to an eternity of torture, and in return I would get to carry on with my meaningless life in this prison realm?
“No deal.”
He closed the distance between us, stopping just an inch too close for comfort. “I don’t think you heard me. Your slate will be clean. No more punishment.” He clapped one hand on my shoulder and motioned at everything around us with the other. “You will be free of this place and its shackles.”
I had dreamed of leaving this realm and rejoining the other gods for what felt like an endless span of time. It was all I’d thought about in the beginning. It was a dream I’d given up on at least a thousand times, only to find it creeping back to life a thousand and one.
A clean slate. A fresh start.
But only if I give up Never.
I shrugged away from the hand still resting on my shoulder. The only reason Nerebis would be in my realm looking to strike a deal with me was if he and the others couldn’t do what needed to be done themselves.
His measured stare hardened when I didn’t respond right away. “Let me put it another way. If you don’t unwind what you’ve done, you’ll be putting the entire human realm at risk.”
“Of what?” How could one woman—even as challenging as she was at times—have such a profound influence over an entire realm?
The last of Nerebis’s friendly, fatherly facade faded into his scowl. “The fates maintain the balance of all things, in all realms. Upsetting that balance is not wise.”
“No one has ever accused me of being wise. Hence my current living arrangements.” I swept my arm out, encompassing the Nassa. “Regardless, a vague warning isn’t an answer. How will the human realm be at risk?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “If she is allowed to continue as she is, the balance between the realms will begin to shift. An uptick in violence here, a rise in dark magic there. It will happen so slowly in the beginning you might not even notice, but the end result will be catastrophic.”
It was certainly a sobering thought. “You speak as though this has happened before.”
He nodded. “Twice. We were able to correct course the second time, but just barely.”
“And the first?”
He met my gaze with a flat stare. “The human realm was nearly wiped out.”
“Why have I not heard of this?” That seemed like the kind of tale that would have been spread far and wide in the celestial community.
