Page 75 of Kiss of Death
Talon listened to her tale with a stoic expression, his eyes still showing a hint of anger.
“When I spoke to Callum, I shared Lily’s endeavor to release him from the underworld. Because of his sacrifice, I was willing to open the portal between the realms, but I needed to know that’s what he wanted. From what I’d gathered through conversation and observation, I suspected Callum wouldn’t want to risk the woman he loves or everyone else for a decision he’d made hundreds of years ago—and that assumption was right.” She continued to address Talon with her sheathed ferocity. “Then he asked me to tell her that he loved her, but that he wanted her tomove forward in life without him, to marry and have children of her own. That he wanted her to be happy without him.”
“And did you tell her that?” I asked.
She slowly turned back to me. “Unfortunately, that opportunity never came to pass. She immediately traveled to the dead island and petitioned Leviathan for your soul. But even if I had shared that message with her, it wouldn’t have made a difference. She was armed not only with her sword and her armor—but her determination.”
If I weren’t utterly broken by her imprisonment in the underworld, I might feel a hint of pride. Lily was the bravest woman I’d ever met.
Talon processed all of that in a heavy moment of silence. “Open the portal so I can get my daughter back.”
“What is your plan, Talon Rothschild?”
“To kill everyone in my way until I get to her,” he said as his nostrils flared.
“We’ve opened the portal before,” Riviana said. “Leviathan is aware of the love between Lily and Callum. The Covenant will be prepared for our intervention. Without an offensive and defensive plan, we’re opening the world to an evil that could destroy it.”
“You just said you would open it for Callum?—”
“We still had the element of surprise on our side in that scenario. But they know Talon Rothschild will not stop until his daughter is saved. The circumstances are very different?—”
“After everything I’ve done for this damn forest, you will do as I say!” He slammed his fist into his chest plate. “Open the fucking portal.”
With serene calmness, she stared at him.
“Talon, she didn’t say no,” I said. “She just said we need a plan?—”
“I’m not talking to you.” When he turned back to me, he looked like he might stab me in the face with his blade. “I don’t care what Riviana has to say on your behalf. You’re the reason she’s down there, and all I want is to watch the light leave your eyes. I want to stab my blade through your heart and let the blood water the weeds. I fucking despise you.”
I took his insults in unresponsive silence, hating myself just as much.
“When you have a plan, return to me,” Riviana said, interrupting the hateful silence between us.
“We don’t have time for that.” He turned back to Riviana. “I need to get my daughter back. Just open the portal, and I will pull her back?—”
“You forget that you risk your wife and your son and your dragons if you fail,” she said with sternness. “You forget you risk Vivian and Lena and the rest of your family in my realm if you fail. I will not open the path to a reckless man overwhelmed by grief. Forge a plan, and then come back to me.”
Talon didn’t seem to hear a word of it. “Just fucking do as I say?—”
She disappeared, a gust of wind blowing through the forest and shaking the trees, and then it was dark and quiet once more.
Talon panted at her absence, his eyes furious in the glow of the fireflies. He continued to stare at the spot where she’d been standing before he slowly turned to look at me, casting a shadow of blame reserved for me. His face started to blotch red in several places across his cheeks, lava spewing underneath the surface.
“She’s right?—”
“I should kill you right now.”
“Listen to me.” I grew fatigued by his irrational anger and stifling grief. It clouded his judgment, which wasted precious time. “I understand you’re upset, but just because I don’t show it as passionately as you do doesn’t mean I don’t feel the same way. Now, focus—because Lily’s well-being depends on it. I will not stop until we get her back, regardless of whatever sacrifice I have to make. We’re on the same side.” Riviana’s perception of my good character seemed to have pissed him off even more, inexplicably. He wanted to hate me, and he was determined to cut my head off, regardless of what anyone said about me—even his own daughter. It was a different layer of prejudice, one that couldn’t be corrected by facts or opinions from those he trusted. But technically, he was right. Because everything I did for Lily after my betrayal didn’t change what I’d already done. “I want Lily back, but if she returns and the mortal world as we know it is destroyed by the Covenant, it won’t matter. So we need to think this through.”
“Then stop talking.”
“I have an idea. More complicated than opening the portals between the realms, but that might be a good thing.”
“I’m listening.” For a brief moment, his hostility dropped, eager for me to continue.
“The Great Tree and Skull Rock are the same—physical doorways into their respective realms. If we could get access to the door, I could return to the underworld and retrieve her. As long as Leviathan is distracted?—”
“What makes you think you’re the one who goes after her?” His fire returned in full force, his flames incinerating the air between us. “I don’t trust you to bring her back.”
