Taken by the Blood God (Devil Springs #4)

Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Minerva

For the first time since Talant came home with me, I was utterly relaxed. After he’d ravaged me until my legs were too weak to stand, Talant had held me for a long time, his hands skimming over my hair and skin with something that felt almost like reverence.

After a long while, we cleaned up and I changed my nightgown. The one I’d been wearing was soaked in sweat. Talant tugged me into his side so that my head rested on his shoulder. His hand swept over my back, warm and hard through the silk I wore.

“I need to tell you about who I was.”

At his words, I tilted my head back so I could see his face. “Who you were?”

His eyes drifted from the ceiling to my face. His face wasn’t the blank mask he’d once worn. He looked as though he were bracing for something when he continued.

“Who I was before I became…who I am now.”

Curious, I stacked my hands on his chest and turned over to rest my chin on top of them. “Okay. So, tell me.”

He took a deep breath before he closed his eyes and threw an arm over them. “I’m not sure I can tell you if you’re looking at me. Once I see your eyes change, I may not be able to continue.”

I reached across his body, grabbing his left hand. Then, I rolled until my back was toward him and his arm was draped over my waist. Talant seemed to get the hint and shifted so that his long, hot body spooned mine. He left his arm locked around my waist, and he shoved the other beneath my head as a pillow. My head was tucked just beneath his chin, and his knees bent up until the tops of his thighs cradled the backs of mine. He wrapped around me like a blanket, cradling me close and offering comfort. I reached down to my waist and laced my fingers through his.

“Now, tell me who you were,” I said.

“A long, long time ago, I was a mage for an ancient kingdom. I used magic to help the kings rule in a fair and just manner. At first. As time went on, I found myself doing things I never thought I would do. Things that I would rather forget now. Until the last king. He was raised away from the city, away from me, until it was time for him to take his father’s place upon the old king’s death. It wasn’t until he came into power that I realized he was truly evil. He didn’t give a shit about his people or about being a good ruler. He only wanted to satisfy his appetites. At first, he wanted food, wine, and women. But as time went on, the women he chose became younger and younger. One day I found him forcing himself on a girl who was barely old enough to bleed every month.”

My grip on his hand tightened at his words as I imagined what he must have walked into. The longer lifespans of magic users often jaded them. The fact that he sounded disgusted by what the king had done softened my heart toward him a little more.

“I didn’t think. When I heard her screams and saw her tears, there was no controlling myself.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I killed him. Brutally. And I enjoyed every single second of it because the sick bastard deserved it.”

I wanted to tell Talant that I agreed, but I didn’t want to distract him from his story. It was becoming clear that he had lines he wouldn’t cross. That he wasn’t like many of the gods in the ancient texts I’d read.

“He had no offspring, so I assumed his throne. For years I tried to be a good ruler. But it was custom at the time for anyone seeking an audience with the king to bring an offering of some type to show their allegiance. At first, the offerings were things like gold, jewels, family heirlooms. Then, as the people began to understand my magic, they made offerings to help me strengthen my power. A wizard king could protect them better than a mere human. At least that’s what they believed.

As time went on, I realized that blood offerings, especially from those who carried strong magic, were the key to building my foundation of power. By the time the kingdom fell more than a century later, I no longer gave a damn about the people who sacrificed their blood for me. All I cared about was power.

In that time, I began my ascent to godhood. Not from compassion and selfless deeds, as your niece might. But from greed, selfishness, and a thirst for more and more. Not just power, but wealth. Adoration—and fear. Everything.”

Talant stopped speaking for a moment. Though I couldn’t see his face, I sensed he was lost in his memories, so I remained silent.

“My brother was with me every step of the way. It may be difficult to believe, since you didn’t know him then, but he was once a good man. One of the best I knew while I was human. He was a warrior. A protector. But he had strong magic like I did. It was rare, but we both achieved godhood. That was when we left the kingdom in search of, well, even more. We were gluttonous, always starving for more magic, more strength, just…more. That was when we met Cassia.”

His body tensed behind mine, which made me want to tense up as well. I took a deep breath and forced my muscles to relax as I exhaled.

“Cassia was everything Davian and I were not. She was a goddess of light and joy. Though her power was over ice and air, she wasn’t cold. Far from it. She shone like the sun.”

At his words, my heart twisted in my chest, pierced with an unfamiliar sensation. One that seemed a lot like jealousy.

“Davian and I, we both wanted her. Eventually, we realized we loved her. At first, we wanted her to choose one of us, but when we asked her, she said she couldn’t choose. We didn’t like the idea, but we were willing to share her if that was what she wanted.” He paused. “It wasn’t. She finally explained to us that she loved us, but only as a sister might love her brothers. That her heart didn’t yearn for us in that way.

