Page 4 of Taken By the Blood God

“Minerva?”

Goddess, the way he said my name. It was like a physical touch every time. His voice was velvety, dark, and deep.

“Something is missing,” I answered. “I feel as though I’ve forgotten something vital. Or that it’s been removed without my knowledge, like a flower pulled up by the root. There’s nothing but a ragged hole where the memory should be.”

His golden-brown eyes were serious as he studied me.

“It started after your awakening,” I continued.

I wasn’t entirely sure why I was still talking, but I couldn’t seem to stop.

“I just can’t settle. There’s a restlessness inside me. Like I’m waiting for something.”

His eyes sparked with a ruby light, the red tinting the amber color of his irises. For a moment, I thought he was going to say something sincere. Something insightful.

Then, he ruined it.

“You’ve been waiting for me,” he said. “I’m what you’ve been missing.”

And there was the arrogant asshole I’d come to know in the past couple of weeks. I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I drained the tea left in my mug and got to my feet.

“Good night, Talant. Let me know what your brother says.”

Chapter

Three

Talant

I fought the urge to leap to my feet and follow Minerva. I hated knowing that I disappointed her. Knowing that she thought so little of me. I hated that I’d spoken the truth, yet she dismissed it as sarcasm. But it was probably for the best that she thought me egotistical and irritating. For her protection. And mine.

I forced myself to remain still until I heard her bedroom door shut. Then, I got to my feet and carried my empty plate and milk glass to the sink. I washed them, thinking about all the deceit I’d perpetrated in the past two weeks.

Minerva had no idea what she’d brought into her home. If she did, she wouldn’t taunt me the way she had. In fact, she would have done her damnedest to trap me beneath that mountain as soon as I was freed.

Instead, she allowed me to come home with her, and to take care of her while she healed from the damage my brother had done. I wasn’t happy with him about that, and it would be discussed when I saw him in the flesh. Probably with my fists.

There was also the fact that I had exaggerated my ignorance of modern times. It was a blessing that Ally, Minerva’s niece andmy Anointed, was recently mated to a gargoyle. If Ally was still living here, she would have revealed that my lack of knowledge was nothing but a con.

When Minerva realized I’d never eaten a cookie or cake before, her face and eyes had softened. The way she’d looked at me—it took my breath away. Then, she’d gone out of her way to make sweet treats for me, including the chocolate cake I’d devoured when she came into the kitchen tonight.

But I’d lied when I pretended ignorance. I might have been slumbering beneath that mountain for over a millennium, but I still saw the world change around me. I knew what a fucking cookie was.

It was selfish and stupid, but I liked the way she looked at me when she thought I was experiencing something new. Her guard dropped, and those thorns she wore as armor retracted.

Minerva was unlike any woman I’d ever known. She was extraordinary in the simplest ways.

She took the time to experience things. From the way she savored her tea to the way she would go outside every day to experience the early morning sun, Minerva didn’t just exist, shelived.

In all the years I’d been walking the earth or slumbering beneath it, I’d forgotten to live. I’d taken it for granted. Me, who had been granted the rarest gifts of power and eternity.

Being with Minerva reminded me that I shouldn’t take my time for granted. I had more time than any human, yet I had done nothing useful with it. Not for others and not for myself.

I’d succumbed to shame when I locked myself beneath the earth.

It was time for me to stop running away from what I had been in the past. The only thing I could control now was my present. And my future.

I walked outside into the backyard and settled on one of the Adirondack chairs Minerva arranged around her firepit. I looked up at the sky, staring at the stars. I needed to relax and focus for the magic to work.

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