Page 11 of Immortal Sun (Dark Olympus)

CHAPTER 11

CYRUS

“Sometimes it’s best not to take an adventure. Not all end in life.” --Anubis

I imagine dinner will be no different tonight than it often is. I want solitude, yet I never get it.

I’m sure I’m being surly.

And I know Cleo will be here soon while everyone gathers yet again for what has now become a nightly instead of a weekly thing as everything progresses.

They truly can’t help themselves.

They want to watch.

They want to see if I fail like they did.

They question if this will be different, but they know it never will be. This truly is just life and how legends are made and created, written down into silly stories into even sillier books.

That’s my life, my existence.

Balance. Order. Repeat.

And now, blissfully—The End.

Something is different this time—I’m different. I’m sad. I’m tired. And I know that there is more devastating news to come to her, more than she might be able to handle despite how strong I believe she can be. Honestly, she took the appearance of Anubis very well. I was shocked. I wasn’t going to wipe her memory clean but I wanted her to read her brother’s research and selfishly I wanted a taste. I wanted it so bad. I thought I’d taste fear but all I tasted was curiosity and nervousness with a huge bout of lust. It was nearly impossible to pull away from her. Probably a cruel joke from Olympus. They want me to fail at the finish line—none of the descendants of Chaos have been tempting and I refuse to make her the first.

I told her to dress nicely, which seems almost more cruel. Setting someone up for failure, to look pretty before the blood shows, look nice in front of your enemies, pretend they’re your friends. Yes, it’s cruel.

And she doesn’t disappoint when she walks into the dining room in a simple black sweater dress with matching short kitten heels. Her hair is still pulled back, but she’s added some tempting pink lipstick.

Damn, if she only knew.

I lift my glass to her. “Welcome.”

She looks around the room and does a double take.

Apep sits to my right, Enki to my left, Inti at the end looking irritated and bored as hell next to Kratos.

The sea brought him back, fucking hilarious. It never keeps him for long despite how many things he does for the world. I hope his swim was refreshing, even if he’ll never find what he’s searching for, even if he will never tell us what he failed and why.

He puts his boots up on the table and leans back. “We doing this or what?”

“I do love family reunions.” I laugh.

Apep sends me a glare while Enki just pours more wine.

I can see she’s confused since most of these people hate me, but whatever. I don’t have time to explain, neither do they. Plus, it wouldn’t change anything.

“Yes, please sit.” Apep starts to stand, but I beat him to it and grab her chair on the opposite end, yanking it out.

Cleo sits.

I hand her a silver goblet of wine, different from the night before for different guests.

She frowns slightly, then lifts it to her lips.

After all, when you have certain guests with preferences…

I jerk my leather chair back and sit down then grab my own goblet. “A toast to Cleo’s first day taking a full look around this lovely town.”

Enki bursts out laughing then abruptly sobers. “Oh, sorry, I thought it was a joke.”

He grunts as someone, most likely Apep, kicks him under the table.

He mouths, “What?”

Kratos sighs into his glass after toasting, like he’s been there, done that.

Same.

“Anyway, tonight we have salmon grilled with?—”

Apep raises his hand for me to stop talking making me want to strangle him again.

“Sounds great.” He shoots me a pointed stare.

I give him one back.

Kratos clears his throat. “So, Cleo, how did you enjoy your first day? Anything interesting? I mean, if you have any questions we’re all well versed on the subject matter.”

I glare at Kratos, wanting to throw the wine glass at his head but resist. What game is he playing?

“I didn’t realize…” She starts, then glances to me as if fitting puzzle pieces together. “I guess it would make sense, with all the research available here.”

“Yeah, research. “ Apep takes a sip of wine and smirks.

Krato’s nods. “I’ve done decades of research, in fact most of us have dabbled in one way or another, so did you find anything…fascinating?”

Oh hell, here we go.

Everyone watches as plates are delivered to the table.

Cleo doesn’t grab her fork. Instead, she glances down at the salmon then looks directly up at me. “Why did the gods agree to trials of humanity?

Apep immediately starts choking on the piece of salmon he put into his mouth. I would say it was funny except, damn that was a question.

Enki starts laughing then snatches a bottle of wine and pours Cleo some more. “Settle in, this might be a battle.”

