Chapter 40

Minnie freezes. All the color drains from her face.

“What have you done, Kai?” she whispers.

“What’s best for you,” he replies flippantly.

Azerius stops in front of us, his shrewd dark eyes studying us.

“This is the human you mentioned?” he asks in a haughty tone.

“Yes, Commander. His blood displays an unusual poisonous agent that’s deadly to both demons and deities alike.”

Azerius tilts his head to the side.

“Get the female out of the way,” he commands.

Molokai inclines his head and reaches for Minnie. She kicks and fights, but he easily immobilizes her.

“Minnie,” I grit out, though I’m powerless to help her.

Her terrified gaze meets mine as she struggles in Molokai’s hold, and she shakes her head at me.

Her brother takes her to the side, and one of the soldiers steps forward to help keep her still.

“Don’t touch her,” I call out with all the strength I can muster. “Don’t fucking touch her!”

Azerius glares at me. With a wave of his hand, my voice is gone.

I try to scream, but no sound comes out.

What the fuck?

“That’s better,” he comments in a bored tone. “You didn’t mention the human was obnoxious, too, Molokai.”

“Apologies, Commander.”

“Mortals,” Azerius mutters. “Obnoxious lot, all of them.”

Rage bubbles inside of me. Wait until this mortal can move and disintegrate you with his poisoned blood. At least then something good will come out of this dreadful situation.

“They are, indeed, quite bothersome,” the man in the red uniform agrees.

“Detail your findings, soldier,” Azerius says.

“Permission to show you?” Molokai asks.

“Permission granted.” Azerius nods and steps back.

Molokai leaves Minnie in the care of the two other soldiers and he makes his way toward me. He takes out his knife, but instead of cutting my arm as he’d done before, he brings the blade to my chest, cutting a straight line from my sternum to my abdomen.

Fuck. That hurts. And I can’t even make a sound.

Black blood oozes to the surface, dripping down my chest.

Molokai is careful not to touch it as he swipes some of it and repeats the experiment with his blood, showing Azerius how mine destroys his.

Azerius watches intently, his expression inscrutable.

“And you say this happened to the demons as well?” he asks.

“That’s what my sister said.”

“I see,” Azerius replies.

The soldier in blue shares a look with their commander, and it appears that an unspoken conversation passes between the two.

“You will honor our deal, Commander?” Molokai asks.

Azerius turns to him.

“Minerva An’yan committed a grave sin, soldier. She’ll be tried accordingly.”

“But you will not execute her, right?” Molokai continues, doing his best to temper his hopeful tone.

Azerius narrows his eyes.

“What do you think this is, soldier?” he asks as he points toward me.

“A poison. I have never seen its kind before,” Molokai replies.

“A poison?” Azerius raises a brow. Then he smirks. “This is no poison. It is the result of a crime against nature.”

Molokai frowns. “What do you mean?”

“He is not sick. He is an abomination,” Azerius continues. “Something that should have never existed, yet still walks this earth.”

“I don’t understand.”

“What are you talking about, Ze?” the soldier in the blue uniform asks.

“You know fully well what this is, Cerenios. You have seen it before, though not in a mortal.”

The soldier named Cerenios freezes.

“You don’t mean…”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“What the hell is this? What’s happening to Marlowe?” Minnie asks, her alarmed gaze flittering from Cerenios to Azerius.

“I didn’t give you leave to speak, female,” Azerius thunders, purple tendrils of energy floating around his body.

“I apologize for my sister, Commander. She’s a foolish female,” Molokai intervenes.

“Foolish, indeed.” Azerius lets out a dry laugh. “Because this is all her fault.”

Everyone frowns.

“What do you mean?” Molokai inquires in a measured tone.

Azerius pivots. Hands behind his back, he strides casually to Minnie’s side.

He gazes down at her with disdain, his nostrils flaring.

“There’s a reason why no one outside of the House of Moirai can intervene in a mortal’s fate, Minerva. And this”—he nods to me—“is precisely why.”

“I don’t un?—”

“You don’t understand. Of course. Your little undeveloped brain could not understand the enormity of what you have caused.”

“Ze, tone it down,” Cerenios mutters.

Azerius’s gaze snaps to Cerenios.

He shuts up and straightens his back.

“Cerenios, explain to this ignorant lot how Minerva’s actions have caused this.”

Cerenios clears his throat, anxious to be put on the spot. But out of everyone, he seems to have the closest relationship with Azerius since he even calls him by a nickname.

“When Minerva broke into the House of Moirai and tampered with the threads of fate, she created a rippling effect. That effect was further amplified when she interfered with the designated reincarnation times at the House of Psyche.”

I meet her gaze and note the turmoil residing in her eyes.

She looks at me and mouths, “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t tell me that. She didn’t say anything about breaking those laws.

Why would she not trust me with it?

Unless…

She knew.

From the beginning, she must have known something was wrong with me, that her actions had an effect over me. That’s why she was following me, isn’t it?

The pain in my chest intensifies.

How many more things did she hide from me?

“His soul reincarnated in the mortal plane at the wrong time, which caused a chain reaction that resulted in him being born the offspring of a mortal,” Cerenios pauses, glancing at Azerius for approval. “And a Son of Tenebreis.”

“No, that’s impossible,” Minnie mutters in shock.

