Page 116 of Thanatos' Craving

Lucifer snorted and squeezed Uriel around the shoulders and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you exhibit A.” He waved toward Ares, who was oblivious because his eyes were glued to the giant screen.

I’d been sitting here for hours. I needed air, I needed to move, I needed to do—something. I broke from Thanatos’ hold and stood, but he grabbed my wrist.

“Where are you going?” He held onto me tight and tilted his head.

“Ladies’ room, I’ll be back.” I leaned forward and gave him a kiss through his hood.

I wasn’t mad at him. I was mad at the helplessness. All my life, I sat back and let people do their thing, and now I itched to help. And now, I wasn’tallowedto. I didn’t want to be the person who sat back anymore. Helping Amanda felt good, helping those others escape felt amazing.

And I felt I was stronger than what some of these gods gave me credit for. I could help, even if I was human. Yet, no one would give me the chance.

I needed this, needed to feel like I made a difference instead of sitting in the Underworld watching football and getting railed with a ribbed dick.

Thanatos hummed into the kiss and let me go and watched me as I left.

As I drifted away in my thoughts in the long hallway, I pivoted the corner, aiming for the distant restroom to find solace. But just as I expect relief, I collided with an imposing, shadowy figure. The impact jolts through me, a grunt escaped my lips, and I teeter on the brink of stumbling to the floor.

“Umph, sorry, didn’t mean to round the corner so fast.” I rubbed my head and stare up at the guy. He’s got long, black shoulder length hair, a narrow face and slim body. He’s got his hands in his pocket and a devilish smirk that reminds me of Lucifer and Hades.

Ahh, this must be the missing son, Loki.

“And you are correct,” he purred.

I stared at him blankly for a moment before I sidestep him and continued on my way. I may have met his sister, was nice to her and all, but I wasn’t really in the mood to make a new friend. I’m here to wallow in self-pity.

But instead of being alone like I wanted, I hear him turn and his footsteps soon catch up with me.

“I can hear the gears turning in your head, Juniper,” he said. “You don’t like sitting around waiting for Hera, do you?”

I stopped and stared up at him. “How do you know my name?”

“Just because you don’t see me doesn’t mean I don’t know things that go on in the palace.” He smiled. “You want to help those women, don’t you? You want to find out the owner as quick as possible, well I can help you with that.”

I cautiously observed him, my eyes narrowing with suspicion. “And what makes you so eager to help me with this?”

Loki shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just say I’ve got to broaden my horizons. I want to prove to my parents that I can be helpful and contribute to the household. And besides, I want to help.” His face softens. “My mom went through shit, and I don’t want anyone else to go through what she went through, either. Besides, isn’t the auction soon? We need to catch the bitch, otherwise she might get spooked and any other clubs she has out there we may never find.”

I bit on my bottom lip. Loki was a kid, but he looked older. Thanatos mentioned gods aged faster and were smarter than human children, but he had little life experience.

How could I trust him? What if he got hurt?

Loki leaned up against the wall and let his hand morph into bird like claws. “I understand your hesitation, Juniper,” he said, his voice dripping with sincerity. “But this is my chance to prove myself, to prove that I can be more than just their lazy, girl crazy son. And I assure you, I have the means to assist you in finding this deity.”

I studied Loki’s face, searching for any signs of deception. His eyes held a glimmer of determination, and I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope stir within my chest. Perhaps Loki was right; maybe he could help me. Take me to the matchmaker, see if she is there, and we fly back to let everyone know.

Easy peasy.

“Alright,” I finally conceded, cautiously extending my hand toward him. “If you truly want to help, I’ve got a plan. But you need to listen to what I say. I don’t need your mother being angry with me because you got hurt.”

A mischievous grin spread across Loki’s face as he clasped my hand in his own. The moment our skin touched; a surge of energy pulsed through me.

We were going to do this.

Loki already knew where the matchmaker was located. While his parents conducted their investigation, Loki had done his own.He was quite the resourceful god, and it made me wonder what his ulterior motives really were.

Sure, he had the glimmer in his eyes, the sob story about he wanted to please his parents, but I didn’t believe it. He made sure I was away from Uriel and Mariah when he proposed this to me, so I knew there was something up. But I was out of options. I wanted to prove to them I could be helpful too, even if I was a human.

Most of all, I wanted to prove it to myself.

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