Apep stops choking and chuckles while Cleo drinks her wine and watches in rapt fascination.

Hell.

I’m in Hell.

Her eyes are wide, waiting for an answer I’m not so sure she wants to hear, and all I wanted was to eat salmon and have a calm night trying to slowly get her used to her new future.

She reaches for her fork then suddenly drops it and looks to Apep. “Do you know, though? I’ve never even heard of this myth.”

Apep clears his throat.

Enki pours yet more wine for Cleo.

Kratos looks heavenward. I’d feel sorry for him except he opened the door with his question in the first place.

A normal dinner, quite honestly, considering the past ones.

“Well.” Apep clears his throat once more and adjusts his very tight black tie with his stupid black suit. The man didn’t even take off his bright blue peacoat as if he isn’t staying long enough to even have dessert.

“I think…” He looks to me then back to Cleo. “It all started with Anubis. Long ago the gods around the world began to die off, creating a perfect storm for attack. Mars got pissed at Apollo, Anubis stole Osiris’s Greek bride—let’s just assume every belief in the world of the gods is real, and assume that the minute they became less in numbers, they became weaker, once one god rebelled the rest of them did too. There was an all-out war of, some might say…chaos.”

My chest aches like someone stabbed me.

“Apep decided he would rather die than do a human trial, and chose to go to the earth to create his own offspring, an army of sorts, just to piss the remaining gods off. The more he created the more the world sank into chaos while the rest of the gods decided something had to be done. Rather than fighting each other, they joined forces, every country, every pantheon, every deity, down to the Creator themselves and the angels of old, some say even immortal vampires and werewolves help guard the Earth, but that’s a different story.” Apep continues. “The story says that Apep stored his power in each of his children so that the gods could never take it from him like they did the remaining gods when they lost their trials.”

“Just a rumor.” Enki laughs. “I mean he’d probably sacrifice his own if he could.” He laughs harder. “Right, Dad?”

Cleo pauses. “Right, I forgot he’s your dad.”

“Own up to it.” Enki lifts his glass. “Cheers.”

“And this is where we take our leave.” Apep stands. “Thank you, but I don’t think my sons will be up to eating tonight. It’s been…well, it’s been.”

“But you just got here.” Cleo stands then stumbles against the chair.

Enki grins over at me, and I realize in that moment I’ve made my first mistake with him.

He loves it.

He loves messing with me. He lives for it. He points at the wine bottle and then snaps his fingers.

The label disintegrates into smoke and what remains is a bare black bottle.

Half of it gone.

And Cleo is drinking the rest of her glass.

He winks at me and walks off with his brother and father. “Have fun!”

Shit.

Why?

What the hell did he do now?

Cleo looks from them retreating to me walking toward her. I’m ready to figure out what the hell sort of thing Enki did when she starts to laugh.

Perfect, worse than I thought.

She’s actually happy.

Most of them are confused or crying at this point.

She leans back in her chair and then her body goes forward into my arms just as the group leaves. “Wow, they’re hysterical, I mean can you imagine? It’s almost like they believe it!”

“Yeah.” I gulp. “Almost.”

She stands and then slumps against me. “You smell like the sun.”

I blink slowly down at her and whisper, “I am the sun.”

Her eyes flutter open and lock onto mine one more time like she’s going to get burned, I want to warn her not to. I want to tell her it’s too soon, but at the same time I want to.

Wait.

I look back at the table.

All of the bottles have no label.

Son of a bitch!

“Enki!” I roar.

The entire house moves, it rumbles with fury, and I swear I hear his laugh.

Damn.

No mercy with that one.

My entire body goes hot and cold, water rushes down over me, until it’s like I’m soaked into oblivion, drowning in her scent, begging for more.

She wraps a leg around me.

No.

No!

It can’t happen like this. I refuse it. Two kisses in one day? Two intimate moments. She isn’t ready—it’s not time for the eclipse yet.

Cleo reaches up for my head, then kicks her chair forward and climbs onto it.

This won’t end well.

She doesn’t fall, though. Still holding onto me, she stands on the chair. Finally face to face, her eyes look into mine again.

“Will I burn?” she asks.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes.” Her body is too close.

This is too close.

Her lips part. I can taste her want, her fear, her need.

I’m going to murder Enki.

