Chapter 42
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule forty-two: Nothing says ‘I care’ like a rotting body part.
“You stole my dog?”
My accusation is directed at Arianna as she makes her way toward me.
Cerberus bounds behind her, looking more like a playful corgi than a ten-foot-tall murderous beast. Each of his heads takes turns tossing a stick in the air while the others fight to catch it.
Only, it’s not a stick – it’s a dismembered leg.
Once again, I try to call him over, but he ignores my existence, obediently following Arianna. Her hair is tucked into a loose braid, the light color stark against her fighting leathers.
I’m definitely going to borrow a set (without permission) later.
Luckily, the tears in my dress are all hidden under the top layer of fabric.
“He was my dog first,” she notes with a shrug as she reaches my side.
The ground shakes as Cerberus immediately sits behind her, his tail thumping against still-damp grass.
He still looks like he’s in rough shape, but some of his fur seems to be growing back.
A thin layer of coarse black fur traces his spine.
All three heads watch Arianna with rapt adoration, not acknowledging my attempts to coax him over.
I huff, “Traitor. He won’t even say hi to me. We were besties in prison.”
“Well, clearly, he respects me since he can sense I’m a real assassin. You know how dogs are, they respect that stuff.” Arianna smirks, and her shadows trail over to Cerberus.
I give a mock-horrified gasp. “How dare you! I asked you to come out here since I had a gift for you, but now I think I’ll keep it.”
Arianna looks positively giddy. “A gift! For me? Is it chocolate?”
Grinning, I motion for her to follow me closer to the wards. Unconsciously, my gaze drifts to Sin, tracing the lines of muscles along his back.
He’s standing at the edge of the wards, reinforcing them. He’s been at it for well over an hour now. My stomach twists over not helping.
It’s not that I didn’t try. After managing to warn off the titan without barbecuing anyone, I thought I might be able to control my power. But the moment I coaxed out a few more threads, pain seared through me.
My focus wavered, and the magic lashed out, reducing a nearby bush to nothing but a crater.
I’m thinking that’s the universe’s way of saying ‘maybe don’t.’
It has a point.
Sin looks over his shoulder, reassuring himself that I’m close. He’s been doing it every few seconds.
I think my love language is ‘unhealthy attachment disorder,’ because my pulse flutters every time he does it.
I have issues.
Several deeply soul-shattering issues.
Maybe I should try coconut water?
Arianna skips beside me, bouncing on the soles of her feet. “Ou! Do you need my help playing hooky? Do you need a testosterone timeout? Are we ditching Sin?”
Her grin is positively wicked as she says it, and I don’t doubt she means every word.
“You do know I can hear you, right?” Sin asks dryly, his attention back on the wards.
“You know I don’t care, right?” Arianna fires back.
I shake my head, grinning.
I love her antics.
She turns to me and whispers conspiratorially, “I’m thinking since he didn’t kill me for handing you over to Need, that means I’m untouchable.”
“You’re not,” Sin answers again.
“I am,” she mouths to me.
“No jailbreaks today, thanks though,” I laugh, even as I start carefully scanning the hedges. I know it was close to here.
Cerberus perks up and goes to sniff at a spot just a little farther ahead.
Jackpot.
“Cerberus, back up,” I order.
He doesn’t move a muscle.
Arianna looks like she’s trying to bite back a giggle, and I narrow my eyes at her. “Your gift is in those bushes, so unless you want your dog to eat it, you should probably call him back.”
There’s a blur of motion as she leaps forward, and Cerberus immediately abandons the bush to make room for her.
Just as I reach them, she digs into the hedge and pulls out a rancid, decomposing penis.
The smell is putrid. I try to breathe through my mouth, but only end up gagging.
“Oh god, I didn’t expect you to touch it!” I choke.
She waves the flesh rod in the air, eyeing it curiously, but seems otherwise unbothered. “But you said it was a gift.” She points it to herself and gives an authoritative nod as she emphasizes, “For me.”
I nod, pulling my arm over my nose.
It helps. Barely.
“It’s Rydon’s,” I explain.
