Page 96 of Love and Death
A creature of loneliness. Of ice, and grief, and bitter pain.
They took what I had meant for good and turned it into power, control, and cruelty.
And I was too blind to see what I see now ...
That not all threads are meant to be woven.
Some, must beunraveled.
And yet, this revelation may also be my undoing.
As I look down on the mortal who risked everything for love, who sacrificed her soul, her life, her fate, to stop the unraveling of another … I wonder, will she be able to love me—the weaver and the blade—when I must nowchooseto be the blade?
To beruin?
“Little one.”
She looks up, unflinching, at the vastness that lies within me now, and my heart sings for her.
So fragile, and yet unbroken. A mortal that even the gods could not conquer.
I calm the waking storm within me as I step toward her.
“Hazel,” I say, her name a prayer on my lips, reaching to gently trail a gloved finger under her chin, “May I ask you something?”
“Yes?”
My heart aches with the desire to be merciful, gentle even, if only for her, when I know that I must now be absolute in my power ...devastatingin my judgments.
I swallow the ache, my jaw hardening, wanting to promise her peace, when all I see right now is war.
She must know the full extent of who—what I am.
“Will you still want to know me, when I mean to be the ruin of this realm?” The words a dark hush only meant for her. “Will you still be able to look at me, when I shatter the loom that has bound me, and turn to ash and bone all those who built this cruel kingdom?” I brush my thumb over her lip, and still, she does not recoil. “Can you still love me, if my mercies become a lie, and you are all that remains?”
The world stills for but a moment before she answers, “Yes. Always, yes. Nothing can change that now.”
My shadows rise up to crash and swirl about my feet as I continue in a desperate, determined voice, “Then, you must know that I intend to carry out judgment, without delay. I must go and cut out this rot before it festers … and I must go alone.”
“No—” Her hand comes up to wrap around my wrist, where I still hold her, and I burn beneath her touch.
“Please,” I gently cut her off, my shadows billowing around us, “I cannot put you in harm’s way, not if it can be avoided. What I must do … I do not wish for you to be witness to it. I could not bear if I were to lose you again, little one.”
She sighs softly before saying, “You cannot lose me, Sydian. I would be witness to all that you are, and regardless, I know that I would love you.”
Her words—her whispered name for me—send shivers of pleasure crashing through my body, my shadows storming wildly at our feet.
I bend to kiss her, stopping but a breath from her lips.
No, not yet. I must be certain. I must take back what is mine before I touch her.
She trembles beneath my leather glove, and I lift my eyes slowly to meet hers.
“I would give you everything,all of me, Hazel …” I whisper in expectant promise. “But first, I must destroy all that would dare take you from me. Can you wait for me, just a little longer?”
She nods, her soft eyes once again meeting mine as she wets her lips nervously, and I nearly lose all of my restraint over the simple act. I straighten to my full height at once, my gloved hand dropping from her chin to flex at my side, the leather groaning in my frustration.
Donning my mask again, I step to the altar and pull my blade from Eros’ chest. My lips press into a thin line as I wipe it clean with the hem of my cloak before turning to face the two gods still standing with us.
