Page 37 of Another Damned Storm (Another Damned #3)

NEVER

Hook let me go with another brutally gentle kiss to my lips, then he turned, shielding me with his body. I knew what he was trying to do, and I adored him for it, but I could feel the finality of it all coming from him.

If this was the end, there was nothing either of us could do to stop it.

“Has the council come to a decision?” Hook asked.

Iapetus looked at him, then beyond him to where I stood. “The vote was split down the middle.”

I let out a tired sigh. “What does that mean?”

“It falls to him to cast the tie-breaking vote,” Hook answered.

Of course it did.

I stepped around Hook. “If you send me back to the Alius, I’ll just leave again, and one of your cronies will have to drag me kicking and screaming out of the Nassa.”

“Never!” Hook hissed. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll do it over and over and over.” I could only look at my broody pirate for a second before fresh tears threatened. “And this guy… he’s going to try to sacrifice himself with me, but you ca n’t let him. He’s too important to trade his immortal life for me.”

I could feel his disbelieving gaze on me, boring into the side of my head, but my attention was squarely on Iapetus.

His brow lifted in surprise. “Is that so?”

I didn’t bother answering. If he didn’t know how incredible his son was, nothing I could say would convince him.

“I must admit, your frankness is infuriating. Fortunately for you, I also find it oddly refreshing.” He pulled in a deep breath. “As we are speaking openly, tell me: what would you have me do about your brother and his sweet daughter?”

A spark of alarm flared in my mind. My knee jerk reaction was to tell him to leave them the fuck alone, but I bit back the urge. “They don’t deserve to go to the Alius. They had no say in the bargain Wendy made with Lapalme. They’re good people.”

“And you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Truth?” I cast Hook an apologetic look. “The fates were right to see me as a threat. This power is… a lot. I can barely control it. I was learning with Hook—Atlas, but…” I couldn’t finish.

My throat closed up and the tears I’d been fighting to keep at bay spilled down my cheeks. So much love and pride and fear poured into me from Hook that I couldn’t handle it all, so I eased the door between us closed.

“It’s only a matter of time before I hurt someone,” I confessed.

“Don’t do this,” Hook pleaded.

Damn him.

“Spare your son,” I said. “Keep my brother and his daughter out of the Alius. And you can do whatever the hell you want with me.”

“Oh, you sweet, naive child. I can do that anyway,” Iapetus crooned.

“But you are just spunky enough to be entertaining.” His gaze slid between us.

“I agree that letting my son die at your side would be an injustice. He does have his own responsibilities, after all. The real dilemma here, as I see it, is that you struggle with control, and I don’t just mean with your newfound powers.

I’ve looked back through your life, Never, and I’m fairly certain you’ve never met a rule you weren’t willing to break. ”

Well, that just wasn’t true. Looking both ways before crossing the street? I always followed that one. Wearing my seatbelt in the car? Yep, that one too. I tried to come up with another one, but I drew a blank.

So, yeah. Maybe he had a point. I just didn’t know where the hell he was going with it.

I offered him a shrug. “I do bear the mark of defiance. What else did you expect?”

He stroked his chin thoughtfully before his lips curled up in a smile that was anything but friendly. “I will give you a choice.” He held up an index finger. “But I warn you now, this will be one or the other, Miss Darling. There will be no negotiation. Are we clear?”

Hope flickered in my chest, followed immediately by an empty uneasiness. Iapetus didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of god who went easy on anyone.

“What if she refuses to choose?” Hook asked, glaring at him.

Iapetus shook his head. “Not so fast, son. Never must first earn the right to make the choice.” He studied me for several seconds. “You see, you must be punished for the damage you inflicted upon Thrain.”

Agree to disagree. That fucker had it coming.

“And you must learn to control not just your power but also your impulses,” he went on. “I believe the best place for you to learn these things is in the Alius.”

“How will trapping me in hell prove anything? ”

His smile was like ice. “Therein lies your test. You won’t be trapped. There will be nothing but your own will and fortitude to stop you from flashing to the Nassa or the human realm. Impulses, remember?”

I could do that. A few months, a year? I could hold myself in check for that long if it meant I would get to be with Hook in the end.

