***
Chapter One
Candlelight sparkled in his eyes, pale flames reflecting back across the table between us, dancing briefly as a waiter in a fitted black apron and crisp, white shirt drifted by on soft feet. A luxurious napkin draped my lap, cool on the skin where my bare knees peeked out of the hem of my little black dress. For once my hair seemed to be behaving itself, at least for now, piled in a coil of shining curls thanks to my best friend’s talent and stubborn refusal to let my messy mane win. I was even wearing lip gloss to tint my mouth from its normal pale, mascara, a bit of blush so my skin didn’t seem quite so ghostly. My fingers brushed against the drop of diamond at my throat, the necklace a gift from my faithful advisor and clasped there by its platinum chain just a few minutes ago.
It felt like an eternity.
Faint but elegant music played in the background, strains of orchestral dedication giving me shivers when I really listened. Or was it my dinner companion who raised goosebumps on my bare arms at the way he looked at me over the flickering light of the candle between us? Adam’s gray eyes took on a smoky darkness with those pinpoints of golden flames shining like stars. He smiled at me. A little nervous? Well, fair enough. He wasn’t the only one.
The young waiter in the long, black apron, his dress shirt tight to his narrow chest, arrived at our table while I fought for something to say past the dryness of my throat. He smiled, though his expression seemed strained to me and I realized as Adam turned his attention to the server this mortal must think we were wasting his time. Two teenagers having dinner at an expensive restaurant in his realm, barely old enough to drive, not even close to an age drinking would be legal in this particular country. Clearly we must have seemed ridiculous to him.
Are you ready to order?
Our server hadn’t even given us time to look at the menus. But I refused to let this anxious young man who obviously had more important tables he thought he needed to attend to ruin this very special night.
My first date with Adam.
Not yet, thank you.
I was surprised by my friend’s firm tone, the confident smile he flashed. We’ll need a moment. But we’ll both start with drinks.
He named something I wasn’t familiar with, called a Manhattan. A drink named after a city here in the mortal realm? Before the waiter could comment, Adam winked. Virgin, naturally.
I blushed at the term before remembering that meant without alcohol.
No need for the makeup to add red to my cheeks. If I couldn’t keep myself from overreacting to every little thing, I’d be red and blotchy before we even got to order dinner.
Adam’s calm and confident attitude must have calmed some of the server’s concerns, because the young man with the dark hair slicked with a perfect part and sunken eyes that seem hungry for action relaxed ever so slightly before bowing and turning from the table. Adam watched him go then returned his attention to me, a faint smile on his face.
Mom and Dad used to take me here all the time,
he said. As long as you know how to act, they drop the attitude.
Good thing one of us did, then. Because I continued to fidget, hand going to my hair to check it, then to the diamond drop at my neck, to the hem of my skirt to tug it lower in total vain, to the napkin in my lap and over again.
This is nice.
I honestly wanted to crawl under the table even while the words left my mouth. I mean, thank you.
More blushing, more embarrassment, more awkwardness from the daughter of Life and Death, the carrier of the Chaos persona. Who was I kidding? None of that mattered. All the social disaster issues I battled? Total and complete Eve.
Adam laughed, way more at ease than I thought he had the right to be. "It is nice, he said, rescuing me from myself,
and thank you for saying yes. I’ve been thinking we needed to try a real date at some point. Especially after everything."
By everything he of course meant the fact he’d almost died, I’d saved his Life, he’d died for real then I’d made him something entirely outside Fate by a touch of my hand and the seemingly unerring ability I had to screw up everyone and everything in my circle of influence.
Not entirely fair, though. He was Chance to my Chaos, and according to my diminutive foretelling friend, Destiny, he was as necessary as I was. Together we made free will, something I now knew was as important as Creation itself.
