End of Night

Chapter Three

"You're hurt," Bel says softly, looking away from the rushing river at his feet. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his jeans, which hang loosely off his hips. Sunlight streams through his golden locks, so bright that I can't see his face -not even his golden eyes.

I lay in the soft green grass, unable to move, unable to escape. The sun burns and draws whatever strength I have left out of me. The light is unrelenting, inescapable -just like the god that commands it. My tongue is dry and every muscle in my body is screaming. A feeling of dread fills my stomach as I realize where I am. The blazing sun. The coursing river. The soft grass. This is where I met Bel so many centuries ago.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the golden god asks as he walks towards me. He's calm, not crazed and murderous like he was the last time I'd seen him. In fact, he seems almost smug, as if he's won some battle. He crouches next to me, golden eyes churning with a gleam of satisfaction.

"You see," Bel says cheerfully, brushing a lock of dark hair from my face. His fingers linger on my skin, hot and gentle. All I can do is stare up at him and will him to take his hands off me. "After your little stunt at my warehouse, you've become vulnerable. Now there's nothing you can do to keep me out of your pretty little head."

His expression becomes clouded with concern. He runs his hot fingers through my long hair and takes me into his strong arms, the same arms that I once felt safe in. Bel hugs me to his chest and ignores the sound of protest I make at the back of my throat. "I can't let you die, though." He smiles his blinding smile and brushes his thumb across my chapped lips. "I'm going to save you, sunshine, and then maybe you'll see how much worthier I am than Arawn to be your Warrior."

Warning bells go off in my mind as he leans in. His breath smells of sunshine and honey as it fans across my face. Bel's lips are fire as they press against mine. The feel of his lips on mine create a feeling of nostalgia and heartache in my chest. Once upon a time I had enjoyed this feeling. Savoring the moment, he smiles against my mouth and pulls me even closer. Just when I think he's finished and is going to pull away, he places a hand on either side of my face and breathes into me.

His power is fire in my lungs. It burns like molten lava in my veins, liquefying my heart. The god releases me with a pleased smile upon his lips and I scream.

"Until next time, sunshine," Bel whispers against my ear.

The sunlit world fades away and I burn.

"Thanatos! Thanatos, love, stop screaming and tell me what's happening!" a frantic, male voice yells. The hands on me are blessedly cool against my flaming skin. "She's burning up," the voice says.

"There's fire magic in her," a frazzled female voice reports. Another set of hands rest on me, but these are nearly as hot as the fire in my veins. I struggle against them but they are unrelenting. "Theo must have gotten to her somehow. If we don't get it out of her now it's going to kill her."

Kill me? Aren't I already dead? This hell burning me from within must have already reduced me to a pile of smouldering ash.

Then, blessedly, the fire starts to retreat from my limbs. It gathers in my throat and I taste flames on my tongue. My heart pounds so fast in my chest that it might burst with the effort of keeping me alive. My back arches up towards the sky as the fire is torn from my body. I scream again as the last of the flames leave my lips, praying for the universe to take mercy on me and just end it already. The heat leaves my chapped lips and I open my eyes.

The fire, a hot, raging mass, hisses and spits in the air above me. Like a tiny explosion, I note in a sort of dazed wonder. The heat on my skin is terrible, not only for the pain it causes my night-dwelling body but also because it feels so much like Bel. If I close my eyes, it's almost like he's there with me, pressed against me like he was so hesitant to do as Theo but all too confident to do as Bel. I can almost hear him whispering in my ear with that voice of molten honey, "I knew I'd find you, Thanatos" just as he had when he'd saved me from being eaten alive by hell hounds. The sound of it, even just in my thoughts, sends a shiver down my spine.