Page 60 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

There Is Only One Choice. It Was Always Her

ARAZ

“ L eela! Leela! No!”

I can’t see her clearly, but I see the shape of the beast chasing her. I see the sparks that her weapons make as they glance off its body.

I thrash and strain until my wrists and ankles are slick with blood, until the scent of it claws at my nostrils, but I cannot get free.

She will not survive the serpent.

The Authority has done this. They want her dead. I can’t let that happen. “You said you were mine to command. Then please, do something. Help me break free so I can save her.”

I can help free you. But I will need your body.

“What? What do you mean?”

You must invite me in fully, completely, and in doing so, you must surrender control.

My gut screams no, but Leela is in mortal danger. I can feel her distress. Her fear. “You’ll give me my body back once she’s safe?”

Silence stretches for several beats before he speaks. The transition is permanent. You will become a part of me. I will break you free, subdue the serpent, and save Leela. You will have time to say goodbye before you…assimilate.

“I’ll be…gone?”

Araz will become a part of Ilyarien. I cannot force you. I cannot take your body. You must consent. For her. She will die otherwise. You know this. Together we can save her.

But then I’ll be gone. No longer me. I need time to understand, time that I don’t have.

A shadow rushes by the pillar.

Leela!

Araz, she will not survive much longer. Answer me now. Do I have your consent?

He could be lying. Planning to claim my body and leave Leela to die. But he’s my only hope of saving the woman I love. Of saving a queen and a future that might bring peace.

Leela screams, a high-pitched sound of agony, and my will cracks because war be damned, it was her, it was always fucking her. “Your word that no matter what we become, no matter how little of me remains, you will protect her. Always.”

You have my word.

I close my eyes and summon her face, her smile, her laughter ringing in my ears, her touch on my skin. I want to remember it as I fade. I want to take it with me when I go. Leela…My Leela.

Araz…

“Yes, you have my consent.”

A sigh ripples through my mind, and claws sink into my thoughts, fracturing them.