Page 31 of Love and Death
This time, the searing pain that shoots through my body reaches a climax almost instantly. My muscles seize, an involuntary scream tearing from my lungs through clenched teeth, and Florence is forced to hold my face above water to keep me from drowning myself.
It isn’t until she manages to pin me against the edge of the bath, what feels like an eternity later, that she’s finally able to pry my hand away.
“Curse you, Cerberus,” Florence grunts, quickly pulling me out of the tub and leaning me against it as my muscles begin to relax before wrapping me in a fluffy towel that she must have brought with her from Eros’ palace. “As if things were not difficult enough as it is, you had to go and do this to the girl?”
I take a long, shuddering breath as the pain subsides to a more tolerable ache.
“What has he done to me?” I ask, before adding, “I mean, besides the obvious.”
“Hazel …” She pauses, her full lips disappearing into a thin line for a long moment before she tries again. “Hazel, this is no ordinary bite. This is a fate mark.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Cerberus has soul marked you ...claimedyou as his mate,” Florence explains, the concern in her voice unmistakable.
“No. No, that’s impossible,” I stammer. “I never agreed to be his mate.”
“That is not how this magic works. This is a bonddecided by fate,” she says, her eyes tracing the scar on my neck. “I doubt he had much choice in the matter, himself. Though, he certainlyshouldhave shown more self-control.”
“So, that’s it? I’m to be his mate now whether I like it or not?”
“Well, not exactly.” She fusses with the towel, and I can tell from the way her mouth twitches that she’s trying to choose her next words carefully. “You must still decide that for yourself, but the choice will be a difficult one. And, given the circumstances, you may not have much time to decide.”
“I already know my decision. I do not want to be his mate, so how do I get rid of this mark?” The succubus looks stricken by my response, and a strange sense of unease begins to creep up within me. “Florence, Icanget rid of it, right?”
“I am afraid it is not that simple. A mark like this, once given, cannot be undone; however, the bond itself can be broken.”
“Okay. I don’t need it to be simple; all I need from you is the truth,” I say softly. “Please, just tell me what my choices are.”
She sighs deeply before nodding to herself.
“Very well, you can choose to accept the bond and bind yourself to Cerberus, body and soul, or you can choose to reject it and be destroyed along with it in the process.”
“Those aren’t choices, Florence. Those are death sentences. Surely, there must be another way?” I plead.
The succubus hesitates for a second before admitting, “One can survive a rejected bond, but only by killingtheir intended mate, thus, severing the connection in death and satisfying the bond with blood.”
I feel nauseous as my thoughts spiral.
Kill Cerberus?
The thought alone sends a shiver racing down my spine. Not just because she’s talking about committing murder, but because it is, quite frankly, impossible. Cerberus is a guardian, one of the most powerful creatures in the entire Underworld, if not all of existence, and I am but a mortal.
“That’s barbaric. I cannot kill him, even if I wanted to,” I whisper. “Even if he wasn’t a guardian, how am I supposed to kill something that even Death could not?”
“It may not be entirely impossible.”
Morbid curiosity gets the better of me, and I cannot stop myself from asking, “How so?”
“Even immortality has its limits when it comes to fate and the most ancient of magics,” she answers cryptically, her eyes glazing over and growing distant.
“What are you trying to tell me?”
Her eyes clear, snapping back to focus as she looks anxiously around the room. “Only that nothing, and no one, is truly above the deeper powers that weave our realms together. However, if I may suggest it, do not outright reject the bond. At least, for now.”
I can feel my patience growing thin over the vagueness of her answers, but I force myself to remain calm.
“Then, supposing I were to simply ignore the bond?”
