Page 26

I swayed on my feet. There was nowhere to sit down, so I crouched on the courtyard stones that formed a path between the vegetable beds. My heart was racing as if I'd come from a battle. I guess I had. With Star. My mind couldn't process it. I felt like that guy in “Princess Bride”—Inconceivable!

“I don't think that word means what you think it means,” I muttered to myself. Then I shook my head. “Great. I'm losing my shit. Just because Star has finally had enough.” I stood up and took a deep breath. I knew he'd react poorly, but I hadn't expected him to shout at me. To . . . reject me. Wow. What was I—thirteen? “You have five husbands! Five men who love you more than life itself! What the fuck is wrong with you?” I mentally slapped myself. “And he's right to be angry. Ugh! You're the bad guy! It's you, Seren! You have no one to blame but yourself. So, what are you going to do?”

I stared down at my shaking hands. There was no doubt that I wanted Star. It wasn't just the kids. It was him. Even before he'd given me a piece of his Demon Lord magic, I had felt a draw to him. Did I sense what we'd become? Or had I pushed us in this direction? I was too far down the rabbit hole to see things clearly. It was all topsy-turvy down there. I had lied to my husbands and Star. Betrayed them. And I thought it would be all right. Raza's words came back to haunt me.

“Who are you?”

“Who am I?” I whispered. “I've forgotten. I've gotten so wrapped up in desire and denying it that I've lost myself. This isn't me. I don't lie to the people I love. I don't do this. This isn't me.” I lifted my chin and squared my shoulders. “Anu, I don't know why you didn't appear when Star was here, but you're gonna show yourself now. Because if you don't, I'm leaving Earth and I'm not coming back.”

Silence.

I crossed my arms. Yeah, it was a huge risk to give a god an ultimatum. But I was done with this shit. There was one thing I was certain of—Anu had manipulated me. He twisted my heartstrings around his divine finger and made me dance, all while I thought it was my idea.

“All right,” I said. “I'm leaving. I'll contact the Councils when I get to Fairy. I'm done working for them and you.” I summoned my Demon magic. The Fire rose inside me. Once I was on Danu's planet, Anu wouldn't be able to reach me.

“Stop!” Anu's voice rumbled through the world.

I let the Fire go, embers dancing from my hands to fall on the stone. Before me stood a massive man, dark-skinned and with a dark expression to match. His head was bald, his eyes intense, and his teeth gleamed white when he bared them like an animal.

“Oh, you're pissed?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why? Because I figured you out?”

His eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward. As he moved, his body shifted, becoming smaller and paler. I ignored the show. It was the same with both of the Twin Gods. Fucking neurotic body shifting.

“Just pick one!” I waved at him. “This is ridiculous.”

Anu paused, his blue eyes going wide. “It represents how I am a part of all my children.”

“Yeah, I know. I fucking get it. Now, stop it!”

His form shifted one last time, becoming a Thai man, as if he were trying to match the setting. He spread his slender arms. “You have it all wrong, Seren. Again.”

“Do I?” I cocked a hip, feeling more like myself than I had in ages. “So, you think it's normal for me to betray my husbands, lie to my friends, and be a general biatch? This is just a new facet of my personality emerging?”

“No, of course not. You're under a lot of stress. You have a complicated decision to make.”

“I've decided. It's done. I'm not playing your game anymore. Release Star. Release us both. Now.”

“I don't like ultimatums, Daughter.”

“No one does. Grow the fuck up.”

He narrowed his brown eyes.

“And don't bother with the looks. You were so willing to remove the magic when we last spoke. No problem. It was my decision. But it wasn't, was it? You had no intention of releasing us.”

“You know as well as I do that your attraction to Astaroth is not my doing. I am merely helping you get over your apprehensions.”

“Then stop helping.” I shook my head. “Yes, we'll still feel attracted to each other. It may even be a strong attraction. But it will be manageable while you have made it the opposite.”

Anu lifted his chin. “Have you forgotten the prophecies of Hell?”

I hesitated. Prophecies. Plural. That made me think. Right. There was the—what was it called?—the Mad Soul who carved a prophecy about me into a rock. It was the one that started my relationship with Demons. What had it said? Something about me shining justice upon Hell.

“'She who crosses worlds and races, most beloved of Gods and Kings, will shine the light of justice upon Hell,'” Anu quoted, his voice giving the words a weight that sent them shivering down my spine. “'Rise beside her or kneel before her, but destroy her, and you destroy yourselves.'”

“Yeah, real cryptic.” I tried to shake off the creeps. “But I fulfilled that prophecy. I helped Star become King. Done.”

“Is that what you think?” Anu smiled.

I didn't like that smile.

“Then there is the second prophecy,” he went on. “The one on a wall underground. The one that gave my people hope.”

“I fulfilled that one too!” I pointed at him. “I've done all you've asked of me. And you still fucking manipulate me? You're tearing my family apart!”

“Am I? Or am I trying to heal it?”

“Stop it! Stop with all the bullshit and just speak plainly.”

“'The World-Strider will come,'” Anu quoted the second prophecy—the one I had once read on a cave wall under Hell. “'She who is beloved of Anu. She who is coveted by kings. The Savior of the Scorned. The Defender of the Dark. Do not fear the light when she is with you, for she stands between shadows and sunlight; a bridge to the past and future. Through her, Hell will be healed.'”

A terrible sorrow swept through me. I had promised the Underground Demons that I would keep their secret. But how was that healing Hell? How was that bridging the past and the future? Defending the dark didn't mean abandoning people to it.

“Now you see,” Anu said. “You thought you could pass on your duty. Crown Astaroth and forget about Hell. That is not your destiny, Seren.”

“Well, my destiny has just fallen off a cliff. Or didn't you see Star walk out on me?”

Anu smiled. “He will be back.”

“No!” I pointed at Anu. “No. It's over. I don't care about your prophecy. Star can bring the Underground Demons back to the surface. He doesn't need me. They don't need me. The other Demons will welcome them.”

“Will they?”

“Stop doing that!” I slashed my hand down. “If we are meant to be together, we don't need you to push us into it. Remove the magic. You always say how you believe in free will. How you prefer to stay out of things. So, do that now. Free us and stay the fuck out of this!”

Anu sighed deeply and stared at me. “It is done. And I will stay out of your relationship with Astaroth henceforth. But I must warn you, Seren—destiny, once set, is not easily diverted.

And then he was gone.