Forged by Fate

She spent the rest of the morning alone for the most part, though Adam made her leave the cave when the sun reached its zenith. She sat in the shade of a large tree in the thick, green grass spotted with small purple flowers, and watched the others, not knowing what else to do with herself.

Some of the women brought her food and water, and sat with her while they ate their own. They laughed often among themselves as they talked about the men.

“Seth promised to marry me. He means to speak with Adam this evening.” The woman’s hair was the color of the sun, and Eve thought her name was Sarah.

Another woman, Hannah, glanced to where the men stood together. Her hair was almost black, and her eyes were a darker green than the grass they sat in, almost brown at times. “I wish that one of them would marry me. If only to keep Adam from touching me. Every time he sends us off to bathe, I’m tempted to coat my skin with mud before I come back, just to disgust him.”

“You mean you wish Adam would marry,” a third woman said. Eve thought she was called Lilith.

All three of them glanced at Eve. She felt their eyes, even if she pretended not to notice. Sarah’s voice lowered. “Seth doesn’t think he’ll stop even if he does marry.”

“We’re his,” Lilith said. “To do with as he pleases.”

“Reu doesn’t believe that,” Hannah said, catching Eve’s eye. The dark haired girl smiled at her tentatively. “He says that we’re meant to be free.”

“Reu should be more careful what he says.” Lilith says. “If Adam hears him, he’ll be punished. Talk like this will only get us into trouble.” She stood and walked away.

Sarah sighed and watched her go. “I don’t understand her, sometimes.”

“Reu told me that Adam took her right after she was made.” Hannah spoke softly. “He isn’t sure what happened, but God was upset.”

“You know Reu well?” Eve asked.

Hannah smiled, her eyes warm. “He helped many of us, when we were made.”

“He confuses me.”

Sarah laughed. “Everything is confusing in the beginning.”

Eve frowned, her gaze going back to the men, and Reu. They were taking turns throwing long sticks. Every so often cheers went up. They clapped each other on the back and laughed together, the way the women did. All but Adam. Sometimes his lips curved, but his gaze was always hard, and none of them touched him. Because he was Lord. That was what they called him when they bowed and served and scraped.

“How long does the beginning last?” Eve asked.

Hannah’s slim fingers curled gently around Eve’s wrist. Her hands were delicate in a way Adam’s would never be, but her skin shared the same tones, closer to brown than pink, as if her body had been kissed by the sun. “You’re already doing better than any of us did.”

It was a kindness, Eve thought, this touch. As if Hannah meant to show her she did not have to be like Adam. She could be one of them, included in their laughter, in their games.

“Thank you,” Eve said.

Hannah smiled, and studied her for a moment. Eve thought perhaps she would say something more, but then Adam walked toward them, and Hannah pulled her hand away. She stood up, mumbling something about having work to do, and Sarah went with her.

“Did you enjoy your meal, Eve?” Adam extended a hand to her.

She took his hand reluctantly. “They were very kind to me.”

He pulled her to her feet. Kind. “They should be. They’re here to serve you.” And they should be grateful to do so. Grateful that I keep them to serve. I could have cast them out. Perhaps I still will.

She let go of his hand as quickly as she could without offending him, hating the sound of his other voice in her head, the feeling of his thoughts twisting their way inside her mind.

“Sarah said Seth was going to speak with you about marriage.”

He flashed a smile and put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the caves. “Yes, I’ve been waiting for it.” He can have her. They can all have each other, now that I have you. “I expect they won’t be the only ones.”

She walked with him, though she wished he’d drop his hand away. “Why?”

“They were only waiting for me to choose.” Reu watched her, his eyes dark, as they passed by the men. “Now that I have, it is only natural they might do the same.”

Adam led her through the main cave into a tunnel, which opened into a large chamber. Sweet smelling grasses were spread over the stone floor, and two large beds of fronds lay side by side. There was a crevasse in the ceiling that allowed light to filter into the room, but there was no other way out than the way they had come.

“An improvement from the dirt, isn’t it?”

“Should the dirt have bothered me?” She wrapped her arms around herself. There was no safety here. And Adam’s hand burned hot against her back, slipping around her waist and pulling her against him.

“It won’t now.” He turned her to face him and lifted her chin, staring into her eyes. Images of the two of them filled her head, their bodies interlocked, moving together in the bed of fronds. “We won’t be interrupted here.”

Her heart beat faster, and her breath caught. She closed her eyes against the images, but it didn’t help. They intensified without the backdrop of what her vision told her. Damp skin and too much warmth, his body atop hers, pressing her down. Something uncoiled inside her, and the heat of Adam’s hands spread lower, lower, lower.

“I—I’m not bothered by the others.” Right now, she would have given anything for someone to find them in the cave. To have some need of Adam and call him away.

His hand moved to her cheek. “Open your eyes, Eve.” I’ll not have you thinking of anything but me.

The images became more powerful. She could feel his hands on her. Smell their sweat and something else mixed with it. Eve struggled to breathe, to separate herself from his thoughts. She looked at him, driven by the desperation to free herself more than his command. His eyes were hard and gray, lit with something she didn’t know, and then his mouth covered hers, crushing and demanding.

She tried to gasp, to pull free, but he only forced his tongue into her mouth as her lips parted and pulled her more tightly against his body. He pressed against her, hard and lean and searing, his thoughts burning behind her eyes, impossible to escape. She sobbed and turned her face away, but his mouth only moved along her jaw instead, his fingers digging painfully into her waist.

She felt his distaste a moment before he shoved her from him, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. It was enough to keep her from stumbling to the floor, but only just.

His eyes raked over her body and his lip curled. “I should’ve had one of the women bathe you first.”

She wiped at her own mouth and face, leaning against the cool stone wall. Her heart still pounded against her chest and her whole body trembled from the loss of his heat.

“Go. Find one of them. Tell them I require them to help you. You taste like sand and dirt, and I want none of it.” He spit into the grasses on the floor and turned away from her.

She didn’t wait for him to ask her again.

Chapter Nine: 985 BC

Thor stood on a wooded hill, looking down on one of the simple fishing villages of his people, of Odin’s people. Would they ever rise to the same potential as the other civilizations he’d seen? The Egyptians. The Assyrians. He grimaced, thinking of all the wars of those nations. He almost wished they wouldn’t. That they might be spared that heartache and live their lives in peace.

Booming laughter was punctuated by the shrill shouts of women. The fields glowed golden with wheat