Page 12

CHAPTER 12

ELLA

T hane turned so his forehead almost touched hers. “ Once , Darkness lay under a sky full of stars, wishing for things gods have no right to wish for.”

Ella snuggled closer to him, letting his voice wash over her. It caressed her, leaving a trail of sadness across her skin. “ What would a god wish for?”

“Love.”

“Love? Why would a god need to wish for love?” Ella smiled at Thane . “ I thought all gods were so handsome no one could resist them. Not even another god.” Sissy loved to tell stories about the gods. She spoke of them as if they were family and gossiped about them as if they were relatives. Darkness and Dawn were among her favorites. They had a love story Sissy called tragic.

“Darkness was plenty handsome. Some would say the most handsome of all the gods,” Thane teased. “ Do you not find the moments between day and night beautiful?”

“I do.” Ella smiled back. “ There is nothing more stunning than the sky bruised with night.”

Thane’s smile faded. “ There is one thing more beautiful than that. Dawn . She is the most magnificent of all the gods. Her skin is brushed with stardust. She leaves a trail of it across Darkness . And her eyes hold the secrets of the Sea . Her beauty outshines even that of Darkness’s .”

“You sound as if you’ve seen her. Is she the girl you’re looking for?” Ella taunted.

Thane’s eyes traveled down to her mouth. “ If I said yes, would you believe me?”

He was so close she could almost see the starlight in his eyes. Feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. She could kiss him, and no one would know. But when he left, she would have another hole she couldn’t fix. “ Did Darkness love Dawn ?”

“Yes.” Thane ran his thumb over her cheek. “ He loved her so much he would’ve given up the night sky for her. But Darkness is a stupid, selfish god who thought he was above the laws of love. He loved to play with the hearts of others. He didn’t understand how fragile a heart could be. And so when he dropped one, it broke. This angered Fate , so he decided it was time to teach Darkness that there are consequences for breaking a heart. And so Fate cursed Darkness to forever break Dawn’s heart.”

“Cursed?” Ella whispered. “ I didn’t think gods could be cursed.”

“Gods are the reason there are curses. They cannot die. The only way to punish one is with a curse.” Thane tucked a piece of hair behind Ella’s ear.

“Did Darkness break the curse?” For some reason she desperately needed to understand. Maybe because she wanted to know love was worth waiting for. Fighting for. That in the end, there was a reason for everything.

“No, love, he didn’t. He lost Dawn and is now alone. Which is why he lies under a sky full of stars, wishing for her.” Thane rolled over and looked up at the sky. “ He got what he deserved. He deserves to be alone for all these lifetimes and the ones he has yet to live.”

Ella watched Thane , wondering if he felt a kinship to Darkness . “ I don’t believe that. Even gods aren’t perfect. If she really loved him, she would forgive him.”

“Would you?”

“Would I forgive a handsome god? Hmm .” She smiled at the silliness of the question. She pictured Darkness to look and sound like his name. His voice would sound like velvet felt. His hair would be dark like the night sky, and his mouth would be made for tempting mortals into sin. He would look like Thane . “ Yes . I would.” She turned back to the night sky. “ But I’d make him prove his love to me every night. Clothe me in the finest of silks and satins. Show me all there is to see in the heavens and the underworld. Bring me bits of cloud to enjoy.” She laughed at how silly she sounded. “ But I am not Dawn . So he is not mine to forgive.”

“But if he was.” Thane turned again to face her. “ What if he said how foolish he was? How empty his life was without her. How he broke each day he woke without her by his side. If he promised to never say those words again.”

Ella turned to face him. She felt the disappointment when she realized it was not some god he spoke of but his own broken heart. “ She will forgive you, Thane .”

“I don’t know. I think it might be too late.” Thane traced her brow.

A familiar ache filled her, the same one she often felt after she dreamt of the faceless man. An ache of never knowing who had loved her before. Of not knowing if he missed her as much as she missed him. “ I would forgive you. If you were mine to forgive.”

“I could be. Yours . All you have to do is ask.”

She carefully traced the sharpness of his cheekbone and down his jaw. “ I can tell you love her. I can see it in your eyes. Hear it in the way you speak of her. I already live in the shadow of someone else.” Herself . She lived in the shadow of what she used to be. “ You will win her back just as Darkness will win back Dawn .” Ella shivered against the cool night air. The story left her exhausted. “ Because broken hearts can be mended. And mistakes forgiven.” And true love was hard to find. She knew because she searched for it every night in her dreams. “ I wanted a story with a happy ending.”

Thane pulled her closer to him. “ Gods don’t get happy endings. They just get endings.”

Ella curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She didn’t have the energy to walk back to the inn. Nor did she want to. It felt right to be here with him, this close to him. “ And neither do we.”