God of Mischief and Wisdom my ass, I don’t even care anymore. It’s been eons and now this? Only at the end are they torturing me.

I push her away abruptly, the chair tilts and then I grab her by the wrist, she falls against my chest, her arms wrap around my neck, her mouths inches from mine. It’s just a reaction to chaos, it makes people do things they shouldn’t, though part of me wants to sit in this moment just a while.

I inhale.

Damn, it feels good.

The lack of restraint.

The taste of her air.

I suck it in through my mouth like a drug pulling from her lips.

One.

Two.

Three.

One.

Two.

Three.

Her eyes close again. “I like that.”

“You’re under my care.” Sort of. “I think you had too much to drink, Cleo. Shall I put you to bed?”

“Pleeeeease.”

“I mean by yourself.”

“Why?”

I tamp down a laugh. Exactly. Why does she have to go without me? I’ve almost forgotten. She’s adorable. No wait, she can’t be, it’s not allowed. She’s the enemy. She’s the Destroyer or will become one if I don’t destroy her first.

“Why are you so pretty?”

“Why did you drink or eat what he gave you?”

She frowns. “Huh?” Her expression is damn irresistible, her blue and green eyes reflect the storm in mine, the tumultuous waves, the way they crash across the rocks over and over. I see her freely jumping into the sea and swimming, embracing, nearly seducing the water.

My body responds in a way I can’t describe. I want to slam her against those rocks, move with her wave by wave. I want to devour her, drown her, hold my hands against her throat and see how far it takes me as I sink myself into her, and then I want to do it again and feel the earth shake beneath me. I want it to tremble under my skin as I dig my fingers into the rocks flicking them away like dust.

I strain against my zipper as a voice in my head whispers. “Do it…”

He would make me feel that way.

He would destroy it all if I kept her.

And I know how horrible it is, how damning it is to want. But to use? I can do that. I can use her until she’s done, until my purpose is finished, until her innocent, loving smile looks up at me only for me to find her eyes dead, her blood drained.

Her soul ours.

Yet theirs.

Always theirs.

My intense arousal begins to deflate.

I’m a monster. How did I go from something that shines down on humanity to one who destroys it? Part of me understands she’s an abomination the other part wants to give her a chance at redemption she doesn’t even know she needs. She’s in the dark and as the sun it physically hurts not to shed a bit of light, to give her a choice even though I know it’s futile.

I squeeze my eyes shut so I can’t see her.

Small hands tighten their grip on my cheeks. “Look at me.”

“Didn’t I tell you?” I whisper. Why the hell am I shaking? “To be careful?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” she responds with a silly grin, “I don’t follow rules very well?” She’s clearly drunk on whatever Enki gave her, but I like her answer more than I should because I know she’s extremely confined by those rules.

A slow burn ignites in my belly, spreads until my blood is boiling—maybe literally. I lean in, pressing my body against hers. “Prove it.”

Her eyes widen. “What does that mean?”

I pick her up and slowly carry her to the guest house and into her room. “It means…” I take one step, two. “…that you need to go to sleep. Right now you’re feeling brave. You won’t later, and I’m sorry for that. I truly am.”

“I’m brave.” She yawns.

I nod. “One day. One day you will be. One day you’ll choose to be because the choice will have already been stripped from you.”

Her frown guts me as I set her in her room. The cat is on her bed waiting for her.

“Take good care of her,” I whisper into the air, knowing that the little shit will, he’s obsessed with her already.

Things aren’t going as planned if even the cat has a stupid attachment. Then again, he’s lonely, has been for a great while. He always says it’s because he’s waiting.

But for what?

We know the end of my trials are here.

We know the risks.

We know the ending just like the beginning.

Her eyes are already closing as I lay her against the stark white sheets.

I tuck the blankets around her while Bast moves closer to me.

“Don’t,” I whisper. “Just let me have this moment.”

What was once lust is now a perpetual sadness; one I feel so deeply I can’t breathe.

I attempt to inhale and exhale, but nothing comes.

I’m nothingness.

I exist for what?

Fury. No mercy.

My own power.

I squeeze my eyes shut so I can’t see her doom. So I can’t see the clock ticking second by second. I’m reminded why I’ve chosen not to have emotions, why I shut myself off, why I made that original sacrifice for the greater good, so why is it now?

