Taken by the Blood God (Devil Springs #4)

Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

Talant

“I see you didn’t take my advice.”

I didn’t take my eyes from the spot where Minerva had vanished before my eyes. I couldn’t stop seeing the hurt and betrayal on her face. Or hearing the way her voice broke when she told me that she could never forgive me.

“Brother.”

As he spoke, Davian laid a hand on my shoulder. I flinched, unable to control the reaction. My brother sighed, heavy and resigned. “Why didn’t you talk to her?” he asked.

It was the first time in centuries that he sounded like he once had—before we became so power-hungry and jaded. He sounded like an honorable man. A warrior. A protector.

“I did talk to her,” I said. “I didn’t tell her everything because I knew it would be too much. I told her about our past and how I ascended to a throne before I became a god. How we met Cassia. How we each found our way entombed in stone, whether by choice or force. I intended to tell her the rest. Just…not yet.”

“I’d say you waited too late.”

I didn’t have the energy to be angry with him. Or even frustrated. I rubbed my chest. The pain behind my sternum was fierce—a mixture of my own heartbreak and the sense of betrayal Minerva was feeling. I forced myself to build a wall between her emotions and mine. Not for my sake, but hers. If I could sense what she was feeling, she could feel me as well. She didn’t deserve to feel this pain.

I did.

I’d made so many mistakes in the past that I thought I’d learned everything I needed to know. Until I met my little witch.

My brother often said love made people stupid. At the time, I thought he meant that they made decisions out of a desire to please the other person. Now, I realized he meant that love made us stupid because we believed that we were protecting our love by hiding things that might hurt the other person. By keeping secrets or interfering in an effort to save them stress or harm—we ended up hurting them even more.

I had been stupid. Exceptionally so. I believed that if I’d given Minerva enough time to see me, to love me, that she would understand why I hadn’t been completely honest with her.

I’d also hoped she would see that I wasn’t the same any longer, that I had changed. I let my fear get the best of me.

“Give her a little time,” Davian said, interrupting my self-flagellation.

“I’m not sure a decade would be long enough. Nor that I could wait that long for her to forgive me.”

He shook his head, looking around at the clearing. “I doubt it will take that long. She hides it well, but the witch loves you.”

“I’m not sure that she does,” I murmured, following his gaze and taking in the smoldering piles of ash.

“That’s because you’re afraid to look too hard. You don’t want to see what she really feels in case it’s not what you want.”

I frowned at him. “Thank you for your words of wisdom, brother, but I think you’ve said enough to make me feel better .”

Davian shook his head. “I’m not telling you all of this to make you feel better. You fucked up. You need to acknowledge that. That will be the first step to your apology to Minerva.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I think that’s the first time you’ve used her name in my presence.”

“Well, the witch will be my brother’s mate at some point. I should probably learn her name before it happens.” How he could be so brutally honest yet optimistic at the same time, I didn’t understand.

“Okay, so I acknowledge I fucked up. Any other advice?”

He faced me. “Be honest with her. Hold nothing back. You didn’t want to be vulnerable to her rejection. That’s why you lied. The only way to convince her that you won’t do it again is to not do it again . When you talk to her, tell her everything. Tell her about your fears, your love, your mistakes. All of it.”

“What if that drives her further away?” I asked.

Davian made a show of looking around. “I don’t see her nearby now, do you?”

I shoved him back a few steps. “Too far, little brother.”

He sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Like I said. You fucked up. Not just a little, but a lot. To convince her that you understand exactly how much you fucked up, you must open yourself up to that rejection. You must be willing to risk her withdrawal. Your soulmate is an intelligent woman who doesn’t take any shit. She won’t accept anything less.”

“How do you suddenly know Minerva so well?” I asked. “You’ve barely spoken to her since she bound you to Devil Springs.”

“I don’t have to converse with her to observe her personality and behavior, Tal. I have two eyes and two ears. You learn more by watching how someone treats others than by how they treat you.”

I made a sound of disgust in my throat.

“What?” Davian asked.

“Why did you wait until now to become so wise? Couldn’t you have been this smart last week?”

He chuckled and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You wouldn’t have listened to me anyway. You were too wrapped up in your witch.”

My witch. I hoped Minerva was still mine.

“You do realize that she’s probably locked you out of her home now, right?” Davian asked.

I lowered my head and sighed. “I hadn’t thought of that yet, but I don’t doubt that you’re right.”

“I’m sorry. Did you just say I’m right?” he said.

I punched him in the chest. “Shut up.”

“Don’t give up hope, brother. Because she loves you, you’ll have a chance to fix what you broke. But it will require patience and effort.”

“I hope you’re right,” I murmured.

“Well, let’s clean up this mess and head back to her house. Even if you can’t get inside, I should be able to. I’ll bring you your things.”

“If she blocked me from the house, I’m sure she blocked you, too,” I pointed out.

Davian smiled, the expression more than a little wicked. “That may be, but she bound me with her power, which means there’s a trace of her magic on me. The spell should recognize me and let me in.”

“You do realize she could make you disappear, right?” I asked.

“I don’t think she would do that. She’s mad at you, not me.”

I punched his chest again. Harder this time.

Davian grunted, rubbing his sternum. “Control yourself, brother.”

“Stop being an ass, and I will.”

He shrugged. “Fine. Then, let’s get to work. There are pieces of warlocks everywhere.”

I grimaced but did as he instructed. I hoped that this was a sign that the brother I once knew was returning to me.