Page 39 of Death God

“You know it’s just a decorative dagger.” I shrugged. “I like my own clothes just fine.”

“I accept it then,” he said. “I’d go the extra mile to please you, and you know that.”

“Whatever.”

He smiled. “I’ve always liked your spark. Do you remember our first date, Pip?” His tone was playful. Nothing I said or did at the table could put him off; it was like he was determined to make this “date” successful. “I remember every detail. I have such fond memories of it, especially the part where we were in that cabin.”

And here I was hoping to erase that memory since I couldn’t exactly remove the incident from the timeline. I’d lost my virginity to an unworthy male only to be used by him and cast aside before he learned I was powerful and he could get more out of me than his princess fiancée.

I should have waited and offered it to Marlowe, my true mate. Marlowe had never held me accountable for the whole affair with another male, even though he’d waited a century for me.

The last thing I wanted was to go down memory lane with the Alpha King, the merged being who now constantly shifted from one personality to the other.

“I don’t dwell on the past,” I said as I opened the bottle of spring water and gingerly took a mouthful. Good, it didn’t taste drugged. I gulped the water down my parched throat. “I move forward.”

“That’s my girl,” my enemy said in approval. “We’re moving forward together into a wonderful, brighter future. I also need to apologize to you for last night. I was trying to get you to loosen up a little since you appeared so tense.”

“You had fun for sure.” I shrugged. “You might be the king of getting blowjobs.”

“You don’t need to feel jealous, Pip,” he said.

I snorted.

“Nothing really happened with those women,” he said. “I didn’t fuck any of them. I just wanted to make you jealous. You’re the only woman I want. My thoughts are full of you. Didn’t you hear me calling your name when those women tried to seduce me? I can’t get you out of my mind. It’s been that way since I first laid eyes on you and knew you were my fated mate. I’ll remain faithful to you, Pip. Just say the word. I’m yours and always will be.”

“Well, I’m not going to stop you from having other women,” I said. “Take as many as you want. But you should give me time and space, as I told you in the car.”

“I wish I could give you more time, my Pip,” he said ruefully. “But the world is moving too fast. What worked yesterday no longer works tomorrow, so we need to adapt swiftly to be on top of our game. The war is coming. There are many powerful parties hunting you now, as we speak. The word has spread that you’re Death’s daughter who’s hellbent on finishing what your dad failed to do. The entire Earth has risen up against you. The only safe place for you is here, by my side. In order to safeguard you, we’ll need to mate soon, so I can fend off the powerful Watches, the Guardians, and the Defenders, just to name a few. But I also get that you have personal needs. Like every woman, you want to be courted, so I’m courting you. This is our first date. I’ll give you three dates, and then we’ll officially wed. After you become my mate and queen, no one will ever dare to come for you and touch you again.”

I bet that he spread the rumor about me being a threat to Earth.

“Let all those fuckers come,” I sneered. “I’ll peel off their lies like the skins from stinky onions. I’m not a plague. But if they want to pin me down as the new Death, I might show them the true face of Death, and I’m not bluffing.”

“That’s the spirit, Pip,” he said. “However, the world doesn’t run like that. Even if you have lots of power, you can’t fight the whole world, and this world is a very dark, twisted, and dangerous place that’s full of corrupted beings. I consider it my duty and honor to protect my mate and future queen. Anyway, let’s not talk about dark stuff during our date.” He grinned at me as if he was the most charming guy in the world and leaned toward the edge of the table to be closer to me. I leaned back in my chair, watching him as if he was a rattle snake. The merged being was much more dangerous than the most venomous snake. “I picked the location this time as I wanted you to feel at home here since this is your home now.” He gestured at what lay beneath our feet. “I want you to enjoy this view and get the feel of the whole world beneath you when you become my queen. And tell you what, for the third and last date, you’ll get to pick the location. Tell me your heart’s desire and I’ll make it happen. You know that I can never deny you.”

For a long minute, I was speechless. His dual personalities were on full display, one belonging to the psychopath, the other to Jared, which wasn’t flattering either. Though not as evil as the horseman of war, the former Alpha Heir was a selfish, arrogant, and power-hungry prick. No wonder the two hit it off.

Then the Alpha King’s eyes uncannily shifted between distinctive blue and purple, which indicated the power struggle between the two beings, but Jared was already marked as the loser, only the fool hadn’t realized it.

“Since you called it a date, shouldn’t we get to know each other then?” I asked.

“Ask away, Pip,” said the Alpha King confidently. “There are no secrets between us. I’m an open book to you.”

“All right then, I won’t beat around the bush,” I said, aiming to provoke him to get him to show his weakness. “I want to know more about how you merged with the horseman of war.”

“I’m still me, Pip,” he said, “only stronger. After you and I mate and form the bond, we’ll make each other even more powerful. We’ll be unstoppable. And no one can ever hurt you.”

“Why don’t you let me talk to Spartoi, my dear uncle directly and see what he’ll promise me?”

For a nanosecond, the Alpha King looked uncomfortable. I’d pointed out the elephant in the room. If he mated with me, it’d be like committing incest since the horseman was part of the deal.

A low chuckle that didn’t belong to Jared flew out of the Alpha King’s mouth. His eyes shifted to purple. Spartoi didn’t pretend to be in slumber now.

The Alpha King with the horseman in charge now vibrated with power. It crackled in the air, and everyone within the perimeter dropped to their knees, either holding their breath or having a hard time taking air into their lungs.

His corrupted power, a lot of it siphoned and stolen from other beings, surged toward me. I clenched my teeth and pushed it back, my shield sharpening around me. Even so, his power still made my skin tight enough to crack.

I hadn’t dared to let my spirit allies hitch a ride on the cuffs with me, for fear of being discovered by Spartoi. According to them, the horseman could also sense souls since he’d absorbed some of my power while experimenting on me. While he couldn’t command the spirits, he had dark spells designed to hurt them, trap them, and use them as batteries.

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