Chapter 25

She’s not a witch.

She’s a fucking demon slayer.

Somehow that’s hotter, but it still doesn’t help my current dilemma.

I stroke my chin pensively as I stare at the equipment I’ve set up in my basement. Given how precarious her situation is, I don’t want to waste any time in getting her ring and thereby marrying her once and for all.

It’s not just that I want to fuck her—though that’s a good enough reason seeing how I’ve been struggling to keep my arousal in check lately. No, this is symbolic.

That fucking Lucien didn’t get to marry her, which will make me her first husband. She’ll officially be mine in a way that she was never his.

Yes. A couple of days later and I’m still bitter about that—will likely be for a long time.

In fact, I’ve photoshopped Minnie out of the picture with Lucien and printed it for my target practice. It’s been quite liberating to see him slowly get shredded to pieces.

Petty, I know, since the man’s already dead. But if I could, I’d resurrect him just to have the satisfaction of killing him with my own hands. I’m not too sure Minnie would be pleased about that, but she’d have to make a choice—me or him. As it stands, I’m the only one available, which doesn’t help with my peace of mind.

No, he deserves to die a second death, preferably with Minnie watching and cheering me on. Now that would be perfection. Unfortunately, I’m only left with desecrating his picture since I can’t do it to him directly.

Or…

My eyes widen as an idea strikes me.

I get my phone and plug in Giles’s number.

“Yes,” he answers immediately.

“I need you to find something for me. By the end of the day.”

“It’s already noon,” he answers dryly.

“I don’t care. You must find it.”

He sighs.

“What is it?”

“The burial place of a certain Lucien de Vitry. He was a soldier in World War II. I believe he died in France in 1945. I reckon he’d be buried somewhere around there.”

Silence greets me.

“And why would you want me to find the burial place of a man who died almost a hundred years ago?”

“Just do it, all right?”

Another sigh.

“How did he die?”

“Tuberculosis.”

“He might have been buried in an unmarked grave.”

My lip twitches. I should have thought about that. But I doubt Minnie would have allowed his body to be thrown into a pit or in an unmarked grave.

“I’m quite certain he was not. You will find it.”

“By the end of the day you said?” Giles asks in a bored voice.

“Yes.”

“Fine,” he reluctantly acquiesces.

“Oh and, Giles? I’ll have my jet ready for use. Find a local grave digger to get the remains and have them flown to me here.”

“You do realize that’s a crime. Both of them. All of them.”

“When has a crime stopped me? Or you, for that matter?”

“You’ve asked me for many strange things in the past, but I think this has to be the most deranged. Why would you need a century-old skeleton, Marlowe?”

“I just do, all right?”

He takes a few seconds to answer.

“Fine. I’ll call you when I have something.”

“By the end of the day.”

“By the end of the day,” he confirms.

Satisfied, I turn my attention back to the ring-making machinery. I put on a YouTube tutorial and I get to work. The band is easy enough to make since I already have her ring size from when we went browsing for rings. It’s a tiny four and a half.

I spend a few hours polishing the band until the silver gleams. But this is just the base. The hard part is making it unique as she wants. To that end, I add an engraving on the inside of the band. I won’t win calligraphy contests anytime, but I hope she’ll be pleased with my effort.

Marlowe’s.She’ll get my meaning.

I nod to myself, satisfied. I wonder if this will yield me another kiss? I certainly hope so since I have the battle wounds to prove how much effort I put into this.

It’s late afternoon by the time I’m done. It might have sounded easy, but I scraped at least five bands that I messed up. The sixth one seems to be my lucky one.

Yet even then, there’s still something missing.

I could always add the most expensive diamond I could find. Perhaps a ruby. But she said unique and anyone can buy one of those—well, not anyone, but those who can afford it.

Since she’s not impressed with my money aside from my ability to provide cookies, I suppose she will not be impressed with an expensive jewel either.

I stare at the band for moments on end before I get an idea. Ah, but today is my day seeing as how I’m getting one good idea after another.

Doing a quick internet search, I find that it’s possible to infuse a jewel with bodily fluids. There are even online kits for it! I quickly order a bunch of them—my ring adventure has shown me I need backups—and check out choosing next day shipping. I’m an impatient bastard after all.

I lean back, a silly smile on my face.

She wanted unique? I’ll show her unique! And considering her favorite colors are white and red, I think we have a winner. One half of the jewel will be white, the other red—both bodily fluids courtesy of yours truly.

