Page 14 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Seven

I have no idea what that means, but it makes my head spin. I know that once he’s completely dry of blood, every single damn memory will come back. I’ll most likely hate myself and will continue to hate her, and then I’ll be just like Cain, forced to walk the Earth as eternal punishment I never deserved. He did. I don’t.

“Well, that’s just perfect.” Tarek sighs behind me. “Daughter of Discord? Do you know any of your mythology? How old are you?”

The voice laughs. “Oh, my. I knew this would be entertaining. Have I not warned all of you immortals about the strings I like to pull? Big, strapping puppets I can manipulate with my will. By the way, thank you for taking care of Thomas, the vampire who attacked our little Lilith here. He was getting on my nerves and hunting down my favorite puppets of all, and Idohate getting bored.”

“So, I’m chained to a bed, and a psychopath refuses to show herself. Just talks like this booming voice. Oh, right. You’re probably ugly. That actually makes sense.”

I jerk my head toward him, then clap a hand over his mouth. I swear the guy needs to keep his thoughts inside his head. “She’ll kill us both. Not that you aren’t already dead, but I’d like to at least enjoy you before you die.”

Tarek’s brown eyes glow blue. “I wouldn’t be so sure about my death. All I see in my future is darkness. All”—he frowns—“all I see is…” His eyes flash brighter. “Discord. But when I look further...” He strains against his handcuffs, muscles flexing and jaw clenching as he looks into my eyes as if he can see the past, present, and the future. “You.” His voice lowers. “You will either be the savior or destroyer of all, and if you take too much of my blood, we both know what will happen.”

“What if it saves me?” I sound like I’m begging, but I know she’ll kill him anyway. She’ll make sure I stay under her spell and need to survive, since the beginning and history will repeat itself. It’s always the same.

I took enough of his blood to remember most of it. I was clearly in a frenzy to regain everything, only to destroy it all over again.

Suddenly, I can’t breathe.

“Ugly?” She laughs. “Ugly?” I hear her footsteps—one, two, three—her heels clicking against the concrete floor. She’s angry. She always gets angry if anyone insults her beauty.

Always.

She says it’s a punishment for beginning a war I don’t remember starting. Says I begged her to save me after the gods made bets on me. But I don’t recall what war—she won’t allow it—and I don’t know which gods.

Why can I remember my first bite at sixteen and killing a teacher? Why can I remember that I’m forced to fully feed on animmortal once a year to regain any semblance of power that was given to me?

And why does it always go away, only to repeat?

Her footsteps near. I struggle to get close to Tarek.

He shoots me a glare. “Yes, because I could be of so much help to you right now.”

“Can’t you shift into something?” I whisper under my breath.

He glares harder. “Yes, Lilith, let me just shift my way into wolf mode so my paws—which would be triple the size of my hands, by the way—get caught, as well. I’m strong, but whatever evil witch put me here realizes I can’t use my strength when I’ve been here for God knows how long, getting sucked dry. Not that it matters, because I’m probably already dead. I don’t even know if Icanshift right now because you…” He shakes his head. “You have taken half my blood supply.”

I self-consciously wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “It wasn’t on purpose.”

“I’ve been kidnapped, and it wasn’t onpurpose?” He rolls his eyes. “Cool story, tell me more. And…oh, wow”—he looks behind me—“guess you aren’t a troll.”

Jealousy slams into me as I push his chest to keep some distance between them and then turn around, blocking her from seeing him.

Danu, Goddess of the Earth. The stories have it wrong, and she loves that. She loves that I’m one of the first women on Earth, and she can control me. She loves that she can steal my power because of it.

She lets me feed under my curse, only to suck me dry and force me into servitude over the war.

Her eyes are black, her hair a whitish-blond, and every being who sees her immediately falls for her looks. It doesn’t matter that her voice sounds like evil itself. Her pretty face, the onegiven to her by the Creator, is beautiful, save for one small knife scar from the very one who created her as a warning not to step outside what They allow her to be in control of: watching over the other goddesses and keeping her realm in check, all while wandering the Earth for her sins.

But the Creator isn’t here.

It’s just me.

Danu leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek. I immediately want to wipe off the blood-red lipstick; instead, I stare up at her, shaking like the weak, addicted person I am. “You should continue your feeding, little succubus.”

“I wasn’t always a succubus.” I lift my chin and try to look strong when I know I’m so weak—soweak.

Danu laughs and pats me on the head. “Then maybe don’t piss off the Greek gods next time. They like games, not wars, you idiot.” She slowly reveals her right hand from inside her cloak.

She’s holding a golden apple.

---