51. ACHERON
Ash sat on top of the Isle’s waterfall. Its backward running water lightly sprayed his skin as it spilled over the edge of the floating island. Ash swung his legs carelessly over the rocky edge as he breathed in the thick evening air, watching the pink-kissed sunset. Ash sighed. He would never tire of this view. Ever. This was freedom.
“So does she know yet?” Deymos asked, leaning back on his hands as he too watched the sunset beside Ash.
Ash shook his head, letting out another sigh. “Nope.” He leaned back, letting the last of the sunshine caress his bare torso, bringing warmth to his wings.
Deymos shifted his weight and grey wings to face Ash. The god of dread and terror looked at Ash sideways. “Dude.”
“Don’t, dude me,” Ash scoffed.
“I can dude you all I want. You spent years searching for her. Years, Ash. And now that she’s here you’re getting cold feet?” Deymos looked at Ash as if he were the biggest idiot.
Maybe I am the biggest idiot.
“She slapped the biggest ‘friend-zone’ sticker on my forehead the moment she realised who I was. Clean slate. That’s what she asked for. What am I supposed to do?”
“You have the power of several gods, little bro. You don’t ask for anything. You don’t even have to wait for anything. You take it. So, what’s holding you back?”
It wasn’t in Ash to just take. He respected Sofreya and her boundaries but there was something holding him back. It was true.
Ash groaned as he eased onto the ground, closing his eyes. He stewed on his words a little longer. “I fear that . . . I could lose her again if I push too hard. That she’ll disappear again and by the Fates, anything with her, platonic friendship or otherwise, is better than nothing at all.”
Deymos sighed. “She’s not made of glass you know?” Ash could hear the god lie down on the ground as well.
“I know.” Ash knew that to his core. She was forged by fire with a resilience that left him in awe. He declared his intentions to her before the ball but now he was just waiting. Waiting for what? He knew the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. How her heart paced when he neared. He knew the way she had kissed him wasn’t for naught. It meant something. He meant something to her, and he knew it deep in his bones. He just . . . he just wanted to hear it from her. He wanted to hear her say it.
Ash opened his eyes and gazed at the sky longingly, hoping the Fates could hear his desperate plea. “Fates, if you are listening, please give me a sign. Anything.”
A beat passed.
“Cause I’m your laaadyyyy and you are my maannnnn,” Eros’s singing voice shot through the air.
By the Fates.
“I wonder what song he’s obsessed with this week.” Deymos laughed.
Ash groaned before he sat up, watching Eros and his strawberry-blond mop of a head fly over to them. The god of love floated down slowly, his white wings spread wide. Above his head he held a small black envelope as if it were the damned holy bible.
“Whatever song it is, I’m sure we’ll want to drown ourselves by the end of the week,” Ash mumbled underneath his breath.
“Bright suns, my brothers.” Eros popped himself down next to Ash.
“What have you got for us, Eros?” Deymos pointed at the black envelope.
“Oh, this?” Eros feigned surprised. Suffice to say, the god of love had zero acting skills. Eros held the letter delicately between his fingers. “It’s a letter . . .” He dangled it right in front of Ash’s face. “That Sophie wrote.” Eros wagged his eyebrows and his mouth screwed into a cheeky smile, bursting to say something.
Ash narrowed his eyes. “I told you to stay out of it, Eros.”
“Are you accusing me of meddling? I did no such thing! She wrote this through her own volition.” Eros thrusted the black envelope toward Ash and grinned mischievously. “Well, aren’t you going to open it?”
“Absolutely not.” Ash stood, taking a few measured paces back from Eros and crossed his arms.
“But, Ash, it’s got your name scrawled on it.” Deymos pointed out the gold writing.
“Hey, I thought you were on my side,” Ash complained.
“I’m Switzerland. I don’t have a side, but I do want to know what that letter says.” Deymos chuckled.
“See? It’s two against one! You must open it, Ash,” Eros pleaded.
“I don’t have to do shit. If Sofreya wrote that, then she’s the one that needs to give it to me.”
“What would you say if she told me she was going to give it to you but then I gave her an ultimatum and a timeframe of which she clearly did not adhere to and now, as a result, I’m the only one in possession of the letter that she so heartfeltly wrote for you and therefore I’m the only person that is able to deliver to you?”
Ash’s heart stuttered. Of course, he wanted to know what the letter said. But it felt wrong to open it at all, if Sophie wasn’t the one giving it to him. It felt like he was going behind her back.
“She wanted to give it to you, Ash. She told me so.” Eros pushed, shoving the letter closer to Ash.
Ash growled, shaking his head. This felt wrong but the kernel of hope in him agonised over not knowing the letters contents. “Fine,” Ash gritted as he stepped forward, snatching the black envelope out of Eros’s hands.
Eros squealed with excitement, clutching Deymos’s arms in anticipation.
“Don’t get too excited Eros. It’s not like I’m going to read it out loud for you.”
Eros let out a noise of disappointment.
Ash turned around, moving farther away from where Deymos and Eros sat. The letter’s of his name had never excited him more. He felt like a giddy kid, waiting to unfurl the handwritten love letter from his childhood crush.
Ash held his breath as he pushed open the envelope. His heart beat uncontrollably as he fished the letter out and unfolded it.
And he never regretted anything more in his entire immortal life.
Dear Acheron,
I can’t thank you enough for being a friend. You’ve always been there for me, showing me my limits. You always know how to push them (much to my chagrin).
Our friendship is something that I will value to the end of my days. So I’m writing this to let you know where my heart lies as I fear that lines have been blurred as of late. I’ve been hurt, Ash. Badly. And my heart will never recover from it. I can feel the irreparable fissure in my flesh, and I simply cannot offer you more of me. If I tried, it would be a disservice to myself, and most of all to you, my dear friend.
I hope in this letter you too find the answer that you’ve been searching for. I hope that you understand that I will always have your back, as your friend and confidant.
Your friend forevermore, Sofreya.
Ash’s heart was sinking. It was unbelievably heavy, and he wasn’t sure how to breathe anymore. His heart was melting, but not in the normal way a heart melted. It was dying a silent, painful death. It was caving in on itself and nothing could staunch the blood flow.
He folded the letter, placed it back in the envelope and pocketed it. His hands were numb and so was his now hollowed chest. He needed to go. Anywhere but here. It felt like time itself had died and nothing existed but the harrowing affliction of his breaking heart. He didn’t even have the strength to look up nor the strength to call upon his lightning to soothe him.
“Ash, wait . . .” Eros’s sorrowful voice followed him.
Ash didn’t wait, he kept walking with his head bowed until a force so powerful struck him backward. As Ash fell onto his ass, Ares stepped out from behind a puff of smoke.
“It’s go time.” The god of war smirked.
Shit.
Ares’s clap boomed across the waterfall, sending all three angels down to the ground. A bright light filled Ash’s eyes and suddenly, he was nothing.