Page 26 of Darkest Need

I don’t know the answer, but I do know she’s getting more and more powerful. And at some point, she needs to be stopped.

Free will.

Good and evil coexisting.

What absolute tragic bullshit.

I can’t bear it.

I can’t look at Tarek without wanting to cry. Why him? Why did it have to be the very first immortal to save me other than the Council? Why did it have to be someone whose thoughts were so pure it hurt? Why did it have to be a prince of the Earth and someone who will never know how truly special he actually is?

“Eyes,” I whisper.

He blinks at me a few times. “What?”

“Give me your eyes.”

He smirks. “Be more specific. Do you like physically need them, or do you want me to look at you? Because right now, I see a dozen of you. I’m delirious as hell.”

“You’re going to die,” I say as plainly as possible.

He sighs. “Yes, thank you for the reminder. This is a really inspirational speech. Please, go on. Don’t hesitate to detail every horrible moment.”

I cup his face with shaking hands and hold tight. “But before you do, you need to know.”

“Know what? I swear, if Alex did this all as a prank…” We both know he’s just being sarcastic, but I smell no fear on him, only acceptance. Which makes it so much harder to do what I need to do.

I lightly dig my fingers into his temples. “You know I’m the first, and the first was blessed with the power to see things. But because of the wars I caused, because I did not do what I was created for, I was cursed to be guided by the rest of the goddesses. Eris didn’t like it and got into trouble, so was basically linked to me—to constantly be imprisoned to whatever power I get from immortals. Every year, for two days, I feed. And when I do, I go for the most powerful source to seduce, only to wait until it’s time for her to wake me up again. Pitiful existence. And I only gain memories when I drink from that source. But I also gaintheirs. And yours were not what I expected. So, before I kill you, do you want to know?”

I sense his hesitation as his head lolls to the side. “What if it’s depressing? I really don’t want to be depressed before I die. Hey, speaking of, you should show me more boob. I can’t even touch you. I should at least get to see, right?”

My smile is sad. It’s painful, it feels horrific, and yet I share it with him because he needs something good to look at before the end.

“I don’t know…am I part badass?” He chuckles and strains against the handcuffs again. “Maybe I have blood from a poet in me. Maybe I’m part demon. Maybe I’m just like you.”

“No.” My eyes burn as I see flashes of Pompeii, holding hands with other children being saved. The ash hurts as memories go in reverse to one of the angels at the banquet.

The angel who said he wanted to help feed the humans.

“He asked for sacrifices.” I could barely keep my tone even as I saw the vision of a man in all black walking slowly through the banquet hall, encouraging the orgy already taking place. His smile was cruel. Cassius was there, trying to stop him—no, he’d been sent to stop him.

I bite into my wrist and hold it to Tarek’s lips. “Drink and watch.”

He opens his mouth, the rich mixture of his blood—like the rawness of the Earth—mixes with the pureness of mine.

One who was first created.

Tarek’s eyes go black like mine as the first drop of our mixed blood falls onto his tongue. He doesn’t need much. Black eyes widen, and then I’m synced with him.

The Fallen Archangel continued to walk down the banquet hall, his hood heavy over his head, his smile still cruel and all-knowing.

I didn’t like it.

I didn’t like any of it, but I could feel myself holding someone’s hand. When I looked over, I saw a small boy close to my age.

“Are you afraid?” I asked.

He had beautiful, honey-brown hair and dark eyes. “No.” He shrugged. “I don’t remember anything really after…after.” He frowned. “Did they do something to us?”

---