Giddiness surges inside of me, and I’m already counting down the minutes until the ring will be in her hands.

Ah, but I can almost imagine her expression. She might be confused at first—who wouldn’t? But when she realizes I’m gifting her parts of myself—literally—she might swoon. And when she does, I’ll be there to catch her like the gallant gentleman I am.

A sudden whooshing sound interrupts me from my—rather marvelous—thoughts.

Turning, I’m surprised to see Minnie’s brother.

Well, now that’s interesting.

He’s wearing the same clothes as before, down to the same shirt and shoes. There’s grime and dirt on the sleeves of his shirt, and I could swear I spot some caked blood on his pants.

I wrinkle my nose. I suppose this is where Minnie got her manners from. Alas, under my guidance, she has vastly improved. Perhaps I could recommend her brother a similar coach. Minnie is the only one I’d personally help, but I suppose finding a hygiene coach shouldn’t be too hard.

He turns to glare at me.

Maybe I’ll do that at our wedding since he doesn’t seem to be in such a good mood today.

“Have you heard of knocking?” I raise a brow.

He grunts and comes closer to me.

“Does Minnie know you’re here?”

He doesn’t answer. He simply stares at me.

“I suppose not,” I mutter.

His eyes flash.

And here I thought I would win the resting brooding face award. This guy here might just be a contender for first place.

“Well, Mr. Grunting, why are you here?”

This time, he gives me a warning looks. It seems he only knows how to communicate with his eyes. So like the accommodating gentleman that I am, I aim to do the same. After all, I cannot be a bad host to the brother of my future wife, can I?

I take a few steps until I’m in front of him. I widen my eyes and blink rapidly.

He frowns. Then scowls.

I tilt my head and continue to blink some more.

“Are you having a seizure?” he asks, then he tsks. “You humans are so fragile,” he swears beneath his breath.

“I suppose your magical powers don’t extend to eye reading.”

He frowns again.

I roll my eyes to the back of my head.

“Are you mentally challenged?” His tone is serious as he poses the question.

I blink, then widen my eyes.

He narrows his eyes.

I squint in return.

He nods to himself. Placing his hands behind his back, he paces around the basement.

“I know my sister is not too bright, but to get herself a mentally challenged human?” He shakes his head. “And he called you her bodyguard. Absurd.”

All semblance of amusement disappears.

“Don’t insult her.”

He stops and turns. He raises a brow at me.

“Don’t insult Minnie,” I grit out.

“Ah.” He chuckles. “You’re not just her human shield, are you?” He shakes his head. “I told her to stop getting involved with humans, but she never listens.”

“Why are you here?”

The mere suggestion that she was involved with Lucien makes my blood boil.

He shrugs. “I wanted to know what stops her from leaving. You probably already know she’s being hunted, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should also know that staying here is dangerous for her.”

“And?”

“She needs to leave,” he states, his face expressionless.

“No,” I reply firmly. “Minnie isn’t going anywhere. She’s mine, and I’m marrying her.”

He stares at me for a second before he laughs. It’s an odd laugh, since there’s sound coming from his mouth, but his face is still.

“Marrying her?” He scoffs. “See, not bright. I was right.”

“Stop fucking insulting her!”

“Or what? You’ll kill me?” he asks in a mocking voice. “Like all those other weakling humans you killed?”

I don’t get to ponder on how he knows about that because I’m still pissed about his implication that she’s not bright. How the fuck dares he say that? She’s his sister, for fuck’s sake!

“What if I do?” I mutter under my breath, doing my best to keep my composure when I’d like nothing more than to snap his neck.

“I’d tell you to try.” He chuckles. “But you will not succeed,” he states in a low, ominous voice, as the same type of blue smoke starts emanating from him.

The temperature of the room drops. Damp areas around the basement immediately freeze. Icicles form around the pipes on the ceiling.

I start shivering, but I refuse to show that to him by wrapping my arms around my body to preserve heat.

Fuck. I hate the cold.

“It’s interesting,” he continues in a bored tone as he walks around the basement, studying every little nook. “There are no lingering spirits here despite their gruesome deaths.” He stops in front of my furnace and places his hand atop it. His eyes go white for a second before they go back to normal.

“Hundreds of humans you have killed here. Yet not one of them was left behind. Odd.”

“What the fuck are you saying?”

The blue aura around him shimmers and extends.

