assure my uncle with so much conviction it rings true right through the depths of my broken soul.
One of Thanatos’s eyebrows rises slowly. “So, you’ve finally grown a set of balls. Fine keep your little human, but believe me it won’t be for long. A spirit severed from its body won’t survive forever; even you know that. The second that connection breaks, she’ll be mine.”
His words seize my heart and stomach, twisting them in knots of panic. Not betraying what I’m feeling, I keep my expression bland.
Snapping his fingers, a horse appears from thin air. Snorting and tossing its elegant black head, a stallion, with a demonic look glittering in its eyes, trots to its master. Coat a satin onyx, its living mane of flames writhes in the breeze. Thanatos swings himself up into the saddle of his stead with an ease that boasts millenniums of practice.
“I’ll return in a few weeks with fresh supplies unless there’s something you’re anxious for now?” he inquires idly.
Amusement lurks in his gaze. Does he know that Robin destroyed my drugs? It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask for more. The seductive allure to have them almost overwhelming. How I manage to shake my head and keep my mouth shut is beyond me.
Tapping his heels into the flanks of his mount, he sets it in motion. I keep my feet planted on the porch, watching him ride off. Illusions and Nightmares drift closer to the building. Together we remain observant until Death is nothing more than a shadowy speck on the horizon.
Neither of them says a word, but from their matching expressions, I know what they want.
“Fine,” I mutter, waving my hands in the air and feeling the magic guarding the house subside. “But the second you start to get on my nerves, I’m going to kick your arses out.”
“Rubeen?” Nightmares questions, glowering at me from behind his long lank hair, his black eyes gleaming behind the untidy strands.
Turning I reach for the door handle, hearing their heavy tread on the steps up the porch toward me. “She’s asleep upstairs.”
“You fucked her,” Illusions states, hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans, his expression that of a moody teenager.
He knows. Of course, they both do. I don’t deny it either. Any ready boastful reply I might have had in the past isn’t forth coming. Cheapening what Robin gave me is something I have no intention of doing.
They shadow me up the stairs, along the corridor to my bedroom. Robin lays snuggled under a soft eiderdown duvet. She’s not asleep like I expect. Instead she peeps out at me from the cover. Hair tousled and sexy, she looks sated and happy.
This girl.
This sparkling, stunning, blue-eyed lost beauty. Her eyes are different, softer than I knew a gaze could be. They draw me in closer instead of repelling me like they might have with anyone else.
“Are you ok?” I ask stepping into the room, the others forgotten.
Robin’s smile is laced with shyness. “Yes.”
A large hand lands on my shoulder shoving me aside preventing me from saying more. Pushing his way into the room Nightmares takes a place at the end of the mattress with Illusions in tow.
Eye’s widening in apprehension, she hauls the duvet right up to her chin to cover her nakedness. “What are they doing in here? I thought you said they couldn’t enter.”
“I dropped the wards.” Fishing out my packet of cigarettes, I tug one out. “They wanted to be near you.”
“Why?”
I feel wired, nervous energy bouncing inside me desperate to escape with the two of them in such close proximity. “Because I do. They are me.”
Robin throws me a look as if I’ve lost more of my mind than I already have. “I don’t understand… have you taken something?”
“No,” I assure her rolling the cigarette between my fingers the repetitive motion calming. “I haven’t taken any of that shit since you dumped it down the sink. I’ve been at war with myself for so long. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be whole until you stumbled through my door.”
“Morpheus what are you trying to tell me?”
“Illusions and Nightmares are parts of me.” Hooking my lighter out of the front pocket of my worn jeans, I light the end of my smoke, taking a drag before finishing. “We are the same man.”
Robin looks gobsmacked at my revelation. Sitting up further she keeps the duvet firmly in place. “How is that even possible?”
“I’m a god, but fuck if I know. That’s