. it was healed, but not whole. The gods had saved him but didn’t take away the reminder that he was still mortal.
“Did you find them?” Quinn asked, her fingers itching to reach for the blade strapped to her side. Could she truly be this lucky? Could they?
“Of course,” he replied, arrogant if not charming. “It took me a decade to do it, but I found them one by one. They were scattered across the continent, but blood magic . . . if you offer the magic enough, it can do almost anything.” He sounded proud of himself, but also calculating. While he gave her answers, she had little doubt that it was thoughtless. He did not feel fear within her presence.
“And the gods,” Quinn mused, pacing herself. They moved in circles, getting closer and closer. “Did they hold true to what they said?”
He grinned at her as if it were their secret. “Come to me and I’ll tell you.”
Quinn lifted an eyebrow. “You had me killed once, lest I remind you.”
“But you found your way back, at my brother’s side again, I’m sure. I’ve never met another who could defy death itself. That’s too rare to throw away again. I would keep you and together we—”
“Could kill Lazarus?” she asked him, then laughed outright. “Do you really think I would turn on him? I came back from death for him, why would I ever—”
“I don’t wish to kill him,” Nero said. “I wish to keep him. And you. The three of us, we could have such fun together.”
“I’ve seen your ideas of fun,” Quinn said solemnly, recalling the piles of human flesh.
“I’ve heard of yours,” he replied. “I think we would be well matched.”
They circled again, getting closer and closer.
They were only a hairsbreadth away when they both stopped, chests heaving. The scent of the ocean, steel, and the first bite of winter touched her.
“Surely, you’ve heard other things about me,” she murmured. Drawing her dagger and pressing it to his throat in the same breath. He didn’t flinch away as the steel kissed his skin. His good eye staring at her with an intensity she was growing accustomed to. “Such as my ability to hold a grudge. I murdered my parents for what they did. Do you really think I wouldn’t kill you? If not for killing me, then because it’s demanded as my price to pay for the deal I made.”
Her throat stung. A sliver of pain running through her. Nero lifted his hand slowly and touched his fingers to her skin. They came away as red as the blood that welled against her blade.
Quinn frowned as Nero grinned, licking the blood from his fingers.
“Your deal means nothing to me. When I win the war, my gods will give me whatever I want. Even you.”
Quinn stepped away, and his hand moved fast as a viper to wrap around her wrist holding the blade.
“What kind of magic is this?” she demanded. Looking from her blade to his neck to his fingers where her blood had touched, and then feeling the wound on her own neck to solidify what she was seeing.
“Ramiel’s gift,” he said, his tongue darting out to lick his lip once more. “Any harm done unto me shall have the same done back to you. An eye for an eye, if you will.”
They cheated, Mazzulah had said. It wasn’t cheating in the rules, but in the intent. The gods knew that this time it would be the end, and both sides planned for it.
“You are Neiss’ champion. Born for greatness,” Nero said the word with envy and lust. “I was no one’s, but I became them all. I can do what no Maji can, not even Lazarus. You are both as dark as me, and whether you choose me or not, I have the power to take you. I will own you by the end of this war, Quinn Darkova.”
“No man owns me,” Quinn spat as she tore her arm away.
“I am more than any man. I’m the champion of six gods. A god among men, and no one defies me. I look forward to breaking you, Quinn.”
Nero smiled at her, and then he woke up.
Chapter 43
An Eye for an Eye
“Both pride and confidence stem from the same grain of truth.”
— Lazarus Fierté, soul eater, King of Norcasta
He’d woken when the carriage jolted, and he realized his mistake.
Eyes closed, arms crossed over her chest, she wasn’t sleeping. She couldn’t, not anymore. Which meant she was dreamwalking.
Lazarus