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“Maybe someday, I’ll return to smiting our trespassers. After all, I have a new mission in keeping you safe.” She gives me a questioning glance.
“But after everything that happened, I’m just happy spending time with you in this little cavern. If anybody dares to cross our threshold, I’ll smite them where they stand, though.”
She looks out over the cavern, noticing that it’s empty except for us.
“And didn’t you used to have skull creatures in here, too? Or did I imagine that?”
Pausing to think about how to respond, I hold up a finger.
“They were hollow company,” I say. “At the end of the day, they can’t have a conversation with me. They didn’t do much of anything. They were just lovely decorations for a lonely, ageless soul.”
There’s a growing look of concern on her face that becomes more readily apparent.
“You’re changing too much,” she says. “Really, you don’t have to do all of this for me. I loved who you were.”
I shake my head with a grin.
“Arie. You showed me what my life was missing. I’m happy to have you here.”
“But?”
“But nothing. I was hiding away in this cavern, left to my own immortal devices. I took and I took, but nothing could fill the chasm in my soul.”
“Are you getting all sentimental for my sake?” she asks.
I shake off her comment.
“Protecting you has given my life purpose. You’ve given me something to live for. There were many times in all my centuries of life, when I jealously guarded my territory, that I just wanted to stop existing.”
She sighs.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I guess I don’t really get it. You’regoingto outlive me, not that I don’t cherish every moment I have with you.”
“No,” I reply.
“No?”
I stand up from my spot in front of the fire, slouching my shoulders toward her.
“We don’t know how long you’re going to live. For all I know, you’ll live centuries beyond me.”
She looks up at me in confusion.
“We’ll rule this realm together,” I say. And I know it’s true.
30
ARIE
“Ithink that’s about it,” Peliel growls.
It’s an odd sight, seeing what amounts to a divine being twisting a metal sink into place. I never thought a pseudo-deity could be so handy, though he’s still a god to me.
The cavern has been transformed. Where once there were rocky spaces, there are now carpeted rooms, filled with decorations and living necessities. The ceiling is still covered with stalactites that occasionally drip water, but it’s a minor inconvenience.