“No demons around, either.”

“Why the hell would a demon be in my house?”

“To feed on souls, of course,” he replies nonchalantly. “Do you know, twenty-five to thirty percent of souls refuse to cross over after death. They linger around, wallowing in their emotions. This room should be a beacon for them, yet it’s not.”

“So? Maybe I charmed them into the afterlife,” I add drily.

He gives me a pointed look.

“Or someone else fed on them—somethingelse.”

“What are you talking about?”

In the blink of an eye, he’s in front of me.

“Has Minerva been down here?”

“Yes. And if you’re going to ask if she knows about my killings, she does.” I roll my eyes.

His cheek twitches.

“So she knows about the death in this house, and she’s been to this location…” he muses.

“Don’t you dare,” I grit out. “She’s your fucking sister. Act like it! Instead of trying to find things to blame her for, maybe you could help her.”

“Help her?” He releases a dry laugh. “I’ve done nothing but help her. And yet she does this. She gets embroiled with another human when it’s a human who put her in this situation in the first place.”

I frown.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, so you don’t know everything.”

I raise a brow. I’m pretty sure he’s talking about Lucien, and while it might piss me off to hear about him, it’s only going to give me more reasons to desecrate his remains properly and violently.

“Our kind is not allowed to interfere in mortals’ affairs, let alone get involved with them on a…personal level. That’s the first rule she broke. The rest are just a consequence of that.”

“When you say mortals, does that mean that you’re?—”

“Deities,” he replies matter-of-factly. “Another thing you didn’t seem to know.”

I stare at him.

I gathered she was immortal, but not a fucking goddess! Though at this point, does it really matter? My fiancée is a demon slayer and a goddess? I whistle aloud. Damn, I’m a lucky guy.

“You’re not…fazed.” He frowns.

“Why would I be?” I shrug. “She’s a goddess. That’s seriously badass.”

“Badass?” He narrows his eyes at me.

“You wouldn’t understand,” I say and dust the front of his shirt, uniform, whatever it is. “You’re too starchy for that.” I wink at him.

His lips flatten in annoyance.

Coldness spreads from the tips of my fingers up my hands and arms. I pull back, swearing under my breath.

“You should know your place, human.”

“Right, I’m so sorry, oh my dear god, how could I ever put my puny hands on you?”

“Good that you recognize you are puny.”

I raise a brow.

“Maybe. But certainly your sister doesn’t think that. Did she tell you how quickly she took off her clothes for me?”

Now, I am being an asshole on purpose. Molokai doesn’t deserve anything less considering how he’s been speaking of my Minnie. Of course, perhaps I’m alluding to some salacious actions, but it’s his fault if he misinterprets my words. Minnie did take her clothes off within a day of meeting me. Unfortunately, nothing else happened—something I still bemoan late at night when my arousal becomes too painful.

Molokai tenses and the blue aura surrounding his body intensifies.

He takes a step forward, and ice forms where his foot touches the ground. From his hand, an icicle in the form of a spear appears.

Oh, shit!

Is there something like a god shield? I look around my basement for a weapon, not that I stand much of a chance seeing he’s holding my kryptonite—coldness.

“Kai!” Minnie calls out in outrage. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to intimidate your human,” I quip and walk to her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to me. “You will not allow him to do that, right, Minnie?” I ask and pout at her. “You’ll take care of your human like the good girl that you are.”

She blinks, my tone taking her aback.

I never thought I’d end up the boy toy of a goddess, but seeing how she has those awesome powers and I have…well, only my murderous skills that don’t work on gods, I should start taking my role seriously.

After all, she might be a proper goddess, but it’s me she’ll call her god in bed.

But I suppose her brother is not ready to hear that.

“Of course not. He knows better than to come here to stir up problems,” Minnie says as she folds her arms over her chest.

“You’re the one always stirring up problems, Minerva. I cannot believe I leave you alone for a short time and you’re back to the same bad habits. You said he’s your human guard, not your lover,” he adds in a slow but intense tone.

“So? It’s my business who I take as my lover. In fact, you might benefit from it yourself,” she fires back. “Maybe if you had a bit more fun, you wouldn’t be so quick to ruin mine.”

Her brother glares at her.

“Keep your tone in check, little sister,” he warns lightly.

“Why? It’s the truth. You’re so picky with all the females back home. Maybe you can find yourself your own human and stop bothering me about mine.”

