Page 101 of Courting War
Wanted toknow her.
Especially if he was kissing her . . . like that.
But she didn’t let him ask anything. “Kel, whatever you do, you can’t fall in love with me.”
It might already be too late.“Why?”
“Because I'm a villain.” The words left her ruby lips with an agonizingly tortured tone. “Loving me is a death sentence.”
Chapter Thirty
THEODRA
Worried Ex-God
LOVE CAVES, CITY OF THE GODS
Kellyn had burrowed far too deep into her heart like a parasite. It was too dangerous, deadly even. Nothing good came of falling in love. Not for her.
That’s how the Immortal Law got broken.
Theo needed to get far away from Kellyn. She needed to escape the Sacrifice and never see him again. It was time to get her revenge on her mother. “Will you retrieve another spell for me?”
“Yes, of course,” he coughed, still trying to tamp his arousal.
“Place your fingers on the edge of the book,” Theo said, and he followed the instructions. Switching to the language of the gods, she said, “Show me the spell to restore divinity.”
The book hesitated momentarily, and Kellyn instinctively stroked it as he would to a scared puppy trying to calm it. He seemed to sense the book’s needs. It responded to his concern and flashed open, turning to—hopefully—the page she needed. She wouldn’t know for sure until he read it to her.
Kellyn slowly scoured over the page—taking an eternity. “It says that you need to mix the ichor of a god with your blood andread the incantation.” Then like last time, he read each letter to her one by one until she had the complete spell.
Hoc dicto, redde quod ablatum est, deum fias, divinum esto.
It was in her grasp. The spell and her freedom. While most gods wouldn’t dare part with their ichor, Theo had a couple of cards to play. Andromache might give it to her freely—after all, Andromache’s betrayal led Theo here. Or Havyn might bargain for it. Or Theo could provoke Fire into a fight and take his blood forcefully.
Theo had options. Multiple ways to get her divinity back.
“What is this spell?” Kellyn’s face was a cloud of confusion and fear, and his body was rigid. “Why do you need a god’s ichor? That could be dangerous.”
Theo’s stomach dropped. She didn’t want to lie to him again. She wanted to trust him with everything, but the last time she truly trusted, she was betrayed.
“What is the spell, Morrigan?” His countenance was bleeding concern.
Theo sucked in a breath. Dare she trust again? Dare she lay it all on the line? Her heart lurched, fireflies warming its chambers, telling her to be vulnerable. Telling her to let go and let the truth soar. “Not Morrigan.”
“What—”
Before she could answer, they were disturbed by a torrent of anger. Anger in the form of Cecile’s voice. “Stay away from me. I want nothing to do with you. Ever.” It was more of a growl than words.
Cecile burst into the cave, followed closely by two people and a cat—no, not people, gods. Gallagher and Night—Andromache’s second in the Light Court—stepped into the cavern. Gallagher reverted to her human form, her blonde hair floating down her back as she strolled in like she had no concerns. She lived for chaos. On the other hand, Night wore an expression of hesitation and a dress formed from dying stars.
Her presence was unsettling because Night never attended theSacrifice.
“I want nothing to do with any gods ever again. Especially not you,” Cecile spat out, glaring at Night before her eyes caught on Theo. “Perfect, you’re here, too. Rotten gods.”
Under his breath, Kellyn said, “Agreed.”
Theo’s eyes darted to him, hurt stirring in her stomach. He hatedwhatshe was, and that was probably for the best. It was perhaps best she hadn’t just revealed everything to him. Theo opened her mouth to intervene and stop Cecile from unleashing her secrets, but the mortal reacted too quickly and doomed Theo.