When the fidget cycle wanted to start again, I firmly gripped it in my control and held still. Chaos grumbled slightly inside me, our connection stronger than it had ever been. But she seemed more than a little frustrated with my lack of confidence when it came to Adam. Maybe it was her influence driving my hand to touch my hair, my necklace, my hemline, my napkin.
Eve. Seriously. That nervous habit had me written all over it.
I like this place.
I looked around at the dark wood paneling, breathing in the scents of garlic and butter, admiring the pristine white table cloths, the arched ceiling with elaborate carvings in the heavy beams. Hating, all the while, how weird this felt. I should have been totally at ease, relaxed and excited, happy to spend a lovely dinner in a fantastic setting with the one person in Creation I cared about the way I cared about Adam. I still fought off the word love
only out of sheer stubbornness. We’d only known each other for a short time, after all. Two weeks, if I was being generous. And we’d honestly only spent a fraction of that time in any kind of rational and reasonable conversation that had nothing to do with the end of Creation or our roles in the threats against the Crosspath and realms making up said Creation. I’d seen enough romance movies and read enough books about teen angst and love it irked me to consider Adam and I were destined for each other, that love at first sight was a thing I could accept.
Chaos growled as the mist that made up our realm swirled within me in irritated response.
I do, too.
He seemed to still, to retreat slightly and I winced. Hadn’t he mentioned he’d come here with his parents? How insensitive was I, really, to not pay attention to what I said? He was dead to them. Though, like me, how much choice did Adam really have in the end, with the possibility of who he could be pushing him toward me, toward taking on Chance and the spark of green life I’d retrieved from the dying persona of Gaea, the Earth Mother? I still regretted her passing, the collapse of her steamy, ancient realm with its stunning waterfall and prehistory feel. Gone now with the rest of the ancient doorways leading to such places, the final bits of power keeping them alive absorbed into the mist of Chaos and a single, white paneled door resting where the head of the corridor used to be.
I shivered and rubbed my bare arms. I wasn’t supposed to think about such things tonight. This date was meant to be for me and Adam, a chance to get to know each other as people, not as giant, threatening and/or powerful personas who had the ability and seeming inevitability to alter the very path of Creation. Because I was so very good at anything besides making messes of my life and those of the people I cared about.
Adam snapped back to me, his face visibly switching from soft, distant melancholy to right here, right now. I felt the contact of the green spark we both shared. The one that resurrected him from his deep sleep when he overstretched his powers on my behalf. The same spark that had once, long ago, been a tiny slice of Chaos evolved over the eons into something else entirely. The Ogdoad’s influence, those eight keepers of the slivers of Chaos left behind when my persona was locked away by Life and Death? Or that of Time itself? I had no idea, but whatever the reason for the alteration of the spark, it seemed content to rest with Adam and me.
It’s not your fault, Eve.
So kind, his tone, his words, his very heart trying to soothe me when I should have been doing the same for him. I chose this, remember? I wasn’t even supposed to survive the cancer.
I knew that already. I said my goodbyes to Mom and Dad a long time ago. It just took a bit longer than I expected for those goodbyes to stick.
His mouth twisted into a wry smile, eyes sparking with more than the candlelight. His handsome face, the broad jaw and high cheekbones, wide lips and big eyes, seem even more delicious to me now that he’d filled out, returned to health. The young man I met in the hospital bed, the one dying of the tumor taking over his brain, he had been gaunt, Death surrounding him, my father’s former persona lingering in wait for Adam’s end. I’d stopped that with a kiss, on purpose, setting in motion events I preferred to forget for tonight.
Too bad those events didn’t like to leave me alone. Ever.
I love your necklace.
Adam pointed to it and yet again my fingers rose to stroke the diamond. Is it new?
I nodded, swallowing a sudden lump in my throat. A match to the one that appeared when the advisor I leaned on more and more heavily these days quietly gifted it to me with his usual humble and gentlemanly demeanor.
Seth.
I let my hand drop. I’m not sure why but he wanted me to have it.