“What’s the catch?” I asked.

His head ticked slightly to one side. “There are three. One, you will remain in the demon realm for one-thousand years.”

I blinked in silent horror as I replayed his words in my head. How long?

I was pretty sure I was going to be sick.

“Alone,” he added, casting a poignant glance at Hook.

“Two, you must learn to control your power and your impulse to break the rules to my satisfaction while you’re there, whilst retaining your humanity.

” He held up three fingers. “And three, should you fail on any count, you will all be destroyed, my son included. There will be no goodbye, no afterlife. You will all simply end.”

I tried to breathe but my lungs were locked in an invisible vice that cranked tighter with each word he spoke.

“What happens if I say no?” I asked, fighting not to wheeze.

“I thought you might ask that. Should you refuse my offer, your family will be sent to the Alius immediately.” He glanced briefly at Hook before turning back to me. “My son will return to the Nassa, where he belongs, and only you will be destroyed.”

“Your cruelty knows no bounds,” Hook snarled.

I reached out and caught his hand. I wanted to argue too, but what was the point? His terms were clear. If I played the game and failed, we were all dead. If I didn’t play, I could save Hook, but my family would suffer forever.

I’d spent so much of my life worried about keeping my brother safe, it should have been a no-brainer, but what if I failed?

The only chance I had of saving everyone was to survive a millennium in a realm packed with demons, where my blood and Hook’s power were pretty much guaranteed to turn me into a monster.

What if I lost my humanity? I’d only been in that place for a few minutes, and its effect on me was undeniable.

Then there was the more likely scenario: what if I lost control in a moment of weakness and heartache, and accidentally flashed to Hook, damning us all to destruction?

I was shaking when he looped his hand around the back of my neck and ducked his head to meet my gaze. “Don’t worry about me, Never. If you do this, do it to protect your family.”

“You are my family.” Did he not realize that? I would die a thousand deaths for him if I knew it would keep him safe.

The amber in his eyes flared to life. “And I would rather die here and now than spend eternity without you.”

His kiss was crushing. It stole the air from my lungs and the strength from my legs. I clung to him shamelessly, desperate to hold onto him, the moment, the future I’d been foolish enough to let myself dream up for us.

I wanted that future so goddamn much it hurt. I wanted more of his too proper speech and his playfully condescending looks and his irresistible smile. More than anything, though, I just wanted more time… with him.

And the only way to get what we both wanted was to beat his giant dick of a dad at his own fucking game.

When Hook pulled back, I already knew what he was going to say. His emotions were all tangled up with mine, but I felt it. “I lo?—”

I pressed a finger to his lips. “Do me a favor, pirate?” I asked, wiping the tears from my face with my other hand. “Tell me in a thousand years. ”

A sad smile lifted just the corners of his lips. Instead of pulling me into a hug that might have broken me, he took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to the inside of my wrist. “I’ll be waiting.”

Before I could second guess myself, I turned to Iapetus. “I’m in.”

In a blink, the archaic stone rotunda was replaced with towering, half-dead trees. The daylight that had been streaming in the arched windows turned a dusky crimson, like the last few minutes of sunset during wildfire season. And Hook was gone, but Iapetus was there with me.

“Are you planning on sticking around to keep an eye on me?” I asked bitterly.

He studied me. “I am here simply to ensure you understand the terms.”

“I have to stay in this realm for a thousand years, I have to learn to control myself and my powers, and I can’t lose my humanity. I think I’ve got it. What I want to know is what will happen to my family for the next thousand years.”

“They will be protected.”

I waited for him to go into a little more detail, but he didn’t. “What about Hook?”

“My son is already back in the Nassa where he belongs.”

The barest whisper of relief swept through me, but that was all that I was feeling. My connection to Hook was silent.

I pulled in a deep breath and turned my face to the sky so he couldn’t see me blinking back tears. “When does the clock st?—”

A low growl from behind me had me spinning around, and that fast, the power and wildness inside me surged. A glance over my shoulder showed me Iapetus was gone.

I held my last memory of Hook firmly in my mind and cracked my knuckles. “I guess it starts now.”