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What a stupid little female—did she not understand that fighting the inevitable was futile? The New Gods had lost the war, just as this battle was about to be lost.
Perhaps . . . I should show her.
I tucked my wings in and dove towards the ground. At the last minute, I flared them out, catching myself and landing silently. Above me, massive white doves circled. Aurelius had sent them for her, just before I beat him in battle. It was his last set of reinforcements. Like her, they wouldn’t last long.
Without so much as a whisper of a sound, I made my way through the clashing armies, walking straight for her. No one dared to touch me, even my own men scrambled back in fear. They could feel it in their bones, the power radiating from me. Like a rabid dog, I kept it on a loose leash, just enough to snap at them if they got too close.
I watched as she rolled over, her eyes threatening to roll into the back of her head from the pain she must be in. Yet, she pushed on. Deep down, part of me was proud of her fighting spirit. After all, it was what I enjoyed about her the most.
She spat out a tooth, a mixture of saliva and blood stringing in its wake, dribbling over her chin.
At that moment, I decided to make my presence known. I stepped forward, the backs of my boots scuffing the ground as I walked towards her. My boots entered her line of vision, but I didn’t give her long to look at them. Unable to help myself, I crouched down and roughly grabbed her chin. My rings bit into her velvety soft skin as I forced her to look up at me. “Your blood sings for me, Little Goddess.”
“Blood King,” she grated between bared teeth. It was adorable, really. I was tempted to prop her mouth open andrun my finger over the blunt little canines until I could coax them to match mine.
My incisors were permanently lengthened, but hers had the ability to retract—a trait the Creator had given the New Gods, something they believed to be an upgrade. I thought it rather pointless, really—why bother to hide what we were?
Her hand twitched, like it was searching for something—her sword, probably. I didn’t doubt there was nothing more she would like to do than take her revenge on me, for all I had taken from her.
I grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her to her feet. Even with the thin armor she wore, my hand easily wrapped around her bicep. She was so much smaller than me. Her smallness, her femaleness—it played on my animalistic nature, like a potent drug seeping into my bloodless veins.
Protect. The word beat throughout me like a drum, each strike growing louder and louder. I ignored it.
“I’ve been searching for you,” I said as I stroked her dirty cheek.
She reared back from my touch, like she was made of metal and I was the elements determined to corrode her. I tipped my head back and laughed. If only she knew how much I enjoyed tormenting her.
My wings unfurled as I pulled her little body against mine. She struggled, of course, tried to break the cage my arms forged around her, but it was a foolish plight. I had no plans of letting her go now. My wings cracked the sound barrier with one mighty slap, propelling us into the air, towards the clouds.
When the battlegrounds were well beneath us, I landed on a small, flat spot about halfway up the mountain. She looked over the edge, taking in the destruction unfolding below. From here, she could see it all—the inevitability of defeat that loomed on her army’s doorstep.
Death. I had come for them all. Just as I’d said I would.
Devastation settled into her features, evident in the concerned knit of her brows and her heaving chest. Her blue eyes scanned the battleground below, flicking from spot to spot—finding the same answer over and over again. They were going to lose.
Her gaze met mine, molten fire corrupting those pretty blue eyes. “Is this why you brought me up here? To gloat over your victory? To make me watch as my loyal men die?” she screamed at me.
“Partly, yes. Although, your judgment paints you as a hypocrite,” I mused as I pinched her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Tell me, when you murdered my men, when you bathed in the spray of their blood—” I flashed a wicked smile, “—how did that feel? Did it feel good, darling? Did you take joy when you ended their lives and delivered them back to me? Because I think that rather strange. I would think that would counter the very point of your existence—” I let her see the demon in my eyes, the darkness that lived inside, “—Goddess of Life.”
She spat in my face. “You bastard. I did not take joy in it. I am the keeper of life. The guardian of the living. When you declared this war, you forced my hand. With every life you forced me to take with this war, it has served but one purpose—to build my hatred for you.”
I clicked my tongue. I thought I wanted her to hate me, but hearing her say it out loud? It struck a dark nerve.
I lowered my face to hers, my tone threatening. “What a pity. I thought you were rather fond of me. After all, goddess, you swamp my realm with so many, many gifts. Continuously, you send them to me—second after second, day after day, year after year. So many beautiful, departed lives.”
The fire in her eyes stamped out, my words finding their mark.
Wearing a sinister smile, I continued, “You see, I was beginning to think you were in love with me. I mean, you take such excellent care of my apple trees.”
“You bastard. You know nothing of love,” she seethed, glaring at me.
“And you do?” I challenged, her words plucking an angry note out of me. “You have never loved him, and you know that, but you are too stubborn to admit it.”
She ground her teeth. “You are wrong. I do love him. Deeply. Just as I love my people and they love me. It is because of them, because of their prayers, that I am made strong.” Her expression changed suddenly, the smallest glimmer of hope filling her eyes. It was spellbinding. “Strong enough to finally end this.”
Her hands flew out to her side, her white hair flailing around her as she channeled the last remnant of her power. Such a stunning little female. She conjured a water blade that looked like glass and let out a battle cry as she drove the blade through my stomach, her hands clamped around the hilt as she twisted it in further.
I glanced down, uninterested at first, but then when I saw it . . .