Adam’s smile held only kindness. Maybe he likes you,
he said. I gasped at him, flinched at the very idea. Then Adam grinned, blushing a little. I didn’t mean it that way.
I choked on his joke, snorted a rather unladylike sound out of my nose as he rushed on. It was supposed to be funny.
I laughed then, the tension leaving me, my nervous need to fidget fading. Suddenly relaxed and very happy to be there, I shook my head and reached across the table. Adam took my hand, still grinning, his warm skin against mine, the tingle of power between us lighting me up inside, stirring Chaos’s storm and whatever magic lived within the young man I was falling in love with.
That much I would allow.
Now that we’re both awkward disasters who say the wrong thing,
I winked, let’s eat. I’m starving.
***
Chapter Two
The rest of our evening went much better. Adam ordered us some outrageous dishes I’d never heard of though enjoyed immensely, savory with mushrooms and shellfish, colorful vegetables and the freshest pasta I’d ever tasted. All while we sipped our virgin Manhattans and laughed over things I really couldn’t recall. It was the first time in my life I felt like a normal girl, as if everything I’d done and become, the life I led, the challenges I’d faced and had yet to stand before, faded away into nothing under the steady sweetness of Adam’s smile.
I held his hand as much as I could, no shame in it, though doing so made me blush. Easier when he scooted his chair sideways, next to me instead of across, his knee brushing mine over and over, the lush fabric of his suit pants whispering over my skin. Had he borrowed one from Seth? My advisor’s penchant for perfectly tailored three pieces and silk shirts with bright ties and polished shoes looked oddly out of sorts on the body of a man topped by the head of a dragon, snout, whiskers, horns and all. But I’d grown used to Seth’s appearance, to the dichotomy of the threatening fangs and slitted emerald eyes, the way smoke occasionally drifted upward from his curved nostrils and the rakish scar over one brow that gave him a daring, dangerous air capping the epitome of professional and expensive menswear.
I’d never seen Adam dressed like that, though, and had to admit it took my breath, the sight of him when he’d come for me in my private room, behind my throne in the Mist realm. I’d held off really taking a good look at how the dark gray suit hugged his tall, broad body, how the soft blue of his shirt lit his eyes with points of color, how he seemed to carry himself with perfect poise regardless whether dressed in jeans and a t-shirt or this elegant apparel.
I finally sat back from my pasta, the remains of goat cheese and cranberries so delicious in my salad bowl I wanted to lick the sides. Adam set aside his napkin, leaning closer to me, the faintest darkness of a new beard on his cheeks.
Dessert?
What was it about the way he said that word that made me blush? Not just a little flush, either, not a small and coquettish rising of pink to my cheeks, nothing delicate about it. Instead, Chaos growled, the mist surging into my chest as my whole body lit up and I gasped audibly in response.
Adam’s pupils dilated instantly, his face losing its teasing grin. Was Chance responding to Chaos? I considered it likely, though to be honest there wasn’t much thinking going on at the moment. Not when my hormones decided this was a fantastic time to teach me a thing or two about what it was like to be a teenaged girl who really, really liked a teenaged boy.
Public place, Eve. I forced myself to sit back, to look away, the sound of Adam’s soft sigh either regret or relief. When I finally peeked up again, through my lashes, he was grinning and pulling at his collar, a bit red himself.
Well now. How interesting.
How’s Tulip doing?
He was clearly doing his best to change the subject. A wicked little part of me almost didn’t let him. My high heel was half off, toes ready to climb the inside of his pant leg, when I sighed at Chaos and answered.
Coping,
I said. Thinking about my centaur bestie helped cool my internal fires. She’d been left orphaned and the new head archivist of the Repository of Creation when Isis killed her parents. I would have loved to go after my ex-mother and end her personally for that pair of murders alone—she had more than enough to answer for, the loss of Oak and Blossom hitting most keenly—but my best friend, Tulip, had denied me that. It was the palomino historian’s desire to destroy Isis herself. And though the woman who bore me didn’t deserve pity, I honestly hoped I’d be there when Tulip finally caught up with her, still on the run from all of us, the Pantheons of the realms included. If only to keep my friend from harming her own soul with what she was going to do to the former ruler of Life.
