Page 80 of Kiss of Death
I should have been hit by an overwhelming rage that made me want to destroy the entire campsite, but I only felt a wave of nothingness. I’d never been the jealous type, wasn’t even angry when Anya married my brother so quickly. Was actually grateful it was him, a good man who would always stand by her and do right by my sons, rather than someone unworthy. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though. This was the same situation, because when I’d seen Viper with my own two eyes, I could clearly see how he looked at her.
Not with lust or desire or possessiveness.
Only love.
I should be more taken aback by this, but it wasn’t that surprising. I hadn’t been there to protect her. She didn’t have an army to fight for her. Viper stepped up when I failed. She was alive because of him.
I pushed aside my pride and my wounded heart…and felt only gratitude.
Talon stared at the fire, his fingers and knuckles stitched together.
“Do you like him?” I asked. “For Lily?”
He slowly turned to look at me, to see my calm expression accompany the question. “I don’t like that he’s a vampire, but he’s proven his love for my daughter without question.” He looked at the fire again. “And I respect him for looking me in theeye and making his declaration. That he fights for her kingdom and then continues to fight for her. Gives me peace of mind that if I weren’t around, she would have a man who would raise his sword for her without question.”
I looked at the fire once again, my heart carved by Talon’s knife.
But I didn’t deserve her, and I never forgot that.
“But my opinion of him doesn’t matter because she made it clear you’re the one she wants.” He stared into the fire, the flames casting an orange glow across his face. “The one thing worse than a vampire…”
My eyes stayed on the flames as my expression remained locked in place, but inside, I felt mountains shift and rivers flow. Lily remained loyal to me when another woman in the same position might have made a different decision. Viper was the safe choice, a member of this mortal world, despite his immortality, with a strength that wasn’t as potent as a god’s, but still stronger than most. He was tough, powerful…and good-looking. I knew she was already attracted to him because she’d had a physical relationship with him in the past.
But she still chose me.
“What’s our plan?” he asked. “How do we get you through the doorway?”
The question brought me away from General Viper, the vampire who wanted Lily as much as I did. “We need to distract Leviathan long enough for me to get in and out. If I knew where she was, it would take me less than an hour to retrieve her.”
“And even if this goes according to plan, what’s to stop Leviathan from taking her again?”
“She took my place, a soul for a soul. The fact that she will have escaped is outside the deal, so I don’t think there is anything he can do. The portal between the realms is maintained, so there should be no recourse.”
“So, this has never happened before?”
“If it has, then it was before my time.”
“And what’s to stop those in the underworld from leaving at any time?”
“They don’t know where the door is. It’s hidden deep in the mountains.” Now I wished I’d shown it to her when she’d come for her visit. She would have been able to escape all on her own.
“I was there briefly, just for a few human months, but we would have been there at the same time.” He turned to look at me. “And I don’t recall seeing you. You would have stuck out in a world of demons and monsters and servants.”
“You don’t remember seeing me, but I remember seeing you.” I remembered when Talon arrived and how desperately he tried to hide in the cold castle, finding any nook and cranny to shut out his reality. My job was to make sure he didn’t run off into the forest or somewhere else, but he never tried to escape the grounds. “We spoke as well. But I understand why you don’t remember that.”
“I wouldn’t have forgotten your face.”
“It takes years to acclimate to the underworld. To get past the traumatic stage of it and find some form of calm within the horror of it all. You weren’t yourself, Talon Rothschild. I was the same way when I first arrived. It took seventy years before I accepted my reality.” Before I found a hint of beauty in thedarkness. Before I could accept the pleasure of a woman. Before I could find some sort of purpose for existing.
Talon didn’t press the conversation, like he didn’t want to revisit that period of his life. “How do we distract Leviathan?”
“The only way to guarantee he’s preoccupied is by making a deal. If it’s on the dead island, he’ll be aware that someone is there the moment they pass the ring of torches. He’ll assume the person present is the one speaking to him. I’ll have the chance to sneak behind him and enter the doorway.”
“I can make the deal. Say I want to join Lily?—”
“It can’t be one of us. He won’t trust us.”
“Then who?” he asked. “I won’t put Calista or Hawk at risk.”
