Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods #1)

by Chloe Gong

“Does it hurt?”

“Everything you do hurts, Princess.”

Calla can handle pain. She can handle blood. But this—this is somehow all and none of that at once, a wrenching in her very soul. This is tenderness. And she is more afraid of it than anything else in their forsaken kingdom.

Anton snags her by the wrist, stopping her before she can stand. Though it’s a basic impulse that launches him into action, if he searches deeper, he knows it is fear: the very real possibility that she could wander away from him and he might never see her again.

He wonders if he is the first to beg before her like this—not for a lack of people who want to, but because Princess Calla Tuoleimi will not let them get close enough to try.

“Kiss me,” he says. “Kiss me and make every dreadful second here worth it.”

All Anton can hope is that this is enough—that this time around, outsmarting the cities with a plan pinned on love will finally succeed.

“Mark my words, Calla Tuoleimi. When it involves Anton Makusa, what you have is not love. It is obsession.”

“It’s too late, Anton,” Calla says, and she draws her sword. “It’s too late for us.”

You will die. But once King Kasa is dealt with, I’ll follow you. “I love you,” Calla says

“I love you, so this is a favor to you. I will spare you from having to land the blow on me. I will take the burden.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he spits. “You take no burden. Kill me, Calla, but tell the truth. Kill me because you love your kingdom more.”

“Love isn’t deserved. It is given freely.”

“It’s okay.” He presses his lips to her ear. “I believe in us. I believe there’s another way out.”

Shooooooot

Calla closes her eyes again, trying to grasp the last remnants of the sleep she has emerged from. The world was brighter there. If she falls back into the dream now, maybe she won’t feel this agony clawing at her chest. Maybe she would feel less cold, could stop shivering from her very soul.