Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
I’m not concerned.
I don’t feel.
It’s more like an equation I can’t solve which, yes frustrating, doesn’t cause me to back down from the schedule Enki has.
“Ten days.” I nod. “I think ten days is sufficient for her. In the meantime, I’ll take her to the festival and scare her a bit, then do the usual for the eclipse.”
“And Jake?” he asks in a bored tone. “He curses you on a daily basis. Even the dragon’s getting annoyed, and you know how Damon can be. His fire likes to melt the ice in that realm, which then makes the ice get angry and we don’t need another war on our hands.”
I chuckle. “But that was entertaining. Wasn’t he going through his Game of Thrones phase then?”
Enki rolls his eyes. “Have I told you how wonderful it is that you have no heart again?”
“And yet I still have a sense of humor. Immortals are weird.”
He gets up and straightens his gray jacket. “If that’s all. I’ll just get going.”
Something twists in my chest. I’m probably just annoyed. “Yes. Do that.”
He walks off, black boots hitting against the slabbed marble floor, and then the door slams behind him.
Always a joy dealing with him when he’s in a mood.
And my house is instantly lonely. Dark. Sad.
I recognize it for what it is, but I don’t feel anything. It’s like observing someone living their life but having no empathy for what they’re actually experiencing.
I made the right choice. I know that now. If she was sitting in the corner in the past I would have been tempted, but right now I just feel nothingness. I feel like I have a purpose again, to sacrifice, to save and if that means it’s her, then so be it.
I look down at my black T-shirt and jeans and laugh, so different from what I used to wear, so different from my armor, and then I walk down the stairs, letting the breeze hit me in the face.
I hear Rat yelling obscenities at me and smile.
He can say whatever he wants, but this is happening, and time is ticking. I glance over my shoulder as another tally mark appears on the tree, another leaf falls.
Time has left her, now all time has…is me.
I reach the beach, walk toward the mouth of the cave, and stumble.
The cat’s in the bed.
And Cleo’s in the corner sleeping on the cold hard ground.
The cat transformed, likely to protect her now that things have escalated and she has a death sentence over her head, and that probably made things worse.
It’s almost amusing.
Bast is guarding her, and she probably thinks he’s seconds away from devouring her.
There will only be one devouring. Me.
I wave my hand across the front of the cave and walk in.
Cleo jolts awake.
Dirt coats her cheeks, and her hair is in a messy ponytail. She’s in jeans and a white T-shirt. She’s also wearing Converse like she’s twelve.
My past self might say she looks stunning even now, but she’s nothing to me aside from a means to an end. The feeling in my chest is foreign like it wants to want her. I shut it down immediately.
“Sleep well?” I cross my arms.
She glares. “What the hell is wrong with you? This is illegal!”
“I’m above the law.” I shrug. “Some might say I am the law and always have been, but you’re welcome to run to the police… Oh wait!” I snap my fingers. “You can’t escape without my help, and even if you did, you’d be caught. And even if, by the slightest chance, you did make it to the police station, Daggon would just bring you back.”
“You’re a monster!” She screams, jumping to her feet. It’s odd how she isn’t even afraid of me when she should be petrified. Is she more scared of the cat that turned into a panther?
I can at least respect that.
I like the scream, even with a heart that’s cold as ice. That’s what Kratos did, turned my heart to ice. I can’t feel love. It was the only choice I had left. I felt her bell like it was synced to my heart, I felt her. To feel means you can’t kill, to feel means you lose. I will not lose.
Any sort of love that could have somehow sprouted for this tiny individual is gone, and good riddance. Gods, it feels good to be free.
“Have you done your homework?” I ask, ignoring her outburst and walking toward her.
A tear slides down her cheek. How pathetic. It hits the ground to where she will return. I almost bend over and touch it in curiosity. What would it be like to cry so often? To be so weak?
People used to bow in my presence; this one yells and lets her tears decide her emotions.
We’ve gone backwards. Irritating, to say the least.