Davian grew darker and more dangerous after her rejection. He left us and made his way through the world alone.

I was far too optimistic. I believed that if I could just be better, she would return my feelings. I looked at my actions through the lens of her compassion and gentleness and found myself wanting. I worked hard to change, to value the lives of those around me the way she did.

At first, my motives were purely selfish, but eventually I began to see humans and other mortals the way she did—with optimism and hope. She had so much hope for mankind and their future.

I came to her again, decades later, and asked her if she could love me now. I still didn’t understand when she told me no, that she could never feel that way about me. She wasn’t my soulmate. The other half of me. And that if she gave me what I wanted, I would eventually regret it because I would meet the woman who was meant to be mine someday.”

As he said those words, Talant’s arm tugged me closer to him, erasing what little space remained between us. My heart thrummed at his action, and I wondered if he was trying to tell me that I might be that woman. I wanted to believe it. Not only that. I wanted it to be true.

“After her final rejection, I locked myself away beneath the mountain, putting as much distance between us as I could. I existed in a half-state for centuries, watching the world pass me by. I saw when Cassia met a mortal man and fell in love. She gave up her godhood so that she could bear his children and grow old with him. I watched as she died, surrounded by the people she loved. Her power waited, dormant and restless, for the one who was meant to wield it. I never saw who it was, but I felt when she was born, and Cassia’s power found its new host.

Then, one day, a young woman with bright eyes and red hair appeared before me. She was kind and funny, and she brought me back to the land of the living. Through her eyes, I saw a world that I very much wanted to be a part of again. She was meant to be my Anointed, which meant she needed my guidance and my protection. She was my atonement for all the wrong I’d done in the centuries before.”

My heart raced faster at his words. I knew he was talking about Ally and how she’d brought him back into reality.

“My brother seemed intent on using her for his own purposes. But I knew I would protect her, even from him. The day I awoke in that cave and laid eyes on a witch, I knew I had a new purpose. This witch carried Cassia’s light, the bright magic I knew. Only, within her, this light burned like a fire. She wasn’t sweet or gentle, but strong and unbreakable. She loved fiercely to protect her heart from being shredded. And I knew Cassia was right. That our love was never meant to be more than it was.”

My racing heart all but stopped. Was he saying what I thought he was?

“You mean you don’t love her any longer?” I asked.

Immediately, I wished I could take the words back. The question gave away too much of my feelings for him. Feelings I wasn’t ready to share. Not yet.

He was silent for so long that I worried I’d interpreted his words incorrectly. “I realized a long time ago that I loved the idea of Cassia more than I truly loved her. I loved her, yes, but not as I should love my other half. She was pure goodness, something I’d never had in my life before, and I wanted that to become the center of my world. I didn’t realize that the goodness could come from within me rather than from someone else. It was love, but not the kind I thought.”

I didn’t speak when he finished, just brought his arm from my waist to hug it to my chest. Talant buried his face in my hair and held me tighter, as though he wanted to crawl inside my skin. Neither of us said another word. We held each other as the night deepened, each thinking our own thoughts.

I thought about his story, how he’d gone from a mage, an advisor to kings, to a king himself. I wondered what he’d been like as a human. Had he always been this arrogant? Or was it something that had come with time and power?

Regardless of who he’d once been, he was so much more than I realized in the here and now. He was infuriating, arrogant, and sometimes out of control. But, beneath those irritating qualities, I’d glimpsed compassion and gentleness. Especially with me. He was pushy and stubborn, but he took care of me when I needed him. It had been so long since someone had bothered to take care of me. Not since my mother and older sister were alive had someone anticipated my needs and tried to fulfill them.

At the thought of my mom and my sister, Ally’s mother, my chest ached. I missed them so much. Never more so than times when I desperately needed their advice. I might not have talked to my mother about Talant and what was happening between us, but I would have talked to my sister. And she would have listened to me without judgement. And her advice would have helped me figure all of this out—my emotions, Talant, whether I should give him a chance.

I closed my eyes and tried to think about what she would say. Lydia had such a way of seeing things. Of seeing people. She saw beyond the masks we wear to the vulnerabilities beneath. She would have understood what made Talant tick within days of meeting him. She would have helped me see him the way she did, to see past my own bias.

In a sudden flash, I knew. My sister would have liked Talant. She would have been angry with Davian, but she would have understood him as well. If I let my mind wander, I could almost see Lydia spending time with the two gods, figuring them out and wrapping them around her little finger, almost the way Ally had wrapped Talant around hers before she freed him from his self-imposed imprisonment.

