Page 82 of Empire of Death
“We’ll see,” he said with a smile. “So destroy the platinum. That way, there’s no chance he makes it. Might even be dead before I get there.”
“I’ve already made you vampires.”
“And you made Lily Rothschild a god—not the same.”
“That’s the most I’m willing to give you.”
He took another step closer to me. “I don’t believe that’s true.”
I stared him down, unafraid of this Barbarian mortal.
“Because if you don’t…” He moved until he was directly before me, arms crossed over his chest as he looked slightly up at me. “I’ll tell the Covenant of your flagrant preference for a mortal, the way you’ve consistently interfered with the living to further her agenda, how your loyalty to her has compromised your position.”
I didn’t react to the threat because I already knew it was coming.
“Destroy the platinum—or they’ll destroy you.”
“I don’t know where it is.”
“I do.” He cocked his head to the side. “Take me with you. I want to watch you wipe its existence from this earth. It will never be used for weapons or ornamentation again. And there will never be a cure for our blades.”
“What’s to stop the Southern Isles from replicating your blades? They could mortally wound you.”
“Can’t be done,” he said arrogantly.
“They can steal your weapons and use them against you.”
“I would love it if Lily came that close to me.” He stepped even closer to me, like we were the ones who faced each other on a battlefield. “I know what they’ll do to you, Wrath. Eject you to the void where you’ll cease to exist forevermore.” He continued to gloat, to believe he had me cornered, my mouth eating straight out of his palm.
But it was the easiest choice I’d ever made. “No.”
He stepped back, and both of his eyebrows lifted. “You think I’m bluffing.”
“Trust me, I know you aren’t.”
“Then you must be lying. Because no god would ever give up his powers and his life for the father of a mortal woman. A woman he’ll fuck a few times before she moves on with someone who can give her children.” He winked. “Someone like me…perhaps.”
“I won’t change my answer. Tell my superiors about my nefarious behavior. If you don’t, they’ll discover it some other way, so it really doesn’t matter. My fate is sealed, and not only do I accept it, I prefer it.”
“To die?” he asked incredulously. “To cease to exist?You’re a god.”
“And whether I’m a god or a servant in the underworld, it makes no difference. I strive for the reprieve of nothingness. To never think. To never speak. To just disappear from existence like I’d never existed in the first place.” To not have to watch Lily move on with someone else someday. To watch her have children that I wished were mine. To watch her love another man and forget what we had.
Kennt clearly didn’t know what to say to that. Couldn’t understand how a man could desire nothing instead of violence and domination.
“I have no doubt Lily Rothschild will defeat you.”
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine with a temperamental tint. “I’ll decrease her odds by dismissing you from my presence. Wrath, God of the Underworld, I consider our business finished. Depart and never return.”
26
LILY
I stood in the war room with Hawk and Commander Maverick. The other commander on the fleet didn’t make it back, so now we were just down to one. Most of the ships that returned had damage, so they were being repaired in the harbor, everyone preparing for a war that was guaranteed to come.
“Not only have we lost the Empire Colonies as allies, but we’ve gained them as enemies,” Hawk said. “Ten thousand Barbarians, plus that entire army…at least fifty thousand. The cliffs are a natural barrier, but they can’t stop an onslaught of that many people.”
“We need to use the dragons,” Commander Maverick said. “It’s necessary.”
