Page 106 of Another Damned Storm
I glared at my father and the cruel smirk on his face. “What is the meaning of this?” I demanded. For one sweet moment, I’d let myself believe this was a reunion. A foolish thought considering only a year had passed in the Nassa.
Iapetus flicked his gaze between us. “Never, you have earned the right to make your choice.”
Wait. What?Everything in me wanted to reach for her. The need to cover her naked body and hold her in my arms made my heart ache and my fingers twitch, but I held back. “It’s been a thousand years?” I asked.
He nodded. “For her, yes. I must admit, I did not think she would make it.”
A thousand years for her and just one for me. It took me aminute to wrap my head around it. “You had the fates manipulate time.”
“It was part of the arrangement. You see, she didn’t just have to prove herself to me. The fates also needed certain reassurances. And now that her time is up, she has a very important decision to make.” He looked her up and down. “But perhaps we should find you some clothes first?”
I started for my quarters, but stilled when she held up a hand. She closed her eyes, and as I watched, the crimson scales she’d shed shortly after her arrival rose to the surface, covering her skin from the neck down in a dragon-like armor.
“Your control has come a long way,” Iapetus said.
Never opened her eyes, the deep blue of her human irises piercing against the red scales. “What are my choices?”
“Always straight to the point with you.” He inhaled slowly before letting out a long sigh. “Very well. Option 1, you can become mortal. I will return you to the human realm where you and your family will be stripped of your demon blood. You can live out the rest of your life with the knowledge that you and they will never have to return to the Alius.”
“What happens to Hook?”
“My son will return to Othrys with me as a free god.” He let out an arrogant laugh. “Well, mostly free. He won’t be permitted to return to the human realm.”
She glanced my way, and it took everything inside me not to shake my head. If she chose to let me go to protect her family, I would have no choice but to respect her wishes. After the hell she’d been through, the last thing I wanted was to give her any reason to feel guilty or to doubt herself.
She blinked back tears and turned back to my father. “What’s my other choice?”
He folded his arms over his chest and pursed his lips. “You will remain as you are, where you are: at my son’s side, withyour power intact. Your fates will be forever intertwined. Should you lose control of your power, you both will be held responsible.” He paused, drawing out the tension. “And neither of you will be permitted to leave the Nassa. Ever.”
It all sounded like heaven until the last line.
“What about my brother and his daughter?” she asked. “And any kids they might have?”
“They will be stripped of their demon blood to prevent another debacle like this one, and they will live out their mortal lives.”
She swallowed hard, a tentative hope welling inside her. “What happens when they die?”
Iapetus offered her a surprisingly patient expression. “Their souls will rest in the afterlife. It is a little different for each human, but compared to life in their realm, it tends to be a quiet, peaceful existence. That is where they will remain until they choose to be reborn.”
Never rubbed her lips together. “I need a minute.”
She walked to the railing and stared out across the enchanted sea. There was plenty of conflict coming through our link, but it was nothing compared to what I’d been feeling for the past year.
That might have had something to do with the fact that I wasn’t getting a heavily concentrated dose of her emotions anymore. She’d spent a millennium slogging through misery, and I’d felt it all jam-packed into a year. Still, there was a calmness to her I hadn’t seen before, and I didn’t know what it meant.
When Never finally turned, it wasn’t to address my father. She moved across the deck with a newfound grace, clutched the front of my shirt in one hand, and raised up on her toes. Our lips were barely an inch apart as she searched my gaze. “Tell me.”
My pulse stuttered, but I knew exactly what she wanted. I’d replayed her words in my head more times than I could count.Tell me in a thousand years.
A fine tremor shook my hands when I cupped them gently around her beautiful face and looked into her eyes. “I love you.”
They were just three little words. I could have made my declaration more flowery. I could have added “always” or “forever” or “with everything I am,” but she already knew. I’d spent too much of the last year pouring how I felt about her into our connection for there to be any doubt.
She gripped my shirt tighter, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “I choose you, pirate.”
EPILOGUE
NEVER
