Chapter Seventeen
Ossy
There was no way to know if a door appeared.
Usually, it would be right in front of us, but we couldn’t see anything.
Moving at all was difficult, which would have been terrifying if Phin had not been there with me.
There could have been growls from ancient creatures or something worse, but nothing made a sound except for us.
Not being able to see was disorienting, which was part of the problem.
The only thing anchoring me was Phin. I could have been floating for all I knew if not for him.
“I can’t tell if I did it or not.”
I stood behind him, my arm around his waist. “Well, if you did, the door would be right in front of us. So let’s take slow steps forward. If you bump into anything, we’ll know.”
“Ha, hilarious.” Even though Phin’s words sounded like a protest, he still giggled.
“Hold your arms out so that when you hit something, it won’t be your face.” We took a step forward. The pebbles under our feet shifted with each step. After only a couple of steps, the ground changed from pebbles to something more solid. “We must be off the path. We must have walked far enough.”
Leaves crunched beneath my feet. It was a slight sound, but one I knew well. More familiar than I expected, considering I wasn’t much of a forest person. I was a beach guy.
“I don’t feel anything, Ossy.” His frustration was clear, coming through in the tension of his body. I rubbed his side, wanting to soothe him. When he started wiggling because it tickled, I stopped.
“It’s possible you didn’t conjure the door.” We could keep trying. We didn’t have anything else to do.
“What if we get stuck here forever?” That could be our fate. Just thinking about it wasn’t pleasant, and as much as I wanted to freak out, only one of us could, and I realized Phin was establishing himself as the designated panicker.
“We’ll figure a way out.” I kissed Phin on the cheek.
“What if conjuring a door in this realm is impossible?” That thought made a dark kind of sense. Maybe there was only one way out. Or maybe you had to be more than a beloved to leave this place.
“It very well might be.” The only solace was that we were together. We were a powerful unit in a place designed to scare the crap out of anyone. That was more than most people had in a place like this, and it gave us an edge. “We could build a cabin and stay here forever.”
Phin snorted. “How the hell are we going to build a cabin in the dark?”
“I have no idea. You’re the smart one in this relationship. You’ll have to figure it out.” I sat on the ground and pulled on Phin’s hand.
“What are you doing?” He sounded exasperated. That was how he sounded about eighty percent of the time when he talked to me, which told me he wasn’t letting his fear take over.
“I’m popping a squat. You should, too.” I patted my legs, even though he couldn’t see me. “Come sit on Daddy’s lap, baby.”
I didn’t see Phin roll his eyes, but I knew he had.
“Popping a squat.” He settled onto my lap, his back against my chest.
“It means sit.” I wrapped my arms around him and rested my cheek against his.
“I’ve figured that out. Did the kids say that back in the day, old man?” Phin lost some of the tension as he rested more fully against me.
“I’ve used an ancient tongue. Very few know the language.” The goal was to make Phin laugh, and it worked. All I wanted was to take his mind off things for a few minutes and give him a break from the stress. My poor baby needed a breather.
We slipped into a comfortable silence. Phin pulled my arms tighter around him and snuggled into me. “This is nice.”
“Yeah. It is.” Maybe we both needed a break. It had been a stressful day. Running from Death wasn’t for the faint of heart.
He took my hand and played with my fingers. “Thank you for coming to get me.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“I’m sorry I was such an asshole before. I didn’t realize we were beloveds.”
I stayed silent for a moment, considering my choices. I needed to be honest, not just with Phin but with myself. That was the harder part. Admitting the truth was scary. “It’s not the only reason I came. I didn’t want to admit, even to myself, that I loved you. It felt too big.”
“I think I understand,” he whispered. Maybe it had felt big for him, too.
How did I explain the rest without sounding like an immature ass?
It was impossible, mostly because I had been exactly that.
Immature and an asshole. “I just didn’t want to deal with something that big.
Even if it was good, it would change everything, and I didn’t want it to.
But being separated from you these past few days...
that feeling of dread? Of missing you? The possibility of never seeing you again...
that was much worse. So I’m done with running from how I feel. ”
“Do you think we’ll be okay?”
I wasn’t sure whether Phin meant our situation or our relationship. Maybe both. Either way, I answered honestly. “I don’t know, but I’m ready to fight for us, and I’ll never let you go.”
“I love you, too.” As soon as he said it, Phin stiffened, then leaned forward as if wanting to get a closer look at something. It was an odd thing to do, considering where we were. “What is that?”
I blinked, confused. “What?”
“That.” He must have pointed at whatever he saw. Of course, I couldn’t see him.
That was when I saw it. Up ahead, a light appeared and grew closer. As it approached, I realized it was shaped like a person. I held my breath, not understanding what I was seeing. Every part of me went on alert. I tightened my grip on Phin and prepared for a quick getaway.
Then Cael appeared. Still at a distance, but close enough to make out his features.
The tension left my body. The relief was palpable.
As he drew closer, I saw his scowl. “What the hell are you two doing? You’re just sitting on your ass instead of getting the hell out of here?”
I frowned. “We were taking a breather. I have a better question. Why do you glow in the dark?”
“I’m a demigod,” he said, as if that explained everything.
I was so confused by Cael that I couldn’t even express how much. “Do all demigods glow?”
Cael shrugged. “The god of love and his son do. When in Tech Duinn.”
It took my brain a moment to process what he had just said. “You’re the son of the god of love?”
“Yes. And my beloved is the god of death.” That sounded like an awkward situation. Strangely, I felt much better about my own fuck-ups.
“By the gods, that’s complicated, isn’t it?” Phin shook his head.
“The most complicated situation I’ve ever been in. And I’ve been dealing with it for years with no clear answer.”
Cael’s light illuminated our surroundings. We were, in fact, off the path, but only by a few inches. A foot away from us was the door.