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I had a decision to make—to decide what this was between us.
Seconds ago, I had been in a place where we were on opposing sides. Where we were enemies. Where I felt that intense hatred for him in my heart. But that feeling warred with what I felt now as I looked at him.
I could trip on my path of personal growth and fall back into old habits, I could assume the worst based on that single memory, but deep in my heart, I knew that it was just the beginning, and that in between then and now, we had made a hundred more memories.
Those memories, the good ones, were the ones I wished to see. And even though I couldn’t remember them right now, I was not without good memories from this lifetime, because the memories where Von walked in the sun with a basket thrown over his shoulder as we headed into town, those ones came back to me.
No, I would not fall back into old habits—I had grown since then. And with time, I would regain those memories. But now, all I wanted was to follow the feeling in my heart.
And so, maybe there was a time where he was the God of Death, but right now, here in his arms, he would always be . . .
“Von,” I said breathlessly, my fingers reaching for his freshly shaven cheek, but something was wrong. When I touched him, my fingers left a smear of blood in their wake. I stared at them. Where did it come from?
“I remember. Some of it. You are the God of Death,” I said, my torso lifting, my bottom still firmly planted on the cobblestone road. “And I . . .”
Von waited, his hand cradling my face, his free arm around my torso, supporting my weight.
“I’m the Goddess of Life.” I finally said it, taking a deep, much-needed breath. And it was strange because it felt like my first real breath, like I had been wearing a constricting corset my entire life and I had finally ripped it off.
“I am pleased to hear you have regained some of your memory. It is relieving to know you finally remember who you are,” stated a voice to my left.
I grimaced . . . Arkyn.
I turned and glared at him, noticing that my movement was no longer riddled with nausea. The incessant, aggravating power that made me throw up was gone. I blinked and looked up . . . The Crown of Thorns was gone too.
But the iron collar was still around my throat.
Why hadn’t Von removed it? Why were we still here?
Better yet, why was Arkyn still standing?
I looked to Von. “I want to get out of here.”
His eyes traced my face as if he were committing it to memory. He held me in his strong, steady arms, my fingers woven into the black fur that poked out from underneath his chest plate. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against my forehead. “You will do one thing for me, Little Goddess.” His request came with the saddest smile, and seeing it there was like someone had taken a dagger to my soul. He whispered, “Youwill live this time.”
I had never heard his voice like this before because normally, it tasted of bourbon, but right now, it was more like whiskey—the kind you drank when you needed to smother your sorrow.
I shook my head—I didn’t understand.
My gaze fell, and I stumbled when I saw it.
A large wound gaped near his stomach. Beside him, a shattered sword of glass drowned in his ichor.
I jerked up from his arms, my hands shooting to his stomach. “Did I do this?” I cried out.
“You had some help,” Arkyn replied faster than Von could. He thumbed over his shoulder, directing my gaze to Soren.
Soren sat not far from us, rocking back and forth, his arms wrapped around his knees with his head dropped into them. Although it was faint, I could hear it—he was crying.
My head swirled with a dozen thoughts, like how had Soren been able to harness my power when I wore the iron collar? But the semantics of it didn’t matter. Right now, only one thought mattered.
“You have to get away from me, Von,” I said, trembling like a leaf caught in a windstorm. I pulled away from him, my movement awkward and weak, like a baby deer learning how to walk. If I could get far enough away, maybe the bleeding might stop.
He let out a withheld breath, that mask cemented in place, hiding the pain I knew he felt. “I’m sorry, Little Goddess, but I cannot.”
“What are you talking about” I said, stumbling backwards, desperate to put some distance between us. I bumped into something hard.
Hands wrapped around my shoulders, steadying me. Arkyn’s voice filled my ears. “The Blood King could not stand to see you suffer, and so we made a deal.” Arkyn let me go.
