“I don’t think you understand, Taya.” Night had fallen, a new storm brewing in the distance. Lightning flashed, highlighting sinister features. Thunder rumbled, shaking the whole realm and every dimension in between, she was sure. Leaves gusted about, spiraling this way and that, as if the world reacted to his mood. “If you die, I will follow.”
“No!” The thought of death repelled her. Die? She loathed the very idea. But she loathed the idea of Roc’s death even more. He’d come to mean so much to her in so little time.
How could he not? The man cherished and challenged her. He made her feel as though she lived for the first time. If she had a need, he met it. If she had a want, he provided it. If she were injured in any way, he raged, then kissed her to make it all better.
She feared for anyone who harmed her, anyone who attempted to harm her and anyone who even briefly considered harming her. “You’re not going to die. I’m not going to die.” They weren’t there yet. “What are we missing?”
A brighter flash of lightning couched his face in an eerie haze of shadow and illumination. When minutes dragged by and he said nothing, she released his hand to pace before him.
“We must be missing something,” she chattered. “But what?”
Roc flashed in front of her. She crashed into his chest, unable to stop her momentum, and he banded his strong arms around her. He held her, just held her, and the frantic energy seeped from her, leaving her exhausted.
She couldn’t fight his embrace and didn’t want to; Taliyah sagged against him, resting her head on his capable shoulder.
Roc didn’t falter. He held her steady.
Finally he spoke, his voice rougher than sandpaper. “Nothing will separate us. Not now, not ever.”
36
One day until the final ceremony. A mere twenty-four hours. No closer to a solution. Standing on his balcony, peering out at the garden—the altar—Roc pulled at his hair, his frustration razor-sharp. He’d failed his wife.
He had no one to blame but himself. He alone had put Taliyah in this situation. Now he cursed his arrogance. Too strong to resist temptation? Him? Hardly. He’d lost the war the moment he’d first spied her; he just hadn’t known it.
He wished Solar were here. He would beg for his Commander’s forgiveness. I’m so sorry, brother. I didn’t know. Forgive me.
Roc hated Erebus. He disdained Chaos. But Roc despised himself the most.
All around, wind blustered and lightning flashed. The newest storm had yet to break. He could relate: he struggled to contain the worst of his emotions, even now.
Erebus had ceased his attacks. But then, he’d had no more phantoms buried in Harpina. They’d all been unearthed and transferred to Taliyah’s control.
“Like there’s really something I can’t do.” Taliyah crouched atop the desk, wearing her battle gear. Mesh leather halter, pleated skirt and metal shin guards. She was on a video call with her sisters and some of her friends, whom she’d barred from her bedroom, demanding to spend this last day with her husband.
Last day. He gripped the railing so tightly, the metal bent.
Taliyah could’ve run from this at any time, saving her life and dooming his. She had the power and means to do so. Yet here she was, fighting for him. Fighting for them. Her courage and loyalty astounded him.
“Guys, enough. Everything’s going to be all right,” she said with a forced smile, and Roc’s chest clenched. “I never accept a picture of defeat, remember? I always save the day. That won’t change because I’m getting boned on a regular basis.”
Roc moved to the balcony doors, leaned against the frame and crossed his arms, watching his wife. Strain emanated from her. Though her nightmares had ceased, she wasn’t sleeping. Of course, neither was he.
“Neeka,” she said, as if barely clinging to hope. The oracle had, apparently, hacked her way into the conversation from an “undisclosed” location. “Let’s say the worst happens and I kick it. Erebus resurrected after the Astra killed him with their superweapons or whatever. Why can’t I?”
“Because you can’t?” Neeka responded.
“You aren’t going to die again,” he shouted. Taliyah made his life worth living. When he fueled and stoked her desires, he experienced more satisfaction than he’d ever earned winning a war. Anytime he held her in his arms, he experienced contentment like never before. The too-fleeting moments he fed her his soul, blood or seed, sating her hunger and keeping her strong, his pride knew no bounds.
He’d chosen a warrior queen. A goddess. A fierce protector to those she loved. A stubborn enchantress Roc would destroy worlds to possess. He wouldn’t give her up.
She glanced up from the phone as her sisters called out, “Don’t hang up!”
“I have so much more to say!”
Taliyah said, “Guys, know that I love you more than life itself. Know that I regret nothing.” She hung up.
“Come to me,” he said. And she did.
* * *
Taliyah lay in bed with Roc, naked and tucked into his side, hysteria teasing the edges of her mind. How had she failed her mission so grandly?
She croaked, “If Neeka is right, if I die for good—”
“Taya—”
“Y-you and your guys will look after my people, right, if necessary?” A lump grew in her throat. “And don’t say you won’t kill me. I’ve been thinking about this, and I know you’re as torn as I am. One part of me wonders what kind of Goddess General can condemn the Astra to five hundred years of loss. They’re my people, too. But the other part of me screams to keep fighting, no matter what.”
“Taya,” he repeated, misery crackling in his voice.
“I...I don’t know if I’ll lie down, a willing sacrifice, or if I’ll fight till the end.” Tears welled, clouding her vision. One droplet escaped, sliding down her cheek to drip onto his chest.
He hissed upon contact, then braced a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes.
“If we do end up fighting,” she whispered, “I won’t hesitate to take my shot against you. Okay? But you don’t hesitate to take yours, either. Okay? If you can kill me, do it. Our fight will be fair.”
“Taya,” he repeated yet again, heartbreak in his tone.
“No, no more talking,” she pleaded. “I just... Help me forget, Roc. Love me all night, and help me forget.”
“I will love you forever.” With a hoarse cry, he slanted his mouth over hers. The kiss was as heartbreaking as everything else, their tongues making love slowly.