A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,83
believe Anunit because it was easier than believing I’d been played for the universe’s utmost fool. I wanted to believe Anunit because it would mean I hadn’t made a colossal mistake. Death had made colossal mistakes, and she had absolutely failed at repairing them. This was a test of my character. How would I proceed, now that the crap had so viciously hit the fan?
“The World Crusher is free, though,” Anunit spoke up after a while. “Technically speaking, you did complete the trials, and I do owe you a living body. I’ve kept my end of the bargain. I have made you a living body, especially for you. It took some work, but the genetic material is strong enough to hold your Reaper spirit.”
“I can’t even talk about this right now,” I replied, waving her away. I kissed my husband’s cheek. “I need to be alone for a little while.”
Without sticking around to hear the reply, I walked away from the rubble and lost myself in the silence of this dead city. This was beyond my control now. There was nothing I could do to revert everything back to how I’d found it. She was gone. The ghouls were gone too. And Death… Crap, I had to tell Death.
Some minutes tumbled by like rolls of dust as the temperature rose toward noon. The city was a silent white splendor, and about fifty yards behind me, the Temple of Roses had been destroyed. After millions and millions of years, only a pile of stones and dirt and broken gemstones remained. I walked for a while longer, trying to get my thoughts together.
Yes, Death needed to know.
I’d lied to her, and it would likely cost me dearly, but if I were to be honest with myself, I did not regret coming here or learning the truth. I only wished I’d known about what it would take to break the seal. Sitting down, I crossed my legs and closed my mind off from everyone and everything to focus solely on Death. This would be an awkward conversation.
“Unending,” her voice came through like a pleasant melody in the back of my head. “How are things? Have you completed your task for Anunit?”
“I lied,” I said, cutting right to the chase. There was no point in stringing her along, anyway. Death had always detested being coddled. “I’m on Biriane.”
The silence that followed nearly broke me.
“I’m afraid I underestimated Anunit,” Death finally replied, her tone flat and devoid of emotion. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “She led you to the World Crusher, didn’t she?”
“Yes. And I didn’t tell you because—”
“Because you were mad at me,” she sighed. Holy crap. She’d seen this coming somehow. Maybe not now, maybe a hundred years ago, but this was not the reaction of someone who’d been utterly blindsided. “It’s not hard to figure that one out. First, the soul fae, then Thezin. And now, this…”
“Yes. I needed to know the truth, and I couldn’t trust you to give me that. You’ve been lying your ass off this whole time.” That wasn’t what I had planned to say, but her calmness brought out the worst in me. I quickly shifted back to my truth, almost crying. “I released her. I didn’t realize it, I was just reading her pages…”
“Oh, Unending…”
“I set her free. I’m sorry.”
Silence again. I hated it. I would’ve preferred Death to be angry. I would’ve liked to see furious lightning fracture the skies. My skin freezing. My spirit quivering in fear. But nothing happened. I was still sitting in the white dust, waiting for my maker to say something after my monumental screw-up. My anger had dwindled into my own sense of failure, and I could no longer count on myself to hold Death accountable for the lies, considering what I’d just done.
“Had you told me the truth from the beginning, had you told me where you were, I would’ve been able to warn you about breaking the seal,” she said.
“Would you have warned me, though, or would you have simply summoned me back with no explanation?” I was shocked to have found the strength to confront her on this.
“Considering who was under that seal and that you weren’t there by some harmless coincidence? I would have warned you,” she replied, and I hated her for being right. “This only proves that I cannot fully trust you, Unending. You meant well. I know you did, but you let the World Crusher go.”