I intended to go see her this morning.
Adam sounded like he meant it, that it wasn’t just a platitude. One of the things I loved about him.
And there was that word again.
She’s doing all right, honest.
I sigh and look down at my hands, at the perfect ovals she made of my nails, painted faintly pink with soft sparkles in the lacquer. Like Tulip had time to help me get ready for my date. Except she insisted, latched onto the chance when she found out in passing I was going out tonight. Like helping me get ready would save her life.
One of us has to be happy,
she muttered over my hands, head down, ivory curls bouncing as she filed with aggressive precision.
Of course she is.
Utter and unshakable faith in her. I could have hugged him. I would have, too, if the corner of the table and the remains of our dinner weren’t in the way. If the gathered diners, who had no idea who sat among them, weren’t present to witness such a show of affection. Yes, I was Chaos, or carried her around inside me, one of the most powerful forces of nature in Creation. But that didn’t mean I’d lost my shyness around Adam. But I meant to. I will go to the Repository tomorrow.
I’d hold off,
I laughed. Or she’ll pin you down and demand to know every single detail of what happened tonight.
I could just picture her grilling him with the focus of a sharp shooter, demanding the smallest slice of instant not be left out. I’ll talk to her first. That way, you’ll only get the compressed version of her questioning.
Adam chuckled, the warm and delightful sound making me shiver all over again. He had to stop doing that. Though the memory of kissing him, of his lips on mine in the marble garden of Greece while Zeus’s failed attempt to seduce me pushed Adam into a prolonged show of connection, wasn’t far from my mind.
I’ll take Delilah with me,
he said. That’ll keep Tulip occupied.
He had to bring up my sister. Not that I didn’t care about her, too. I did, deeply and with great affection for the girl with whom I shared a mother. But I’d come here tonight to shed my problems and all the weight those problems pressed down on my shoulders. I could feel my spine rounding forward, my chest tightening as the stress woke up and reminded me of what I left back home in the Mist realm.
Adam reacted instantly, squeezing my hand, leaning close enough he could brush his lips over my knuckles, the warmth of his breath, the faint moisture raising the hairs on my arms and stirring my blush again. I’m sorry,
he said. This was supposed to be about us.
Don’t apologize,
I said. Not ever. This is amazing and I’m having a great time.
I managed a beaming smile, a real one, too, nothing fake or made up about it. I would think about my odd and unfathomable little sister later, when I went home. About how she’d been bred from Death and Life though the man who was her father didn’t hold that position long. The way she’d burst from my ex-mother fully formed, a toddler fed by the stolen power of the ancient corridor of the Crosspath. How Delilah, named by Destiny herself, grew at such a rapid pace. Only a week since her birth she already had the body and growth of a five year old, though her soul felt far more ancient.
Or how Delilah’s sudden outbursts of joy and clear understanding punctuated her more normal existence of watching, observing silence. I hated to pair her name with the word creepy, but honestly, there were times I woke from a deep sleep to find her perched on my bed, staring at me. Without malice or ill intent, mind you, without any kind of seeming purpose. And yet, no matter her reasoning, it still freaked me out.
Adam sighed. He must have read my renewed anxiety on my face, leaning away, letting my hand go. It was nice while it lasted,
he said. And smiled, sweet, gentle, weary.
I would not let this night end on such a low note. Not when he’d done his best to make it special, taking me here, a place he loved from his old life, making sure I had fun and felt cared for. No, I refused to let our mixed up lives ruin this moment.
Not when there was a very simple thing I could do to make sure it ended on the highest note possible. Without warning, embarrassment and drawing attention be damned, I reached forward, grasping his jacket in one hand, pulling him toward me. Adam didn’t resist, gray eyes lit with candlelight and power, and he met me equally when I pressed my lips against his.
