Page 179 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
Unease suddenly fills me, but hearing footsteps, I turn. There he is, wearing a sky blue wrap with his usual gold armour. The gods live like kings…
“What a nice surprise, you were indeed in a hurry to see me,” he says, smiling.
I can’t look at him directly; the glowing light around him is far too intense. “You promised me my father, I want to know what you want in return, My Lord.”
Yes, I’m sticking with ‘My Lord’, it sounds fitting enough.
He smiles. “You said you’d pay anything… You see, although your father is stranded in the place between life and death, it will need great power to restore his human body, if you want him intact, of course. There is dark magic and other forms which will return him devoid of the man he was, but I don’t want that.”
My heart thunders as I nod in agreement. This sounds too good to be true… Was my thought earlier correct?
My stomach churns with unease.
“What is it that you want? If the price is hurting someone-”
He laughs, cutting me off. “I don’t revel in hurting people, my beautiful maiden, but there is a price. In return for restoring your father, I want you. I want you to be mine, to marry me and be my Queen.”
An Oath
Sienna
My heart stops as I stare at him, the shock stilling me as I stand there frozen. He looks back at me with no expression, yet I can sense his power wrapping around me like a blanket.
Gods…
Realisation is like a cruel awakening. The price is me.
He’s watching me keenly, and then I gasp, realising I wasn’t even breathing, my head spinning violently.
The price is me.
Jayce…
How can I leave him, Dad- Dad won’t be happy-
“What is it? You will be happy. You will live the life of a goddess and will be married to a god. One day, all of your family will die, and you will meet them again. It is not like I’m asking you to sacrifice your life.”
I look at him through blurred eyes, my throat tightening. “Why do you want me?” I ask, trying to make sense of it. Is itbecause I’m with Jayce, because he’s from the Deimos line? The gods are not black and white; there are so many sides to them. Their morals don’t align with ours. I need to be careful.
“Because of your beauty, of course.”
“So, this has nothing to do with the Deimos bloodline?” I ask softly, yet firmly, not wanting to upset him when he holds the key to Dad’s return, but I can’t agree blindly either. I need to know exactly what this means.
His lips curl in a dangerous smile. “Well, we have always had similar tastes in women. No one gets hurt, you will not be dying, and your father will return body and soul as if not a day had passed since he left.”
No one gets hurt, but Jayce… Jayce gets hurt. My heart squeezes painfully at the thought of leaving him. My head spins. I can’t be selfish, but how much will this hurt Jayce?
“I need time to think,” I say.
His gaze softens, then fills with disappointment. “I thought the greatest gift I could give you was your father… It was a fair trade. It seems he isn’t the most important person to you. There is a small window where I can use my powers to restore your father. Time is something we do not have. So let me know now if you refuse, so I don’t waste any more time here then.”
His words sting like a knife coated with poison. “No! It’s not like that; it’s just my father wouldn’t forgive me if I did this.”
“You can’t be sure, not when the world may end. At least you’ll be safe.”
Jayce… What about Jayce?
I can’t bring myself to mention him, not when I know the past between Helios and the Deimos Bloodline.