“Yes, tell him, Minnie,” I whisper proudly in her ear.

She gives me a warning glance and I promptly shut up.

“And become a fugitive like you? Not only did you take up with a human,” he spits the word as if it’s the most disgusting thing, “but you also gave away your chastity. Both offenses punishable by death.”

“Now wait a minute, why would her chastity have anything to do with this?” I interject.

“Did you tell him?” Her brother raises a brow.

Minnie bites her lip as she looks from him to me.

“Tell me what?” I frown.

It seems I’m finding a great deal of things about Minnie in this conversation—most of which she forgot to mention herself.

“She is not just a deity. She’s the daughter of the King of Cryos. And in our world, highborn ladies are forbidden from being with a male without being officially bonded. Her betrothed found out about her affair with that human and publicly repudiated her.”

Her lips flatten and her right eye twitches.

“Betrothed? You had another fiancé?” I ask in outrage.

She doesn’t answer, merely staring belligerently at her brother.

“What fiancé?” I demand harshly.

Her brother smirks.

“Another deity, of course. We do not intermingle,” he adds snobbishly.

“You mean I’m your third fiancé?”

“Not now, Marlowe,” she murmurs in distress.

“Oh, yes now, Minnie. Didn’t you think that might be something worth mentioning?”

“Why? It was an arranged union, and my betrothed was not of my choosing.”

“It doesn’t matter. How could you not tell me I’m your third fiancé? This is preposterous. Who is this deity?”

“Theron of the House of Pyros. He’s a mighty warrior, soon-to-be a general in Commander Azerius’s army. She could not have done better,” Molokai comments.

“Well, she’s done better,” I shoot back, tightening my hold on her waist. “Don’t worry, Minnie, that Theron dude is the next one of my list as soon as I figure out how to kill a god,” I tell her.

She rolls her eyes.

“Are you done with your lecture, Molokai? Why did you even come here? Sentinels could be tracking you.”

“I always cover my tracks,” he replies.

“Then please cover them on your way back.”

“Not until I get what I came here for.”

“If you’re trying to convince me to leave Marlowe, it won’t work.”

“It might not work now, but you will leave.” He laughs drily. “If you care about your human, sooner or later, you’ll realize that your presence only puts him in danger.”

Minnie stiffens.

“I can handle myself,” I say.

Molokai doesn’t even look at me.

“I came here for an answer, Minerva.”

She frowns. “What answer?”

“Have you been feeding on souls?” he asks directly.

“W-what?”

“Have you, or have you not fed on the souls from this house?”

“What’s wrong with you, Kai? How can you even ask me that? You know it’s forbidden.”

“And we’ve already established you don’t care whether something is forbidden or not.”

“But not that.” She shakes her head, her expression distressed. “Never that.”

“Then how do you explain the lack of souls in here?” he asks as he motions his arm to the room. “I thought it odd the first time I came here after you told me of his killing habit. There was no whisper of a soul around. There’s nothing now, either. Surely you must have wondered about it.”

“I find it insulting that you’d think I consumed those souls, Molokai. You should know me better than that.”

“I know you’re cornered. And when someone is cornered, they do things they would not usually do.”

“Then you have your answer. I didn’t feed on souls. You can check my energy signature if you’d like,” she says as she steps forward. Her aura turns blue, small shimmery particles floating in the air around her body.

Molokai narrows his eyes suspiciously. But he doesn’t move.

“I believe you,” he eventually says.

Minnie pulls back her energy and sighs deeply.

“I have wondered about it, but it’s not all that odd. Sometimes it happens,” she adds.

“Does it?” He raises a brow. “I have yet to encounter a place where so many mortals have perished and none of them lingered.”

Minnie shrugs.

“You have your answer. Now please go.”

He doesn’t leave. He stands rooted to the spot, staring at her.

“There’s another reason as to why I’m here,” he mentions as he takes a deep breath. “They know you’re hiding on Anthropa. They don’t have your exact location, but the soldiers have been dispatched.”

Minnie swallows.

“I see… How long before they find me?”

“A few human months if you’re lucky. Less if they sent an efficient squad.”

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll plan accordingly.”

He inclines his head at her. Then he’s gone.

Left alone with Minnie, I can only stare at her as I try to make sense of everything.

She turns to me and gives me a shy smile. Whereas before I would have been taken by that mere sight, now I’m only left with suspicion.

“What else are you not telling me?”