This had to be love. I was lying to myself, being so hard on what could only be that most special of emotions, that most precious of gifts between souls. How could it be anything but love? The way he made me feel, the zinging vibration of our matching power, how my skin heated as his tongue slipped over my lower lip and touched mine ever so softly. The delicate caress of his hand that grew stronger, shifting me around the corner of the table, my chair sliding on the wood floor until I was beside him, almost in his lap, my hands cupping his jaw.
Delicious, tastier than dinner or any chocolate treat, deeper and richer with all the power of his magic in this one, simple kiss.
When he pulled away I did, too, as if we both instinctively chose to retreat at the same moment. So in tune with each other, Chaos and Chance. We existed entwined, tied together with magic and the spark of green life I sighed out between my parted lips. That power danced in faint sparks that lit his mouth a moment before dying out.
Adam,
I whispered. I lo—
How would he have reacted to that confession? Would he have run off, terrified of such an outburst? Or expressed his own undying affection for me, forever and ever, until the end of Time and Creation?
I wasn’t to know. Because before I could blurt the word I’d fought since I met him, a mind touched mine and broke the spell I wished would never die.
Eve. My sister, Cadence, sounded contrite and concerned, enough of both I forgave her immediately. I’m so sorry to interrupt. But I need to talk to you.
***
Chapter Three
I thought she meant she was home, in the Mist realm, waiting for me to return. Instead, as I leaned away from Adam, disappointment a sharp jab in my chest, I looked up to see her waiting a few feet from our table. Unexpected as her appearance was, I didn’t have time to react, not when she waved, her honey gold curls bobbing over her shoulder, the sundress she still wore, tall heels making her legs look impossibly long despite her young age. Cadence might have only been thirteen, but she looked like she was going on thirty. And though typically the daughters of Life did their best not to be seen by mortals, considering their tasks were to bring souls to the newly wakened, there was no need to hide in this instance. The stares at her low cut neckline and long legs from the men at the various tables made my entire body tense in a protective surge of maternal instinct that shocked me about as much as her arrival.
Cadence joined us at our table, completely ignoring Adam, her large, brown eyes locked on me, full lips glossed and parted in anxious anticipation. I cast an apologetic frown at my date who nodded kindly, setting aside his napkin and rising.
I’ll take care of this,
he said, gesturing at the table, referring to the bill, I supposed. You take care of her.
Cadence didn’t even glance his way, replacing him in his seat as he turned to go, perching next to me with her slim hands grasping my fingers.
Adam. I sent his name to him in a more than slightly desperate lurch. Don’t go.
It’s all right, he sent. Dinner was over anyway and I’ve been meaning to talk to Seshat about who I am. He allowed his own disappointment to linger a moment so I knew I wasn’t the only one longing for things to be different. I’ll talk to you later.
Promise?
The power of Chance touched Chaos through the green spark, lighting us up. Thank you for saying yes to dinner. Sweet, kind, caring. And gone.
My jaw tightened, though I really shouldn’t have taken out my frustration on Cadence despite her interruption. When I jerked my head around and fixed her with my annoyance, she didn’t even flinch. Unaware of the way Chaos muttered her dissatisfaction at how our dinner ended or uncaring? I had to believe the former. But before my sister could speak, I found myself demanding to know either way.
You knew,
I ground between teeth clenched so tightly together they squeaked in protest, how important this date was to me.
Of course she knew. She’d watched as Tulip did her magic, made me presentable and, dare I say, beautiful in preparation for this amazing night. But you barge in anyway, are rude to Adam and don’t seem to care, Cadence.
I drew a breath, forced myself into fake calm while the mist hiccupped its need to emerge and make her understand just how upset I really was. I’m sure, then, you have a most excellent reason for this.
