Page 53 of Mortal Desires

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she answered anyway.

“I won’t let him come close to you again. I have security to guarantee this. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not.” She stepped away from the skulls and came my way.

Pilar would never belong in the underworld. She was bright, soft, and smiled even when I tried to squash her. But I wasn’t a good god. I was keeping her.

Even if she wasn’t made for this place. Even if she didn’t want to be my wife. I was keeping her.

She stopped right in front of me, a small smile on her lips making me crave her once again.

“Do you want to see the fates now?” I asked.

He offered me his hand, and I took it.

Not arguing with Vicious felt good. I had to stay in the underworld, that was the bargain, but I never expected it would feel like this.

I was so used to the regular Vicious, who used every word out of his mouth to hurt me, that today he caught me completely unaware. It was… nice.

From the moment I woke up this morning, I felt like a veil lifted from my eyes. I knew in my bones I could see much more than before. I felt a connection to the underworld that I hadn’t before.

I was eager to see more, eager to understand.

I was aware of the space in the palace and I could make my way from the bedroom to the throne room all by myself. But outside?

Vicious’ explanations kept hammering in my head. Everything happened at once. In my limited mind, I wanted things to be linear so I could make sense of them, but that wasn’t how it worked.

The boatman came back and Vicious helped me board again. Once we were rowing across, leaving the gates behind he whispered, “When we arrive, let me do the talking.”

“Do you really think they have something to do—”

He never let me finish. “They are the only ones that could.”

“Are they dangerous?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I felt that answer in my bones. Vicious liked to remind us all he was a god. He was a seven-foot tall monster, taller actually, counting the horns. It was hard to imagine he’d be scared of anything.

“They feed on information,” he kept going. “And we want information from them.”

I gulped. “If it’s so dangerous, why are we going?”

A crease formed between his thick eyebrows and he looked at the front diverting his gaze. “We can go home if you prefer.”

I ignored the assumption that the palace was home and focused on what he was asking. I could tell he wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know about Abuela.

He had no problem owning up to the fact he used Penny to trap me, so why lie now?

No, Abuela's visit wasn’t something he planned. I remember that morning like it was yesterday, the intent in her eyes, the way I felt secure while she guided me through the manor.

She would never participate in something to trap me in the underworld. Her intentions were good, I glanced down at the ring, even if I couldn’t understand them yet.

“No, I want to go.” I nodded and faced ahead.

Vicious didn’t force the issue and we kept going. So many moments brought me here, and none of them really fit. I felt out of my depth, searching for something that wasn’t within my grasp.

I scratched my head and relaxed on the bench. “After we finish all the rituals, can you bring Anora to me?”

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