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A mortal man once told me, “Only the dead have seen the end of war.” But I, being infinite, was doomed to see it all.
The curse of the immortal.
To die by the hand of a God was to become Theirs for eternity. Your essence, sucked into Its own, the wretched suffering of your immortal being feeding Its gluttonous power. A horror beyond words, beyond what even we demons could imagine.
Honor the dead! But do not forget the living. Do not forget the lives of those beside you, and those behind you. Honor them!”
“Death calls!” I yelled. “But today, you will not answer! Today, you fight, and death will feed on your enemies! Hell is ours!” I slammed
But as my father often said, a young woman did not need power. She needed an obedient mind and a submissive heart.
My shoulders slumped, tension I’d been unaware I was holding finally flooding out of me.
“I think you should run now, Everly,” he said. “Run for your fucking life.”
Beautiful, wicked, bloody woman. Sweet and savory, blood and honey, coating my tongue and making my brain sticky, thick, and dumb.
“I’m warning you…if you hurt me…”
“Will I be in trouble? Hm? What will you do to me?” She ran again, and I tsked, flying after her. “Don’t tease! If you’re going to threaten me, do it properly!”
She needed to be assured of my utmost and unflagging devotion to the protection of this place and everything inside it. Including her. Especially her.
Her scent filled my head as I inhaled. Her magic smelled sugary sweet; it reminded me of springtime in the wilds of Hell. Like damp grass crushed underfoot, young berries drizzled in sugary sap, freshly-plucked herbs. It was a scent of comfort, impossible to resist, drawing me nearer like a caress until I was leaning toward her, so close our breath mingled.
Her hand brushed against my cheek, and an electric current flowed through me. She was stunning. Her power was a thousand suns trapped inside her, and when it encountered my own, it flared to life. She exhaled; a sigh so heavy she might have been holding it for a century. Sparks glittered in her breath; heat flooded through her. She was no dragon, no fire-breathing monster. She was a phoenix, as graceful as the dawn, as soft as she was clever, as gentle as she was determined. I had waited two thousand years for that touch.
The edges of my vision went blurry. “Who hurt you?” I hissed.
Killing him would have a severe effect on the balance of the world, which wouldn’t please Hell’s council in the least. It would get their attention, and that was the last thing I wanted. If they found me, they’d take me away from Everly.
Then, the wind changed and I caught his scent. The man whose hands had left bruises on my witch’s flesh, who’d dared to touch her roughly, who’d dared to touch her at all.
“The lesson is that you don’t touch what’s not yours. Everly is mine. Mine.” I snapped my teeth near his face, eliciting a sob that made me absolutely giddy.
Even the warm water of the bath couldn’t chase away the chill that settled over me. I felt like a boat lost at sea, tossed by the storm, unable to anchor. All I could do was try to stay afloat, try to survive until I could find my way again.
As ridiculous as it sounded, he reminded me of a massive dog who didn’t know his own strength. Desperate to play, longing for affection, too excited to sit still.
“I enjoy a good beating as much as any other sadist,” he said, which was a thoroughly bizarre way to start a conversation.
Lol!
Calm and introspective, but there was feral energy lurking just beneath the surface. He continually snapped his fingers, with no rhythm nor reason to it.
An eternity in Hell couldn’t be any worse than an eternity as a God’s puppet. Perhaps this was even preferable.
The moment you stop fighting fate is the moment you accept death. Take command and choose your path.”
“This is all madness.” “Then we’ll be mad together.”
But I was unable to move, unable to think a single comprehensible thought, as the heat of a thousand suns drenched me in a blush to end all blushes.
I called Callum many years ago and he answered. He has waited for you ever since.” “He’s never met me. He’s never known me, so why would he wait for me? Why would he help me?” “Some questions, I fear, are not mine to answer,”
“If you need to go back, I’ll be waiting for you,” he said. “I’ll be watching. If your father tries to keep you, I’ll ensure you escape. I’ll bring you home.” “Home…” I whispered. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really had a home.” “Home is wherever I can keep you safe,”
“You should wear a bell so you don’t give me a heart attack.” “A bell? Like the one’s humans put on their cats?” He tipped his head to the side curiously, seeming to give the idea some thought. “Only if you promise to drag me around on a leash. Then I’ll gladly wear your collar.”
And with that, he was gone again, disappearing like a guard dog that suddenly got a whiff of a nearby cat.
Hes just a PUPPY
She said I needed to build my confidence; using magic should feel as natural as breathing. Yeah, right. It felt about as natural as breathing underwater.
“Why aren’t you breathing?” I said. “I can smell you. Constantly. Your skin, your sweat. Every change in your hormones, every chemical reaction in your brain. Your magic — I can’t escape it. It’s intoxicating. It’s irresistible. Every instinct in my brain demands I give in to it. So, I hold my breath.” “And what would happen? If you gave in?” “I might hurt you, without meaning to. I might not be able to control myself.” He
“Can I trust you?” “Yes.” He kept his teeth clenched as he spoke. “My loyalty is to you, and you alone. I relinquished fealty to Hell for you. I waited…for so…fucking long…”
“But you’ve overtaken my dreams. A woman I don’t even know. Taunting me like a nymph playing a game of chase. Always years away from me…until now.”
“My beautiful thread of fate. My lady. My mistress.”
“I don’t understand your anger,” I said. “Would you have preferred she penetrate me instead?” Whispered curses floated through the air. “It certainly would have been preferable.” That was fair enough. I still didn’t understand, but humans worked in mysterious ways. “Well then, we’ll try that next time.”
Usually such a display of fear would turn me on, but from her, it made me uncomfortable in a way I wasn’t used to.
More discomfort poured into me, demanding that I fix whatever was causing her distress. It made me fidget, and I began snapping my fingers to keep calm.
I did everything and anything I could to disappear. I pursued no friendships, I offered no love. And yet, one glimpse of her, and I was broken. I was weak again, aching. All the raw pain I’d buried was clawing to the surface.
“As my lady commands, so it shall be done.”
“I could not own you any more than one can own the ocean, or a storm, or a forest fire. Those are not things one owns; their beauty and power cannot be claimed in such a way. But they can be chased. And they can be worshiped.”
If I could have swallowed her whole, just to have her live beside my heart, I would have.
Every weapon needs a handler.”
She was holiness and blasphemy all in one. A goddess of desire and innocence.
“I would build a temple for you if I could,” I said, dragging my nose along her skin as I inhaled. “Lock you away like a gilded goddess and worship at your feet for eternity.”
Whips, chains, and pain could undo me. But soft words and softer touches could tame me just as effectively.
Everly is not, and has never been, a mere fascination. She is my reason, my logic. She is my one and only God. Think I’m mad if you wish. There is nothing left for me in this existence except for her, and I would sooner rip myself apart than allow you or any other being to stand in her way.”
“Callum…” Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “Help me…” Fury and fear filled me as I rushed to her side and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. I wanted to scream, to rage, to punish everyone responsible. She said nothing, but her breathing was ragged; it wheezed in her chest. Every movement made her whimper. She’d needed me and I’d failed her. My beautiful witch had fought alone.
From this day, until the end of eternity, we would be bound together.
But if I bound Everly to me, I would feel her pain. Her fears, her worry, her suffering. Her power and pride. All that she was would be connected to me, and the longer we remained in close contact with each other, the more intense that connection would become.