Cadence flushed slowly, visibly, the redness washing over her face, from the first pink bloom on her cheekbones, spreading across her smooth complexion. And not a pretty blush, the kind that boys seem to take as a compliment. No, this ended in ugly red blotches on her neck and cleavage while she looked down at her hands clenched white in her lap.
I’m sorry,
she whispered. It wasn’t important. But it is.
Bravely, lower lip trembling, she looked up and locked gazes with me, hers slightly challenging despite the obvious anxiety in her face. I’m worried about you. And him.
She said that masculine pronoun like it was a bad word.
Adam isn’t your concern,
I said, Chaos growling now, thunder rumbling inside my belly, the storm wanting out to punish this upstart girl I’d saved from her horrible existence out of the goodness of my heart for her selfish, petty excuses. And neither am I.
But you are, Eve.
Cadence leaned forward, grasped my hands tightly, transferring her tension to me. He’s Chance. He’s powerful and dangerous and we have no idea, really, what the two of you together are capable of.
How dared she? I jerked my fingers from her grasp and stood abruptly, my chair squealing over the hardwood floor. Feeling flushed myself as we drew the attention of the entire restaurant at my physical reaction to her arrogance.
Go home,
I hissed under my breath. We’ll talk when I get there.
After I had an opportunity to cool off.
Cadence stood, trembling a little, a fawn on new legs but unwilling to stop trying to walk. We care about you,
she said, voice vibrating with emotion, her feelings hitting my empathic field with more weight than most were able to these days. And we’ll make sure you’re safe, Eve, no matter what you think you want.
She turned and left, head high, long hair swaying, heels clacking softly on the floor. I glared after her, hands balled at my sides while Chaos did her best to drive me after her, to shake her and tell her off. Instead, I spun and went the other way, marching to the restroom at the back of the beautiful space, slamming my way into a stall before lurching through the threshold between the mortal realm and the rest of Creation in a powerful need to just get away from the crappy feeling taking me over.
What a way to end a lovely night with Adam. Cadence seemed to have forgotten an important detail about this entire matter. I landed in the Crosspath, the green carpet under my own high heels muffling the thud as I stepped out and marched in a circle around the perimeter of the hub of Creation. Ignoring the lingering vision that plagued me when I came here, that of the nine doorways and nine corridors that was a far cry from the five and multitude gracing it now. No time for that particular puzzle, or the plain, white door that remained locked and inaccessible to me. Instead, I kept moving, head down, blowing through my nostrils much like a furious bull might, bits of mist trailing behind me and a few faint, far off cracks of thunder finally escaping as I stomped my way to the entry to the Mist realm.
Yes, I could have gone directly to my room behind my throne, or my bedroom for that matter. But the marching fury did me good, diffusing some of the bubbling energy that threatened. Thing was, I could have blamed my fit of anger at Cadence on Chaos. She was, after all, the source of disaster in Creation and I was her vessel. So no one would question me if I said this piqued show of rage was really her playing havoc with me. But I knew better.
No, this was me. Pissed off at my sister for butting in. And I needed a few minutes alone to find the perspective to move past it.
The thing Cadence seemed to forget? I stopped outside the undulating mist, staring up at the wavering darkness framed in fluffs of gray and white, heart thudding in time with my heavy breathing. Then stormed, quite literally, past the swirling entry onto the rough stone landing on the other side. The heavy, ancient bridge shook with my expending fury and I ignored the occasional monster in residence who dodged out of the way when they saw the look on my face. Smart creatures to avoid me right now. Because Cadence might have worried about Adam, but she should have worried about me.
She thought Chance was dangerous and powerful and untrustworthy?
She had no idea.
The palace welcomed me, Chaos rising on her own to give me outlet, the storm over my head rumbling in time with my marching feet. Stars fell with high pitched whines from my neckline, zipping into my hem of mist and disappearing while I finally pulled myself together and ended my steady march of anger at the foot of my throne dais.
