Page 149 of To Ashes and Dust
Cold marble welcomed my knees as I settled onto the floor of Selene’s chambers. It was oddly quiet, and when my eyes opened, the room felt almost darker than normal. My gaze swept over the dimós trees lining the chambers. Perhaps I was just imagining it, but they seemed... dull, not as bright. I shook my head.
I’ve got more important things to worry about.
I found Selene curled up on her altar, her silken white hair draped over her body, spilling over the edges and pooling on the floor of the dais. She was speaking to the stone horse at her side.
“I’m sorry I can’t let you out to run, Arion…” Her hand halted against the stone warhorse and her voice faded as she noticed my presence, and she turned those opalescent eyes to me.
“What is the nature of your visit, warrior?” she asked, her melodic voice dancing across the stone chambers. “I was not expecting you.”
“Tell me how to save Cassie,” I demanded as I rose to my feet and approached her.
She stiffened at my words. “I’ve already told you; I cannot help Moi—”
“Then tell me who can,” I insisted, and she cocked her head, blinking at me. I knew it was rare for someone to cut her off, if ever. I no longer cared, though, irritation pushing away any sense of self preservation. I didn’t want to resort to it. It would be my final option, but if there was no other means of saving her... I’d choose her life over mine.
“I will pretend I did not hear you give me an order,” she said, straightening as her opalescent eyes narrowed on me. Those same eyes that were once bright and kind flashed across my mind, and I hated that she’d become so cold.
“Pretend all you like. I’m done watching you act like her life doesn’t matter,” I said through gritted teeth. The blue flames dancing in the sconces flickered, and the starlit sky trapped in the ceiling dimmed to near darkness.
Her jaw clenched, eyes sharpening. “Watch your tongue, warrior.”
“Or you’ll do what? Kill me?” I challenged, stopping at the foot of the dais. “Do it, Selene! Kill me! If that’s the only way to save her then do it! I’ll die so she can live!”
She hesitated, conflict flitting across her face. “I would prefer not to do that, Damien.”
“She’s dying, Selene!” I yelled, and I nearly faltered at what I’d said. My voice broke as I spoke again, the air painful in my lungs. “She’s... she’s dying.”
That single admission broke something in me. She was dying, and there was no option I could find to save her without ripping her heart out, without sentencing her to the endless suffering I’d been subjected to for centuries.
Selene’s eyes fell from me, and my irritation smoldered in my veins, my teeth grinding against one another. “Will you just sit back and watch her dieagain? Does she mean nothing to you?”
“I cannot interfere,” she muttered, her eyes still downcast.
“She’s your daughter!”
She stiffened, the harshness marring her delicate face faltering for a moment. “I told you, Damien...”
She pushed herself down from the altar, and my thoughts halted. She’d always glided down from the dais. When she lifted her eyes to me, exhaustion clouded her eyes, and her skin didn’t glow as brightly.
The inner corners of her white brows curved upward as she stopped at the top stair. “My hands are tied, Damien. I cannot help her. If I change her, and the twelve sentence me to oblivion...”
“So your life is more important than hers?” She flinched at my words and my brows furrowed. “I guess the only value she holds to you is how effective she is at destroying the darklings. Is that it?” Her lips parted, but she remained silent. “Are you just waiting for her to reincarnate into a form more suitable for you?”
She didn’t respond, eyes flickering from me.
“Did the twelve promise to release you from your imprisonment on the far moon if you put an end to the darklings’ chaos? Is that what all this is? Is that all we’re good for?”
She didn’t answer still, and my chest heaved, irritation turning into fury. “Well, maybe she’s not important to you, Selene, but she’s everything to me! You may not be willing to, but if it meant dying for her, I’d do it, and I will.”
Pain flashed across her face. “It’s not what you think, Dami—”
“Then send me to The Fates,” I demanded, teeth bared. “Perhapstheywill be of more use to me than you are.”
54
DAMIEN
Use this stone to call me when you’re ready to return.