My mind wanted to continue to spiral into thoughts of my sister and mother and what they would have said or done when they met Talant, but my body had other ideas. I couldn’t fight the pull of sleep any longer.

I fell asleep with Talant’s hand clutched to my chest like a teddy bear and the heat of his skin soaking through my thin silk nightgown.

When the dream came, I wasn’t sure if it was a memory or my mind re-creating what Talant had described to me.

I stood in a garden, lush and rich. Tall stone walls surrounded it, but I knew there was nothing but sand outside of them. The air was so dry and hot that my skin ached from it.

A few feet in front of me, Talant and Davian stood, side-by-side, their arms crossed over their chests. Though they looked the same as I knew them now, I sensed that they were somehow…younger. The weight of their power wasn’t as heavy. Still, the sight of them together was intimidating. Probably because they both looked as serious as death.

“Will you choose one of us?” Davian asked, a scowl on his face.

I shook my head, watching as Davian turned to his brother.

“I told you we should decide between the two of us,” he hissed.

Talant scowled at him. “No. It’s Cassia’s decision. Not ours.”

“Clearly she isn’t willing to make the decision, brother.”

“I’m sure she isn’t since we’re both here, staring at her like we have every right to demand anything from her.”

I wanted to cover my ears as they bickered. The sound of their anger and frustration made my chest tight. Instead, I interrupted. “I won’t choose either of you,” I murmured, just loud enough for them to hear.

“What?” Talant asked, facing me.

As I studied him, I realized that he didn’t look the same. His eyes weren’t the warm amber I was used to. They were cold. Distant. As if he was completely removed from emotion.

I had to hold back a shudder at the icy weight of his gaze. “I won’t choose either of you,” I repeated, my voice stronger this time. “I care very deeply for both of you, but as I might care for a sibling. Not a lover.”

Davian’s scowl deepened as he stared at me. Without another word, he turned and stormed away, his anger hovering around him like a storm cloud.

It made me sad to see him leave, but I wouldn’t call him back. I knew to do so would give him false hope.

When I faced Talant, he was watching me, studying me. Then, he took a step toward me, holding out a hand.

“Cassia—"

I stepped away, lowering my eyes, and saw my reflection in the pool of water to my right. Long blonde hair was braided down my back and bright blue eyes met mine.

The dream dissolved as I woke with a start. My bedroom was still dark, swathed in shadows. I looked at the clock on the nightstand, the luminous dial showing that dawn would come soon.

Moving carefully, I slipped from beneath Talant’s arm and out of the bed. The morning air was chilly, so I grabbed my warmest robe from the hook in my bathroom and wrapped up.

The house was still and quiet as I crept downstairs and into the kitchen. I tried to shut out my thoughts and the dream as I put the kettle on the stove to boil. I focused on choosing dried herbs and flowers to add to my tea leaves. Lavender for calm, elderflower for protection and peace, and raspberries and hibiscus because it added sweetness. I placed everything in the tea ball as I warmed the tea pot and gathered everything on a small tray. I decided to sit outside and greet the day with the sun. The dream had left me unsettled and confused.

No, I wasn’t going to think about it yet. Once I had a cup of tea in my hand and my ass on a comfortable chair, I would let my thoughts go back to the dream.

After the tea brewed, I carried the tray outside to the back porch. I curled up on one of the couches, facing east, and picked up my cup. It was only then that I let my mind return to the dream and let myself feel the sadness and confusion that wanted to overwhelm me when I woke.

I sipped my tea and wondered if the dream was because of the story Talant told me the night before or if it was a memory. I would have to ask him if I would inherit some of Cassia’s memories along with her power. Because, if it was a memory, it would have been hers. They called me Cassia. And neither of them looked at me the way they did now. And I definitely didn’t look like myself in the reflection of the pond.

I drank down the pot of tea, watching as the sun lightened the sky.

When the pot was empty, I was calmer, but no closer to clarity. The sun was almost up, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before Talant woke up. When he did, we would talk.

With a sigh, I got to my feet and turned to gather the tray. As I straightened, I felt a shimmer of magic behind me. My shoulders tensed, and I reached for my power, ready to defend myself.

Before I could even turn my head, a strong arm hooked around my neck, yanking me backward, and a cloth was slapped down over my mouth and nose. A sharp chemical smell filled my nose and metallic bitterness bit into my tongue. My head swam as I tried to speak, to cast a spell, but the hand over my mouth was too tight. My jaw wouldn’t move. Darkness grew at the edges of my vision until it consumed me. I was falling, even as my body was lifted. Falling into a pit of black, a void that would devour me.