Her eyes light up. “You didn’t tell me you cut off his cock! Thank you!” She reaches out to hug me, but I back up, holding my hands out to stop her.
She’s still holding the penis – hard limit.
“Can you put it down now? We just had lunch,” I beg. My stomach churns.
She looks appalled and hugs the penis to her chest in a protective gesture.
Something green oozes from it and gets on her fighting leathers.
“Absolutely not! This is the best gift I’ve ever received.
I’m going to preserve it and turn it into a lamp.
I’ll sleep better knowing the reason for my nightmares is now a nightlight. ”
Grimacing, I hold up my half-grown finger. “It’ll probably just grow back, sorry. But I think it takes a while.”
I don’t mention how Leon’s ear also didn’t grow back right away. It’s probably better if no one knows about my brush with cannibalism.
Arianna gives a wistful look at the mangled penis. “You’re right. If we want a permanent amputation, we’d have to–” she glances over my shoulder and raises her voice, “BORROW an immortal-killing blade. Then, we’d have the limited-edition penis.”
Tilting my head slightly, I take the bait, “An immortal-killing blade?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. They’re the only blades that can bypass magical healing. They can kill immortals,” Arianna explains with a dainty shrug.
“Perfect. Uhm, I’ll take two?” I respond, only half-joking.
Warm arms wrap around my waist, and I melt back against Sin’s chest. He kisses the top of my head, and it feels easier to breathe again.
It’s totally just the by-product of being separated.
We’re definitely not toxically codependent.
“Did you miss me?” He murmurs into my hair.
Arianna makes a retching sound, which is rich considering she’s the one holding the rotting penis.
“They’re super rare,” she notes after her dramatics, carrying on as though nothing just happened.
I can’t stop the slight pang of disappointment that jabs at my gut. An immortal-killing blade sounds ideal for a war.
Sin’s mouth shifts against my head as he smiles. Then, he pulls away just enough to reach behind his back and draw his sword. It looks like Leon’s, only the gem in the hilt is red.
“Careful, kitten,” he warns. “If you cut yourself with this, you’ll heal as slowly as you did back when you were a mortal.”
Gaping, I take the blade. “How did you manage to get one?”
“All the Destroyers were given one. Though I imagine Need has Irena’s dagger now,” he answers.
Frowning, I look at the blade that might be able to kill our greatest enemy. “But why? You could just use your power to kill immortals.”
His fingers brush against my side. “We could, but the Council was concerned about collateral damage, particularly in the event of another Destroyer needing to be put down. You’ve heard what our power can do. The blades are meant to be our primary tool.”
Arianna is clasping her hands in a ‘gimme’ motion as she tries to get me to hand her the sword.
He gives a stern look. “No. The last time I let you borrow my sword, you lost it. It took me two months to track it back to an institute in the Angelic Realm.”
Arianna bickers back, but I tune her out as I hand the blade back to Sin.
My fingers trace the scab on my cheek – the one that Leon gave me with his sword. I suppose I should be grateful it’s the only place he managed to cut me. All my other injuries have healed, so I guess the guards didn’t have immortal-killing blades.
A rough edge on my hand catches my attention. There’s still a tiny scab on my finger where I ran it along the scythe.
I freeze. Could I seriously have an immortal-killing blade right now and not even realize it?
My thoughts circle back to the plots of dozens of adventure movies. There’s always a quest to find the secret weapon that turns out to be the key to winning the war.
Have I had it this entire time?
Excitement surges through me, and Sin gives me a questioning look, no doubt feeling it through the bond. But I don’t dare bring up my Reaper powers out in the open, not when there could be spies lurking around.
“Are you done with the wards?” I ask, barely containing my grin.
“All done, kitten.” He tilts his head, searching my face for any clue as to what I’m up to.
I take his hand and start back toward the castle. “I need to show you something.”
His thumb brushes against my knuckles. “Lead the way.”
“That better not be a weird code for sex,” Arianna calls from behind us.
I throw her an excited wave. “I’ll fill you in later! You have to walk your dog.”
Arianna huffs before yelling, “Abstinence is a virtue!”