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Silence fell between us.
I took a step back, lowering my tall frame into the much-too-small wood chair—crafted for a man half my size. Like the rest of the cottage, this room felt tiny. Why I brought her here whenever she became sick with fever was beyond me. It was more so just a feeling I had—some internal voice that told me to bring her here.
“I watch over them,” she said quietly.
I quirked a brow, my hands settling on my thighs. I don’t know how I knew what she was talking about, but I did. “The humans?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you are the Goddess of Life. Looking after living creatures seems like something that would come with the territory.”
“No,” she said, sky-blue eyes lifting to mine as she gently shook her head. “It’s not like that. I just watch them, and I wonder . . . ” She glanced around the room, her arms wrappingaround herself. “What would it be like to live like them? In these tiny, cozy homes?”
I smirked. “Cozy?”
She blew out a laughing breath and the goddess actually smiled at me. “Well, that is what they are.”
Cozy. The word felt funny. Foreign. I glanced at her, amusement lightening my tone. “You live in a giant palace and yet you wonder what it would be like to live in a pile of sticks? Like the mortals do?”
“I know it sounds strange,” she said, fingers knitted in her lap. Did she find this conversation uncomfortable or was it my presence?
“Itisstrange,” I teased. “Indulge me. You have everything you could ever want. Why would you want to live like a mortal?”
“Because they don’t have . . . eternity. They have their short span of a life, and because of that, they make the most of it.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Theylive.”
“So, in contrast, are you saying that we, as immortals, do not?”
“I think—" Thick lashes flickered, her azure eyes drifting to a thin gold band that wrapped around her finger—a sun etched into the metal. She fiddled with it. “We immortals tend to take things for granted.”
I could see right through her. “Is that how you feel? Taken for granted?”
Her head jerked up. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh?” I challenged, my brows raising in question. “I think that’s exactly what you meant, Kitten. You put yourself in his path, and he walks right on by. He doesn’t see you like he should. He never has.”
Her expression turned murderous. “And whose fault is that? You were the one who made me barren. All he had ever wanted was an heir, and you took that from us.”
I sucked on my teeth, my gaze leveling hers. “Sorry, I didn’t realize that your worth relied solely on your ability to produce offspring. No different than a broodmare, really. Tell me, Kitten, should I fetch a bridle and a bit from my stables for you?”
“You are such a bastard,” she hissed, her hands fisting the fur blanket. “You know how vital it is for a king to have an heir, someone to pass his crown on to.”
“I’m confused, goddess, am I talking to you or your husband? Besides,thatis a foolish mortal rule—immortals do not need heirs to rule.”
She scoffed, her tone dripping with venom. “Says thefailedking who no longer rules over the Living and Immortal Realms.”
I took that one square on the chin, the fight in her coaxing a twisted smile to my lips. “Has the kitten finally found her claws? I do hope so because you are going to need them.”
“What are you talking about?” she seethed between clenched teeth.
I stood from the chair, my imposing frame leaning over the bed. I lowered my face to hers, cuffing her gaze to mine. “I want you to be the one, Kitten, to tell your pathetic husband what is coming for him.” I leaned forward and handed her my most charming smile. “War.”
“You’ll lose,” she grated with confidence.
I cocked my head to the side. “Will I?”
I saw the flicker in her eyes, the chink in her armor that told me she wasn’t sure. And that was message enough.
Both sides were evenly stacked—but there was one thing I had that Aurelius did not. He might be born from flame andsun, but I was born of wind and night, and unlike him, I had a will of iron.
