Page 68 of The Death God
“Can’t. Prophecy and I did our prophecies earlier.”
“What?” He wasn’t aware of how loud he was until she flinched.
“We…eh…wanted to be able to touch without having a prophecy, so we eh…”
Thanatos gaped at her. “What the fuck, Minerva! What did the prophecies say?”
A blush tinted her cheeks. “We…eh…focused on each other.”
He pulled in a deep breath, tried not to snap, but how selfish could they be?
“It’s my prophecy, Thanatos. You have no say in what I do and do not do with it, and it’s unfair I have to keep myself apart from people simply because touch triggers it.”
“By all means, waste them as you see fit. There are like twenty men risking their lives out there to try to keep us safe, but you wanted to fuck Prophecy, and it’s obviously more important than trying to keep the rest of us alive. I hope it was good because if this goes to shit, we’ll be back at the house of horrors before nightfall, back to no touching unless we’re fucking some faceless, nameless creep. Back to blue scrubs and overcooked beans.” A knot wound itself tighter in his gut. He’d die before he went back there.
“Fuck you. Like you didn’t spend the night with Gregory.”
Thanatos was about to snarl at her when Jaki spoke. “It’s different, though.”
“How is it different?” Minerva was shouting now, but Jaki didn’t so much as flinch.
“It doesn’t interfere with Thanatos’ skill. Gregory is doing what he can to help us. He’s out there risking his life to keep us safe. He doesn’t give a damn about rescuing psychics, but he’s doing it for us. And I’m not saying you’re not allowed to use your prophecy as you wish, but you could’ve used it to help instead of wasting it. If you wanted it out of the way, you could’ve sought out anyone other than Prophecy who conveniently hasn’t taken much part in this situation. Had you checked Amell, we might have known he would be taken before he was. We might have learned that if you checked Gregory too. Had you checked Alaric or Rufus, we might have learned something about what they’re planning to do now. How many will storm the castle this time, you think? How many will die?”
“Fuck you, Jaki. This isn’t my responsibility. Prophecy and I want to move out into the house.”
The house where Thanatos almost died. A shudder went through him.
“We’re tired of living in a facility and want a life of our own.”
Thanatos looked at Jaki. He didn’t know Minerva well, but she was Jaki’s best friend. There was a stricken look on his face, and Minerva looked away.
“You’re not prisoners here. You’re free to go.” Jaki’s voice was flat, and Thanatos edged closer to the door. This was not a conversation they needed an audience for. Prophecy didn’t move. The bored look he’d adopted made Thanatos want to snarl at him. He liked Minerva, and it was a shame she threw her life away on an idiot like him.
“Aren’t we?” Minerva was more or less spitting now. “We can’t go anywhere unless Rufus or Gregory takes us. We don’t have any money. We don’t have any freedom.”
Thanatos froze. “Get a job then.” Ungrateful bitch. He winced at his inner voice and tried to remind himself he liked Minerva.
“How?” She turned furious eyes on him.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Pack your things and go.”
She stared at him, some of her anger melting away, but then Prophecy sighed, and she glared again. “We will. We’re taking the house on the grounds. It’s just sitting there. Empty. We want it.”
“How will you pay for it?”
“What?”
Shaking his head, he put his feet right on the threshold, ready to leave. “You said you have no money, and yet Rufus and Gregory have made sure you have food and clothes and a room full of things. It’ll be interesting to see how you manage once you’ve broken out from this terrible prison. They gave up everything for us. I know you have a brain, use it instead of listening to Prophecy.” This had to be Prophecy’s idea. Minerva liked both Rufus and Gregory. She’d never compare living in their home to being in the house of horrors.
He stepped out of the kitchen and headed toward the entrance. He needed to see Rufus, and he needed to know if there had been any news from or about Gregory.
As he stepped outside, the sun warmed his skin, and he tilted his face toward it. It took a few seconds before he heard shouts. Turning toward the tree line, he saw several of Alaric’s men sprinting toward a nearby area. A black car slowly drove closer. It stopped, one of the doors opened, then something slugged him hard in the chest, and he fell to the ground. He believed he heard a gunshot, but he wasn’t sure.
He couldn’t breathe. He tried to get his body to move, but it wouldn’t, and he grew cold. There were howls and snarls, and he looked at the sun. It had warmed him before. Why didn’t it now?
His vision grew blurry, and there was a rattling sound, almost as if someone was struggling to breathe, but their mouth was filled with water. A buzz built in his ears. It grew in volume, and soon it was the only thing he could hear. He blinked, but when he did, his eyes didn’t want to open again. It was so cold; he feared the sun had died.
He tried to move again, but the cold must’ve frozen his limbs because they didn’t respond.
