Page 97 of A God of Death & Rest

Violet stands, shaking as she gives an uncertain smile. “North, I’ve brought you back from the plains of the endless rest. Now tell me where Lucius is!”

A sinister laugh rumbles from Elodie and my bones seize with the sound of it.No. She didn’t… She wouldn't. Not to my precious Elodie.

She completed the possession.

An eerie and haunting voice pierces my ears as Elodie speaks. “Violet, you're as simpleminded as you’ve always been. So shattered by a little loss, are you?”

I release Elodie and fly backwards. She’s gone now… North can kill more easily than any god. I’ve seen his carnage on the plains of the human realm. There’s a reason he’s been dead for centuries. Is that why Borvon shared those images with me when Elodie and I had our argument? It was a warning of what he’s seen…

Violet’s red eyes heat with rage and fear. She looks to Kol in case she needs him, but he’s as frightened as the rest of us. We all know that only the Goddess of Life can bring down North. But Violet put himinher.

“I brought you back! Now tell me where he is—”

Elodie stands and points, her skin devoured by ash and soot and her hair as white as the snow around us. We all follow her hand, which is pointed straight at Moro.

It’s quiet. No one dares speak and the wicked smile on Elodie’s face has me trembling.

Moro slowly closes his silver eyes. He doesn’t seem shocked. As he opens his eyes back up, he looks at Violet with tangible sorrow.

“Is… Is that you, Lucius?” Violet falls to her knees against the stones, keeping her eyes trained on Moro desperately.

He watches her for a moment and then nods. “Yes… It’s me, Vi.”

She smiles and gasps as tears fall down her cheeks, but when she tries to reach for him he turns coldly away from her. “Lucius?” I can see her soul hardly holding on. She’s so far gone with madness. Is this what love looks like when it's been corrupted? Twisted into such a desperate and saddened state?

When it’s been poisoned.

Moro looks back at her from the corner of his eyes. He looks miserable, like his heart can’t take what he’s going to say. “Look at what you’ve done, Vi… Look at the chaos and pain you’ve created for such selfish reasons.”

She hangs her head low and sobs, covering her mouth to keep the pain-filled cries at her lover’s words. “B-but I did it for us! I—I couldn’t l-live without you any longer!”

My heart clenches… What would I do if I were in her situation? I’d do anything for Elodie.

His silver eyes narrow on her with pity and his own anguish burns through, but he holds strong. “I would havefound you,Vi. I would’ve come for you just like I did the first time, and if you’d just left everything alone… we could have been together again.” He hesitates and takes a steadying breath. “I’ll never love you. You’re not the woman I fell in love with. You’re not even a shell of her.”

Ouch.

The goddess slumps to the ground, her eyes wide with the horror of what her actions have reaped. It’s hard to not feel bad for her, but with Elodie now under North’s possession I’m indifferent as fuck.

Elodie tips her head back and laughs at the pain that fills the air. “War. Blood. Ruin. I want it all, every bit of emotion and agony that it sows.More, more, I want it all!” she sings into the sky.

Rune grips her wrist. “Elodie, you need to fight it!” I’m shocked to hear him speak but that’s the least of my concerns right now.

Elodie snaps her head to him and lashes out with her aura. It’s unrecognizable, it’s a beast of blood and terror, boiling with the anger of the God of War himself.

“Rune, get back!” Wren tackles him to the ground as Elodie releases an arsenal of curved blades around her.Holy shit, that would have cut them in half.I clench my teeth as sweat beads down my temples.

“Elodie is gone. The true Rhythm God is here now, and you will all bow to me. A purge is in order. Wouldn't you agree, Death God?” Her black eyes flick to me and I hold my breath.

“North… Borvon still sleeps within me. I don’t know what kind of man I was, but I’m not a monster. I don’t enjoy taking life.” I glare at her.

Elodie narrows her eyes at me and stretches her large crimson wings out.

“Hmm. Too bad. Borvon and I had too much fun once upon a time.” She cracks her neck as she rolls it and then takes the fighting stance I vaguely remember North using long ago. Fuck. “And you’re going to have to destroy the goddess’s body if you wish to defeat me. I won’t stop until war is heavy on the human realm, their bones and blood seeping into the soil, my taste buds, and their screams deeply engraved in my soul. Oh, how I miss it.”

I clench my fists and try to tap into the last of my aura. I’m running on fumes at this point but I won’t die that easily. Not with everything on the line.

The stones shift beside me as Arulius stands at my side. I raise my brow at him. He gives me a curt nod and rests his good eye on Elodie. Relief floods me, seeing that he’s finally come to his fucking senses.

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