From Shadow to Light - Book Ten

Ch. 18- Death Herself

"Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?"

***

In my dreams, I could get away with anything. There were no laws, no morals to abide by, and no goddamn titles. Which is why I was able to lay next to my greatest enemy and not have an army swarming this bedroom right now. It allowed me to stare at him as long as I wanted, waiting for him to wake up from his sweet slumber. Erebus was cut from steel and made into a god from darkness herself, his onyx-colored hair and tanned skin in contrast to the scarlet sky outside. He was shirtless as I can see his chest full of muscles and biceps, ones where my hands trailed not so long ago. The god was sleeping on his side and it was as if his body figured out I was there because one arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him, my sunlight jumping from the action alone. I couldn't help but stare at him—a sculptor of beauty that I would never dare to pain as long as I live for I could never do him justice.

Slowly, Erebus started waking up as his long eyelashes fluttered and his eyes opened wide as he saw me. His jaw clenched but did not remove his arm draped over me, afraid I might disappear. Not yet. I still had time. "Hi," I mumbled, analyzing his features like he was mine to devour. My head was lying on a silk pillow as I moved to trail a finger over his jaw, then to his lips until they reached his bedridden hair.

"What are you doing here, Lianna?" he whispered, his body still as ever while I continued my exploration.

I sighed, unable to process the magnitude of this connection between us and how close we are right now. How dangerous this is hitting me in the face. "I may have lied to you about many things, Erebus, but what I said months ago was true. I like you like this and always will. So wild and out of control. Untamed."

"You make me crazy," he confessed slowly. Erebus trailed his finger down my cheek then looped a strand of hair behind my pointy ears. "There is not a line I wouldn't cross for you to be mine. I will never give up."

My lips spread into a soft smile, an answer I needed for my plan to work. For me to set a trap where he willingly will enter because of his feelings. The same feelings he once called human emotions and how he was punished for it. "I know, Erebus. I know." My heart was pounding against my chest, enough for me to move to lay on my back and stare at the high ceilings above me, gazing at the red sky with no stars or clouds. Nothing but the color of blood. "They do not understand my intentions. They say they do, but when I speak my mind about my ideas and opinions, they shut me down. They say it is too rash—too dangerous for me. When they were my age, they risked their own lives for our Kingdom. For those they loved. But when I do it, it is somehow seen as a rebellion. As traitorous. How is that fair?"

Erebus analyzed me for a minute, trying his best to figure out what I was thinking. Even still, he couldn't figure me out. "I do not believe they will ever understand what it is like to be us, Lianna. You, the brightest star lighting up the night sky. The sun burns those who get too close to you, even if you don't mean it. People see us as threats because they fear us and the power we hold. It will never be fair for either of us, so might as well do what you want and never apologize for it." Our silence was deafening, even our sunlight and shadows seemed to scream at us to make us move closer. But we were still as ever. It was Erebus's rough voice that seized me out of the moment. "What are you doing here?"

It was endearing he still believed I would tell him the truth. Even now, when I was on my way to kill him. Or that is what the others thought we were doing.

"Is it so terrible that I wanted to see you, bastard god?" I asked, my lips spreading into one of my innocent smiles. The ones he fell for. "Even now, when we are on opposite sides in this game we created?"