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“This is not my doing,” Eamonn holds his hands up, although he’s now walking towards us, his eyes wild. “It’s Calpharos. He has learned of what you plan. His rage will destroy you.”

Thick, dark fog sweeps through the temple. From the fog, a dark shadow steps forward. His eyes are black, and my heart jolts as they meet mine. They shift above my head, and I see the promise of a death filled with suffering.

“Release her.” His voice echoes through the temple. Guards sprint towards him and he holds up a hand.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Three bodies drop. The others go very still.

“Hello, lover.” Anarthys’s voice is steady, but her hand tightens in my hair, her breaths turning shallow.

“Release hernow.”

She lets out a humorless laugh. “You think you can take one ofmyacolytes? Would you breed with her, Calpharos? Would you watch as she grew fat and old and ugly and then would you cry as you buried her? Or would you choose a mortal life?” Her voice is filled with a deep disdain, and a strange sense of shame flickers in my chest.

Can I truly blame this goddess for being so enraged, when fate has tied the man she loves to a mortal?

It is difficult to believe such a thing could be true, but I can see the knowledge in Calpharos’s eyes. And I felt that deep, familiarknowingwhen we spoke. Despite my fear, I wanted to see him again. Wanted to talk to him.

A strange longing slides through my veins. A longing for something intangible. Something that might have been.

“I am doing you a favor,” Anarthys says. “Soulmates are not for ones such as us. And nevermortalsoulmates. She would make you weak. I am saving you from mourning later.”

“You are lashing out because I no longer want you. Such an action is beneath you, Anarthys. Release her, and we will settle this ourselves.”

“Would you kill me, Calpharos? For daring to touch your little mortal?”

He takes a single step closer, and Anarthys presses the blade to my skin. A sharp sting, and I feel the first drops of blood drip down my neck.

The dark god freezes. And his expression turns predatory. He focuses all that feral intent on Anarthys, and I feel her shudder.

“You would. You would kill me even now. I told you I wanted to be with you for eternity.”

“I never said the same to you. I never gave you false promises.”

“You are mine!”

The remaining guards slump to the floor. I can see one of them to my left, almost close enough to nudge with my foot. His eyes are open as he stares vacantly at nothing.

Dead.

“I should have known you would lash out like this,” Anarthys says. “I thought I would give you a chance to be reasonable, but I have other plans in place. And you will regret this for the rest of your days.”

Eamonn’s eyes meet mine. They’re haunted, shocked. He’s looking at me as if I’m already dead.

Pain.

Vicious, all-encompassing pain that burns like a fire in my chest.

“No!” Calpharos’s roar makes the temple shake, and he lunges toward us.

And then I’m floating high above my body, drifting toward the ceiling as Calpharos holds me.

No. He’s holding my corpse.

I’m…dead.

“I will find you again,” Calpharos whispers over and over. “Come back, and I will find you again.”