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Oh, gods…
I had thwarted countless attempts against Zurie over the years… As had Mareina… She would have a Kingdom of people after her head.
“I can explain more later, but I have recently been shown…things.Which is one of the reasons I’m following through with all this… But when we made our vows, I vowed to help him rule… But...That’s allI vowed…”
My lips parted in further shock at what shedidn’tsay.
“I won’t deny that I feel this bond between us on a visceral level… But my heart doesn’t belong to him… Nor did I vow it to him. Or my body and soul.”
Mareina stepped back, pulling up her sleeve to provide the proof of her words. My jaw slackened in shock and my own, admittedly selfish, relief at the sight of her bare arms.
“And then this… happened.”
She turned her right forearm to reveal the underside… My brows leapt at the intricately detailed depiction of Mors’ inverted torch with wings. She despised the god despite how many souls she sent to him. My eyes narrowed at the words as I took an arm in my hand and brushed my thumb over them.
Invenitum Thanaratou.
“Do you know what this says?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “No,do you?”
A grin tilted my lips. “You should, considering where your father’s from. It’s Ancient Aurealingan… I’m not fluent in it, but it’s similar enough to Modern Aurealingan that I can still understand this at least…”
Mareina’s frown looked suspiciously like a pout, causing another fissure in my blackened heart. Seeing her like this made me want to fucking squeeze her, kiss her, and take her away from all this. This fierce female had spent her whole fucking life fighting, and she was dying to stop.And now this.
“What does it say?”
I chewed my cheek, deliberating if I should lie to her just so I could spare her any unnecessary stress. I doubt anyone else she’d come across would be able to read Ancient Aurealingan. But… I’d never lied to her before, and I certainly wasn’t going to fucking start now.
My middle finger traced the ominous words, and I selfishly relished how the hairs on her arms rose at my command.
“… Find Death.”
I looked up from Mareina’s arm to find her staring at her arm like she was staring into the face of Death. My heart cracked a little more when I saw the glistening in her eyes. I pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head and nuzzling close to her.
“Tessari mú…”
My treasure.
Because she absolutely fucking was. Mareina was the most precious thing in this world to me, and I’d be damned if I would let even Mors stand in the way of her finding happiness.
Mareina’s body shook with the release of her soft sobs, and I held her all the tighter.
“Shhhh… Tessari mú…Whatever this is… Whatever it means… I’ll be right here with you, ok? No matter what. Ok?”
Her lips trembled again as she looked up at me.
“… Do you think he’s marked me for death?”
“No?”
She reared back. “But why not? After all the fucking horrors I’ve committed? I deserve to?—
I pressed a finger against her lips to silence her.
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that… And it’s not true. You fought your way out of hell and then fought to protect your loved ones and your home. And as for the people Zurie sent you after? They were just as bad as her. You did the realm a favor.”
Her brow furrowed, shaking her head…
