Page 45 of Touch of Death
Light.
And yet, I feel like this is just beginning. There is something about her that makes her shine brighter than all the rest, and I still do not know what that is.
The more I get to know about her, the more her pull on me makes sense. The more it explains why I must suffer the same frustrating longing Death feels for her.
And after tonight, it further explains why I am so intoxicated by her mere presence. She is my opposite, as much as she is Death’s, though in a different sort of way.
One touch, a single taste of her, and she sates me in ways that no other fallen creature has or could ever hope to. For one moment, I am saved from a lifetime of hunger and emptiness.
The craving she has aroused in me is unlike any I have experienced before. It is ravenous and all-consuming in its want.
But I know that I cannot simply take what I want from her.
I crave her, and yet, I am unable to conquer her in the same way I can the others.
No.
This power, she must be the one to come to me, to end my suffering as she feeds my hunger.
Only then will this longing dissipate, and I can be left to continue on as I was before she entered my life.
I must find a way to make her fall for me, to give in to me of her own desire.
But I do not know how with Death shadowing her every move. It already seems hopeless.
I continue to pace the garden, trying and failing to think of ways to deal with Death. If I could just find a way to get him to step aside, it would be so much simpler to get her to fall for me.
As it is, he is like an anchor, keeping her tethered to him even as he refuses to fulfill his own longing.
I pause suddenly in the middle of the garden as it finally hits me.
Deathis her key, of course!
I do not need to get rid of him.
No, I just need to use him. Use his inaction, his inability to satiate his desire for her, to draw her closer to me. To drive her mad with a want that only I can then fulfill.
I will have to have more patience for this conquest than ever before, but I am certain, before too long, the mortal will seek me.
A grin pulls at the corner of my mouth at the thought.
It is almost too perfect.
Turning on my heel, I stride from the garden only to stop short as I reach the main hall. Pausing, I close my eyes, feeling for the presence that lurks just off to my right.
“Ah, Persephone,” I say after a moment, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your company … and at this time of night?”
“I have news,” she says, her voice tinged with unease.
“Which is?”
“You have three days before Cerberus’ return, but I can only keep him lost for so long. Hades is already suspicious of me.”
“Three days? What am I supposed to do with so little time?”
“There was never any time to begin with,” Persephone whispers sharply. “You know that as well as I do. Just … try to find a way. For all our sakes. We need him on our side.”
I sigh and give her a nod. I do not know how this is going to work, and I did not dare tell her what effect the mortal has had on me.
