We watch as the Nephilim, a lanky creature with greasy hair, walks past us. He’s moving slowly, searching for us. I hold my breath, not daring to even breathe. I could reach out and touch him. Slowly, the Nephilim moves on, drifting further and further away from our hiding place. When Aiden shifts, I take a deep, lungful of air. Relief floods through me and I feel weak at the knees.
“We should follow it,” Aiden whispers. “Turn the tables.”
“Follow it?” I hiss. “Are you insane? We could have died.”
“Come on, the sooner we do this, the sooner you can go back to your family.” Aiden raises his brows. “Isn’t that what you want?”
I bite my bottom lip anxiously, staring in the direction the Nephilim went. “What are we going to do when we find it?”
“Kill it,” Aiden says simply. “Leave it to me. Just don’t die.”
“Gods,” I mutter.
Aiden doesn’t wait for me to answer before he creeps down the narrow street. I suck in a deep breath, hands fisted at my sides. To go home, I assure myself. I can do this if it means I get to go home. And what could be worse? Killing a monster, or killing Kane? I might as well do the easy part first. I follow Aiden, tiptoeing in the darkness. My only comfort is that if I die before I kill Kane, at least I know my soul will end up somewhere.
Chapter 15
Kane
“What was that all about?” Willem asks, watching Briar and Aiden leave.
I purse my lips. “The lovely Princess Fera revealed the threat I made to Briar’s father.”
Willem chuckles, smirking. “It’s about time Briar knew how worthless she is to us.”
“I don’t want a war with her father, Willem,” I say quietly. “We have to fix this.”
“Why?” Willem scoffs. “Let her run back to her family. We don’t need her, anyway. When she has children, we simply take her firstborn girl. I have no doubt it won’t take long once her father arranges a new marriage for her.”
I don’t tell Willem that the thought of losing Briar to some sniveling mortal prince has my blood boiling. I run my tongue over my teeth irritably. “She is exactly what we need.”
Willem rolls his eyes. “I know you’ve gone soft, Kane. But don’t let that go to your head.”
“My head is as clear as ever,” I say coldly. I feel the cold prick of anger in my chest at the callous way Willem speaks. “The translations were wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Willem quiets.
I tilt my head towards the door as the women of the Diamond start looking too closely. We slip outside into the dying light. “The other night, I felt something inside Briar. She has magic; the magic we need.”
“How is that possible?” Willem asks. He narrows his eyes suspiciously.
“All I can assume is that legends were mistranslated. We need the lastborn, not the firstborn.”
“Well,” Willem muses. “Then I suppose we have a happy accident.”
“Indeed,” I murmur.
Willem eyes me. “Then you need to fix it. We can’t force her to help us.”
“I know I need to fix it,” I snap, nostrils flaring.
Willem is quiet, letting me work through my anger. I sigh, closing my eyes as a headache begins to pound at the base of my skull. “We’re so close, Kane,” Willem says quietly. “We’ve waited hundreds of years for this.”
“Archech will be there for thousands of years to come.” I stare down the street as the lamplighter lifts a lit candle to the scarce light sources in the area. “But Briar isn’t going anywhere.”
“You want me to find her?” Willem asks. I can tell by his tone he’s unhappy with the idea.
"Why is it that you detest her so?" I ask, suddenly.
Willem shrugs. “Mortals are incompetent, selfish creatures. We both know they can’t be trusted, and Briar is no different.”
“I’m not so sure,” I murmur.
“Don’t be duped by her doll-like eyes,” Willem warns. “You don’t know her.”
I’m silent at his words. Willem has a point; I don’t know much about Briar or her past. What was her childhood like? Is she close with her sisters? What does she enjoy? I feel a wash of guilt at the realization. Since she came to my home, she was nothing more than a plaything for me. A tool to manipulate. A woman to hold. I glower at the building across the street, anger towards myself oozing through my body.
“Let’s split up to find her,” Willem says. “And then you fix the mess you’ve made.”
Willem turns right, deeper into the slums of Verstad. I don’t bother walking quickly as I mull over my thoughts. I’ve always claimed that mortals were the most selfish beings of all – that they feel entitled to help from the Gods no matter the circumstance. But perhaps I’ve been selfish as well. And for how long? I threw myself into my duties as Death since I was young, replacing my predecessor with grand new ideas. I built the Underworld from the ruinous anarchy that it was into bustling cities and peace.
True night has fallen, and heavy clouds block the few stars over Verstad. I feel a sudden pang of longing for home. Mortals are right to be afraid of me – right to detest me even. I doubt I’ll ever forget the look of pure hatred in Briar’s eyes when she ordered me out of her room. I stop short, brows furrowed. My heart pounds and I feel short of breath suddenly. Briar. I open the bond, dropping the walls I built up between us, and let her fill me.
Her lungs are tight, as if she can’t breathe, and her heart is beating as quickly as a rabbit’s.