“Is it?” Azerius chuckles. “You’re the one who created this monster, Minerva. He is an abomination who by all accounts should have never existed. But because you interfered with fate, here he is. A hybrid.”

No. This cannot be right. I know who my mother and my father are. And though my father was a piece of shit, and downright demonic at times, he was not a demon. I’m certain of it.

“But the Sons of Tenebreis are trapped in Tartareia,” Minnie whispers.

“Most of them, yes. But there are those that were not in Tartareia when the realm was sealed. They still roam free,” Azerius continues. Looking at me, he adds, “According to the laws of nature, a Son of Tenebreis should never be able to successfully mate with a mortal and produce offspring. Not only has it never happened before, but it is forbidden.”

“He’s not evil. Please. Just… Let him go, please,” Minnie pleads with him.

I try to speak once more to tell her that she needs to be safe, not me, but my voice is still muted.

“He might not be evil. Frankly, I don’t give a damn about him. But because such a hybrid is an abomination, we are now faced with a rather peculiar situation. His blood is, indeed, poisonous. It can kill a god, just as it can kill a demon,” Azerius says, staring at me with an odd glint in his eyes.

He takes a step forward, but Molokai blocks his path.

“Our agreement, Commander?” he asks through gritted teeth.

Azerius gives him a bored look.

“I didn’t agree to anything, soldier. Your sister is guilty. She’ll be executed. This mortal is guilty for merely existing, so he, too, shall be executed.”

He draws his sword and he continues toward me.

Molokai grabs the handle of the sword.

“You agreed,” he says roughly.

Azerius stares him down.

“Stand down, soldier,” he commands.

“Not until you give me your word that my sister will be spared.”

“Your sister is the reason why we find ourselves in this situation in the first place. If I am to kill this mortal, then she too deserves death. It is only right.”

“I don’t care,” Molokai grits out. “I only care about my sister. You must spare her. Please.”

Azerius takes a moment to consider the request.

“No,” he answers, and right as Molokai gets ready to strike, a purple mist sends him flying in the distance.

“Kai!” Minnie cries out.

“You should advise that brother of yours to behave, Minerva. Otherwise, I’ll end up one general short, and I would not like that. It is bothersome to sort through applications to find a replacement.”

This guy…

Azerius redirects his attention to me. His white sword gleams in the sunlight as he wields it in front of me.

I meet his gaze and see nothing in it. There’s no emotion, nothing.

Only emptiness.

“Please don’t. I’ll do anything,” Minnie begs and cries.

“There’s nothing you can do, female. You have both broken the law. You’re both going to die.”

He raises his sword and aims it toward my neck.

My eyes widen in shock that this is how everything is going to end. After everything we’ve been through together, this cannot be the end.

She might have lied to me, and she might have hidden a lot of things. But she’s still mine. My Minnie. And I can’t let her go without a fight. I can’t die and let her meet the same fate.

No. I refuse to do so.

Mustering all the strength I’m able to, I fill my lungs with air and shout as loud as I can.

“M-Minnie!”

The sound of my voice takes on a life of its own as it pushes the sword away.

A brief look of surprise crosses Azerius’s face.

Something uncoils inside of me, something dark and vicious. A taste for blood unlike I’ve ever felt before.

My limbs are still weak, but through sheer willpower, I force them to move.

I get on my hands and knees and crawl toward her.

Tears roll down her cheeks as she looks at me. She’s struggling against the hold of the two soldiers—the next ones to die at my hands. She says something, but I cannot make it out.

I only know that I need to reach her. I need to tell her how much I love her—that nothing in the entire universe could change my feelings for her.

Protect!

The instinct to protect her and keep her safe roars to life inside of me, spurring me further even when I think I cannot take another step.

Ah, the pitiful image I must strike like this, on my knees, moving like a snail. But with every step, the invisible chains around my body rattle.

“Minnie,” I croak. “I’ll…save…you.”

I’m almost there.

I extend my arm, grabbing a fistful of her dress as I force myself to stand on my knees.

“You’re mine,” I whisper. “I won’t let you…go.”

“Marlowe.” Her cries of pain are more potent than the poison currently running through my bloodstream. Yet it’s because of that poison that I know what to do.

I look up at her, hoping my eyes can convey my thoughts.

She looks at me, teary and inconsolable as she fights to get her arms free.

But as our eyes connect, she knows.

I know she knows.

The ground is damp. Wet.

Her eyes turn a light blue as the dampness forms to ice, and with it, the small blades of grass turn into sharp blades—sharp enough to break the skin.

With shaky fingers, I rip one of them and dig it in my arm, letting the blood flow.

If my blood kills, then let it kill them.

Let it…

My mouth drops open. A soundless moan escapes me as I feel more liquid trickle down my chest. I dare to gaze down, only to see a large hole in my chest and a fist protruding from the other side.

I gasp for air.

“Nooooo!” Minnie’s cry envelops the entire marsh.

In my last few moments of awareness, I’m sure of two things.

My blood kills, but it didn’t kill him. It bathed his skin, but it didn’t burn it; it didn’t dissolve it.

Then there’s Minnie’s wail that touches my bleeding heart, making it bleed even more.

The ground shakes.

I sway from side to side, but I’m still conscious enough to see her eyes turn to white.

“Noooooo!” she screams, and the power of this scream sends me flying.