killing one of my best and oldest friends.
Hours later, after attempting to scarf down dinner, I enter my bedroom, fully prepared to take a short nap before we leave in a few hours for the club, to see Avery and Desmond in the midst of a heated conversation.
Desmond’s cocky smile is firmly in place, but I see it for what it really is—a shield. There’s too much darkness and hatred in his eyes for it to be anything else.
Avery, on the other hand, isn’t bothering to wear his boy-next-door persona today. Remember when I said that monsters come out at night? That’s not true for my God of Death. He strides out in broad daylight, a perfectly content smile on his devilishly wicked lips. But the world doesn’t know that those lips are capable of tasting death, that little facet is reserved only for me. Maybe that’s what makes him so terrifying. Unlike the other monsters and beasts in the world, you can see Avery coming from a mile away. Death isn’t always subtle. Sometimes, it’s a bang, like walking outside during a ferocious thunderstorm.
The two immediately quiet down when they catch sight of me, though both of their bodies are still thrumming with unrestrained tension.
“Whatcha talking about?” I ask casually as I move to my drawers and grab my favorite pair of satin pajamas. I don’t need eyes in the back of my head to know that Avery and Desmond are exchanging a long glance, one electrically charged with resentment and anger.
“Just a little disagreement,” Des admits with feigned nonchalance. When I spin back towards them, both men have yet to move from their intense standoff. The air around them practically crackles with electricity as Avery’s sea-blue eyes hold Desmond’s swamp-hazel ones, a muted combination of woodsy brown and forest green.
“And that disagreement is?” I demand, placing my hands on my hips and dropping my pajamas.
Avery finally turns to me, a crooked smile lighting up his face. He really is a beautiful man, all sharp edges and jagged sides like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit.
Snorting derisively, he takes a step closer and wraps me in his arms. “Just jealousy,” he murmurs as he brushes his lips against my cheek. “Your God of Combat needs to calm the fuck down.”
“Calm the fuck down?” Desmond rages, dark splotches of color appearing on his cheeks. It’s very, very rare to see my friendly, laughing god angry. Unease pricks at the skin of my spine as I watch him with bated breath. It doesn’t take long before he explodes. “This fucking asshole thinks he can just replace me. Who the fuck do you think you are? You’re nobody. I was Emily’s first friend and love. You were just an afterthought.”
“So are you saying that you weren’t able to please Emily by yourself?” Avery queries in faux innocence. He bats his eyelashes at a fuming Des. “And I should thank you for your ineptness?”
Desmond releases a ferocious snarl, one that isn’t quite human, and lunges towards Avery. I know that in a hand-to-hand fight, Desmond could take Avery, no problem. But if they’re allowed to use their powers?
“Enough!” I scream, throwing myself in between them. The punch Des was throwing stops mere centimeters from my face. Avery’s dark power coils around my ankles once, twice, three times, before releasing me with a hiss. Both men are panting heavily, eyes narrowed into slits.
“What the fuck, Em?!” Avery breaks the silence first, throwing his hands into the air. “That was stupid! You could’ve been hurt!”
“Maybe if you learned to control your fucking power,” Desmond hisses.
“I wasn’t the one with my fist inches from her face!”
“Enough!” I place one hand on either of their chests, feeling their hearts beat erratically beneath my palms. “I said, enough! Tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Out of all my men, Avery and Desmond are the two least likely to start an argument. Despite their brutal natures, they’re both easy-going men.
“Desmond’s fucking jealous!” Avery rages, lips curling away from his teeth. “Because he feels as if he’s been replaced as your best friend.”
My heart stutters before abruptly stopping, especially when Desmond doesn’t immediately contradict his claim. Instead, the God of Combat’s head drops almost sheepishly as he stares at his bare feet.
“Is that…is that true?”
In the Realm of the Gods, Des was my best friend. My first friend. He was the man I went to whenever I needed advice or just someone to talk to. And in this