Coach Daniels coughs and walks across the basketball court before disappearing into his office.
“I know you have a lot on your mind, but it might be in your best interest if you don’t flunk out of school.”
“I need to talk to you. I can make up whatever I miss in class. I’m not going to get the important questions answered in class anyway. Like why does Aziza hate me?”
“What? She doesn’t hate you.” He scoffs, seemingly surprised by my accusation. “Aziza is pissed at me; it has nothing to do with you.”
“Why is she so mad at you?”
Rye looks at me then the floor, his shoulder slumping slightly.
“I hurt her. I didn’t mean to, but I did.”
“Rye, what happened with you two?”
Rye doesn’t seem like he is going to talk and then he brushes his hand through his hair and sighs.
“Aziza has always been a capable, strong, skilled fighter. But she lacks the emotional capacity to really communicate and talk to others. It’s like, she’s always had a tough exterior. I mean, she’s a great soldier. But, and we all agree on this, the only time she lets her guard down is when she’s with me.”
He pauses, licking his lips. I think about our kiss and tingles race up my spine.
“She wasn’t ever giddy or anything like that but there was a rare softness to her when I was around.”
“She had feelings for you,” I say, the realization slamming into my chest.
“I didn’t notice it until the team pointed it out. She has no filter, so I guess I just always expected her to say whatever was on her mind. But she never did. I figured she wasn’t ready to tell me how she felt. And I tried really hard not to mislead her in any way.”
“You don’t like her like that? But, why? She’s gorgeous!”
I can’t believe I am defending the competition. He laughs but he doesn’t comment.
“Well, what else?” I ask.
“Well, then after my family was killed, I was a mess. She understood because her family was also taken from her when she was younger. We bonded over losing our loved ones and one night…it just happened. I needed her and she needed me. I wouldn’t take that back. But she wanted more, she thought we’d have more.”
There it is. My heart falls to the floor. So there is history between them.
“But for me there was no more. I told her that but I think in the back of her mind she thought that if given enough time, we’d be together.”
“And then I came to Whisper,” I finish for him.
“I guess she sees something between us.”
“Is there something between us?” I dare to ask.
“I hope not,” Rye says to himself.
An excruciating moment passes and I wait for him to follow through with that last comment.
“I don’t mean it like that. I mean…when gods fall for humans, only one thing follows…
“Death.”
SAILOR SPEAKS
I look at the seriousness in his eyes and burst out laughing.
“What do you mean death?” I ask, unable to contain my amusement. “Like your kiss is poisonous to or something?”
I don’t really think this is funny. But in all honesty, it’s better than breaking down in front of Rye, who now looks just as confused as I feel. So many rules. None of them simple and none of them helping me in any way.
Rye gives me an amused look. I’m glad he finds my confusion so goddamn funny. He’s had his whole life to get his head around all these ridiculous rules and I’m new to it all. I mean, come on. The guy doesn’t even know who Harry Potter is. He shouldn’t be this cocky because I don’t understand the rules of the gods.
“Not exactly,” he says. “The relationship between gods and humans has always been complicated, Sailor, but it’s never really been an issue because we lived separate lives in separate worlds for the most part.”
“Oh, well that explains everything,” I say sarcastically. “Look, I get that you’re not the questions guy but no one else will tell me what this is all about, so you either tell me yourself or I’ll…”
“You’ll what exactly?” he asks.
“I’ll kiss you and drop dead, leaving my blood on your hands.”
“Wow. That’s a great plan, Sailor.” He rolls his eyes.
He looks kind of nervous though, like he really thinks I might do it, and I can’t resist puckering my lips and moving closer to him. He pulls away quickly and I laugh.
“Okay, okay, I’ll explain,” he says.
“Because there are so few gods left, the remaining ones have a duty to only mate with our own kind. We can’t afford for our bloodlines to weaken, or else we’ll face extinction. Naturally, gods don’t like to play by the rules without an added incentive. So, it came about that any human who got too close to a god would die a slow painful death.”
“That’s horrible,” I breathe.
Rye shrugs.
“It is what it is. And before you ask, no I don’t know any way around it. I’ve heard several stories over the years where gods have been convinced they’ve found a way around the curse only to discover they’re wrong when their loved one pays the ultimate price and drops dead.”
“So, you’re saying if we got together, I’d be punished and drop dead. And you get off with no consequences?” I say.
He turns his head and looks at me. The amusement from earlier is gone from his face. I can’t read his expression at all.
“The gods always thought, if you truly love the person as much as you thought you did and were willing put your lives on the line to prove it, when the human did drop dead, the god would be cursed to go through life alone, until they themselves died. I would hardly consider that no consequences,” Rye says.
“So, the human dies and the god is free to try again?”
“No, Sailor, you don’t understand. If a human dies because a god
