I swallowed roughly. “And all of that means what exactly? What do we do now?”
“The world is ending,” Cronus said bluntly.
#WTF #WTAF #WTAFF
“Is there a second Earth somewhere?”
I mean, a girl had to ask. Maybe we could just zap everyone to second Earth and relax.
Cronus almost smiled at that. “Not for the humans. For you and me, yes. I can make anything work.”
Not gonna lie, that was pretty freaking tempting. People mostly sucked. I didn’t really care if half of them died, but the animals … I really loved the animals. Plus, the children. There was still hope for them, and since my middle name was Hope, we should at least attempt to save them … right?
“We have to stop the sins,” I told Cronus. His expression didn’t soften at all. “Please…”
His teeth looked like they were cracking under the pressure of his clenched jaw, as we both stared at the crone’s house burning in a heap of flames.
“We need to find Narida,” he said, shaking off whatever dark thoughts plagued his mind.
We really didn’t. I wasn’t transferring this necklace to him, but for now I’d indulge his little expedition. I knew better than to get in his way when he was set on something.
“Well, I don’t think she’s here any longer,” I noted, staring at the burning embers of what remained of her beach house.
Cronus cupped my cheek, rubbing his thumb gently over it, and I recognized a distraction. What was he about to drop on me? “Jessell is the only one who might have a shot at tracking Narida’s location.”
“Areyouforfuckingreal?” I snarled, my words running together in an angry line of “fuck no, not happening.”
Before I could yell some more, he tightened his hold on me.
“Don’t you fucking da—”
I was cut off as we blinked out of existence again. Within seconds we were once again standing in Sin City. #Irony
Cronus didn’t wait for me to berate him, he just hauled me into his arms—over his shoulder actually, and started to run. It spoke a lot of this city that no one gawked at the nearly seven-foot Titan sprinting through the streets with a chick over his shoulder.
“You just gonna prowl the streets and hope to bump into her?” I said sarcastically, not even bothering to fight him because I was conserving my energy for our major argument about the sins.
#ItWasImportantToPlanFights #WinnersAreGrinners
“No,” he said, not even remotely out of breath. “I can sense her. She recently stopped blocking her energy, thinking we were done.”
“Are you blocking yours?”
Cronus chuckled, his shoulder moving under my stomach. “Yes. This is going to be another nice surprise visit.”
Resigning myself to seeing the stupid bitch again, I settled in for the ride, people watching as a half-naked group of women strolled past. They whistled and catcalled Cronus, before giving me thumbs-up at my lucky find. If only they knew.
Boy was packing an anaconda, but he was also a stubborn asshole that was gonna try and die to save the world.
I mean, no one was perfect, but still.
When we neared the front entrance to Planet Hollywood, Cronus ran inside and headed to the long row of shops. He didn’t stop, moving with confidence until he reached a designer store. I didn’t recognize the brand, but I knew high quality when I saw it.
Jessell was clearly visible inside, browsing through the rack of sequined dresses. I took a second look at some of the gowns too. I mean, this was Vegas … one could never have too much sparkle.
When we entered the store, a twenty-year old, bleached blond woman behind the counter let out a gasp, blinking rapidly at Cronus.
He waved his hand, freezing her in place. She was the only human in the shop thankfully, and Jessell didn’t try to run, turning with a resigned look on her face.
#Damn #MyManHadPowers
“What do you want, Cronus?” she said with a sigh.
He dropped me to my feet, and I was surprised to see her blink at me, like she definitely hadn’t expected me to be with him. The sins swirled in my center so hard and fast that I had no chance to stop them before darkness sprang from my fingers and I launched myself across the room at the woman who had opened her big mouth and caused me so much heartache.
Not to mention, she’d been Cronus’ lover a long time ago, and right now, with Jealousy filling me, all I could think about was that.
“He’s mine, bitch,” I snarled, hands out as I attempted to strangle her.
#YouCantHandleTheAnaconda.
Cronus actually laughed, and for some reason this overrode the rage of Jealousy, giving me a second of clarity before I actually strangled her to death. Jessell hadn’t fought back. It was like the moment I touched her, she couldn’t fight back. Cronus scooped me up, but I was already backing off myself, taking my dark magic with me.
“I need to find Narida,” he said shortly, arm wrapped around me. He didn’t chastise me about attacking the seer.
Jessell glared at me as Cronus stroked my arm. I turned a confused expression on him, wondering why he wasn’t ripping me a new one for attacking the chick we needed help from.
“Got your back, baby,” he murmured.
My heart soared, while sorrow also ripped through me. He did have my back. He had my fucking heart too. And one of us was going to have to die to save the world.
#JustMyLuck #MustBeTheMirrorIBrokeLastYear #OrWasItThatFuckingChainLetter
Jessell smoothed her hair, shooting some squinty, pissed-off expressions my way. “What do you need Narida for?”
Cronus stared her down, not uttering a word; he was in scary Titan mode. “Not your concern to worry about.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed hard. “I’ll see what I can do. It might take me a couple of days. If Narida doesn’t want to be found, you know there’s no one in existence who will find her. She’d been at this for a long time.”
Cronus nodded. “I know. Just do what you can.”
Jessell nodded, her hands rubbing at the black marks on her neck.