Part of my salvation was the storm, Chaos herself and the walk I’d just taken. And the other part stood at the top of the rough steps, his blue eyes kind, dark hair hanging over his face in silky waves, the lean and handsome host of Death’s Grim Reaper persona nodding to me with a faint smile pulling at his wide mouth.
Eve, sister,
Nero said. Did you have a nice dinner?
***
Chapter Four
I didn’t answer, though his presence had at least diffused the anger that built up inside me. Instead, I rolled my eyes at my brother and ascended the stairs, hugging him briefly before leading him around my throne and into the private chamber hidden behind it.
Cadence sat on the carpet with a giggling Delilah in her lap, and didn’t look up when I entered. Still shocking to see the change in my small sister over the last week, from round faced toddler burst forth from Isis in a moment to the charming little girl with the curly black hair and pale blue eyes who appeared, if I were to guess, as a five or six year old. I would have preferred the object of my irritation hadn’t been present, but she and the small, washed out creature who tickled my sister with bleeding hands had taken it upon themselves to become Delilah’s caretakers. Ghola, her own sisters gone to the mist and the darkness when the realm they inhabited was lost, had suffered their loss like a blow to her heart. She might appear a monster—and be one, for all intents and purposes—with her black mouth and bleeding eyes, her fingers and toes gashed and oozing. She’d willingly replaced her filth encrusted robe of some kind of animal fur in favor of a sweet, crimson dress that hid most of the blood she shed in continuing trickles, her stringy black hair now washed and tied in a neat ponytail at the base of her neck. But no matter the care she took to appear less monstrous, she was a child of the Mist realm and Chaos.
At least, in appearance. If I’d learned one thing from the amazing creatures who called my realm their ultimate home, it was their souls seemed far more pure and open despite their hideous outward shell than most of the so called beautiful gods and goddesses who ruled the Pantheons of Creation.
Ghola looked up and smiled, the slug like black nob of her tongue peeking from between her jagged teeth. You look beautiful, Mistress.
I blushed for some reason, touching the fabric of my skirt with both hands, feeling overdressed and on display all of a sudden. Chaos cackled a mix of delight and frustration at me before I sank to the purple sofa and curled my legs beneath me, the high heels I’d worn to complete the outfit kicked off as I sighed relief at shedding them.
Nero took the chair next to me, blue eyes tightening around the edges. Delilah waved to both of us, as wordless as always, though giggling while Cadence raspberried her still round, pink cheek. At least my older angel of Life sister had the good grace to keep her eyes averted and her attention on Delilah. I wasn’t sure if Chaos’s propensity for taking over my anger would be something I’d willingly block at this particular moment. But seeing Delilah laughing, her tall body—for her rapidly accelerated age—wriggling inside her lovely blue velvet dress and the way her black curls bounced around her like a froth of caramel, I softened and finally shrugged off my annoyance at the loss of my time with Adam.
We had plenty more to get to know each other better. Weren’t we both immortal powers of Creation? I was in a hurry for nothing. And a bit of mystery and delay wouldn’t hurt anything. That was, as long as another giant disaster didn’t befall, one we couldn’t stop this time. The end of Creation would mean the end of everything, quite likely.
Nice after dinner thoughts for a sixteen-year-old girl who just wanted her boyfriend to kiss her again.
Nero turned to me, elbows on his knees, eyes dark under the shock of black bangs hanging over his forehead. Handsome, my brother, as were all of the angels of Death, though he looked the most like our mutual father. The previous Grim Reaper host, Samael, had that kind and compassionate air to him when he bore the persona of Death, though I sadly saw him lose those same attributes that I’d loved in him so much when he returned to the realm of Heaven and the Angels there. Reverting to his previous Pantheon hadn’t done my father any favors.
Sad, thinking of him and how I’d disowned him as much as I had Isis. Hurt far worse than banning the woman who birthed me from my heart. Because Samael
