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Elysia severed what was left of the twin bond on her first journey into the Soul Plane when she ripped Neo from Natos. And again when she created a new heart for Neo from her very own blood that he consumed while destroying its poison.
There is no way in…
Oh, hell!
Thanatos grins.
* * *
“You know,Death, brother. I just keep coming back!”
THANATOS
“Good to see you again, brother,”I remark, circling Neoptolemus’ unconscious form. “How the tables have turned, haven’t they, Neo? Did you suspect during that one night you spent with her…that she would choose this? Chooseme? Oh, that’s right…you did, thanks to the Goddess.”
You don’t have to rub it in, Natos.
“She put two and two together, Neo.”
A pause.
Ha. Ha.
“It was a beautiful wedding,” I dismiss his sarcasm. We’ve never cared for one another’s humor. “She was far more blissful than she was at yours. Would you care to see?” I offer, knowing that while Neo cannot keep anything from me, Death holds all the secrets. “Or would you care to see our wedding night where she offered herself to me?”
A low growl.
I chuckle, waving a hand, prickling frost along my brother’s back. “Don’t worry, brother. If there is one thing you and I have in common, we both prefer tosavor. But how does it feel to know she did not run from me? To know that while she rose to checkmate you every time, she surrendered her queen to me?”
She will run from you eventually, Death. And when she learns the truth again, because we know she will, she will leave both of us.
“Yes, like a bride leaving her chamber. We both know what that means, Neo.”
Natos! I would lay waste to the ends of the earth to find her.
I grow my frost, transforming it into crystal shards to protrude into Neo’s flesh, sensing his pain, a mirrored pain I feel deep to my core. But as long as I hurt him in the process, I care not. “And I would reap every soul that dared to touch her. Neoptolemus, you believed you could sever us for centuries. You believed you could nullify the bond between us. You believed you could ignore me for a century after my physical form was taken and leave me alone to suffer in silence.”
And you deserved to die! You deserved every fucking minute!Neo roars, on the verge of exploding into the Dragon within his mind.
“True, but you are paying the price for your sins now, aren’t you?” I stab the back of his neck with those shards and wince at the shadow of the pain. “Consider that just payment for the mark of Satan I wore for centuries, Neo. All because Destruction couldn’t stomach doing the dirty work.”
You will pay for your sins someday, too, Natos!
“Of course, Neo. Even Death must answer to destiny. And you will share in my pain just as I share a lesser portion of yours.” I retrieve the ice shards from my brother’s body, revel in the sight of his fresh wounds, and dip one finger into his blood, sensing his Destruction and how the Goddess has weakened it. Clicking my teeth, I rub the blood between my fingers, suck them clean and rise.
She will checkmate you, too, Thanatos.
“Are you implying that Death can’t keep his secret to the ends of the earth?” I grin down at him, tempted to add my own ice stakes to his wrists. “After all, we know you could never play me, but I will be the perfect blend of the two of us.”
She won’t accept a mask, Natos!I hear Neo’s protest as I walk away.
“Of course not, brother. She will accept my soul. I’ve already given it to her. Thank you for the inspiration. You gave her the wedding ring. I gave her a superior one,” I consider the twin ring, the rosebud crystal housing my soul. “Did you know Nita stood up with me at my wedding? My Hydra vampire of honor. Seems I made quite an impression on her with my new heart. Would you like to know why she truly despised me?” I make one more circle, enjoying myself a little too much with the frost whorls I write into his flesh.
Because you’re a boorish bastard.
“That and her inability to use her foresight with me. But truly, it was because I reminded her too much of the dungeon. Not anymore, Neo. Provided I allow her theopportunityto kick my ass whenever she desires, she is now my ally, as well as Elysia’s. Ironic, isn’t it? After all, she was the reason for donning all the masks of your old identity. You and I know the truth, brother. Nita was your greatest mask. The one time you came closest to understanding my burden.”
And then, Elysia came and burned everything to hell!Neo shouts within our bond, tremors rocking his core, scales forming on his skin.