Why?

When I press a soft kiss to her forehead, I see them, the visions of laughter with her mom before. Visions of her brother protecting her. And then loneliness. Why are the stories all the same? And why does it always feel like it’s our fault?

Maybe because it is.

All of ours.

But to do anything else would mean the end, and every single one of them has the potential to bring it, to become the Destroyer, even this soul lying here with a drunken smile on her face.

I lie down next to her, and I pretend. Her breaths are heavy, even. I reach for her hand, and I pretend it’s normal, that lying next to a woman, my lover, is normal. That we’ll wake up, maybe argue over breakfast and coffee, then get ready for the day.

I can see it in my mind’s eye, the way it would play out. She’d kiss me at the end of the day, maybe throw things at me for being stubborn and arrogant. My fists clench as my fingers dig into the sheets.

I see her pregnant.

I see so many possibilities.

I always do. Isn’t that my purpose? To see each and every single possible reality only to be tortured in the end because it’s always the same for them, always. They have so much potential, but it gets jerked away the minute they step foot in front of me. She was going to meet someone next month at her favorite coffee shop. A police officer. My smile’s bitter as the scene unfolds to them kissing, him proposing. She decides on a destination wedding, how poetic. Anger wars with annoyance, but I can’t keep looking, searching, wondering what the point of it all is, when I know damn well what the point of my existence, and my reality is. She’s living a lie. After her wedding, she has one child, and they spend a normal existence through the years as one big happy family, only to have her husband die in a car wreck with her daughter after coming home from her choir concert, leaving Cleo once again…

Alone.

Without anyone.

Miserable

Isolated.

The future is the only thing that justifies the present for me. Who would want to live like that? Some might say that they would rather love for however much time they’ve been given, but that’s complete bullshit, I’ve seen it my entire existence.

And one thing always rings true.

All humans lie.

They’re thankless, unreliable, and yet we need them as much as they need us. What a twisted, screwed up fate.

I pull my hand away.

Bast meows at me.

I roll my eyes. “I was just looking.”

He meows again.

“It’s not against the rules.” Specks of starlight flicker on her skin where I touched her; they disappear almost instantly, soaking into her skin. She’ll never know. Cleo flips over to her side, her hand falls next to my body. The bracelet she refuses to take off is dangling from her wrist. I don’t dare touch it. It’s half of the sun. I wonder if she truly knows what it means to wear that on her wrist. Even if she did a deep search, she would never figure it out. What a damning future.

Bast growls louder, but the sun calls to me. I reach for the small half charm and press a finger against it.

My eyes squeeze shut, and I allow it, what I’ve never allowed. Hope. Dreams. Things I’ve given everyone but myself.

It feels so damn good I’m at a loss of breath, words.

“Push!” I grip her hand. “You’re doing so well, Cleo. I’m so proud of you!”

“This is all your fault!” she screams at me, then starts to sob when she hears the baby’s first cry.

But when I look over at my son, I stumble back. His eyes are black, his skin a greenish blue color, like that of the sea, of the beginning.

Of the end.

I draw a deep fortifying breath and calm myself.

See what hope brings you? Dreams.

Destruction.

It was a nice thought, and for a while, everything was at peace in a lifetime of war.

Cleo stirs next to me. I sit up and get to my feet. Her hand reaches out to grab mine. “I just had the strangest dream. I never even wanted kids.”

“Dreams…” I pull the blankets up to her face. Her eyes aren’t even open, she’s just mumbling in her sleep. “…Are always one part reality and one part future. Sometimes it’s best to crush them before they happen.”

“That’s sad.” She yawns and grabs the pillow, clutching it to her side.

My chest aches. She looks so innocent. So free. So lonely. I want to lay next to her and whisper lies into her ears. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’ll take care of you. Just rest. I’ve got you.”

The biggest tragedy of all is that I can’t even bring myself to do it, better she walk into this with her eyes wide open like everyone else.

I press a soft kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, I’m so sorry.”

Bast meows then rests his head against hers in comfort.

I nod in understanding. “Take care of her as long as you can.”

Bast meows again.

I start to walk out of the room, then turn and say, “kill if necessary.”

Bast growls deep in his throat.

“Good. Boy.”