As Darkness Falls by Riley Storm

Chapter Seven

“We should go,” I croaked out, my eyes scanning the inside of the temple once more.

Amunlea. God of all gods. And I’d used her power somehow.

Crap.

“Aaron,” I called before he could head back up the tunnel and out of the temple. “Come here.”

With a frown, my hired guide walked over to me. I could see a slight wariness in his step, and at one point, his eyes flicked past me.

“Vir, go on ahead,” I said, wondering if I was going to have to keep the pair of them permanently separated. Vir was growing more and more protective by the second, and I really wasn’t about that. I needed my freedom.

Which was precisely why I was about to demonstrate to him that he had no hold over me.

“What can I do for you, Dani?” Aaron asked as he stopped a step away.

His words were directed at me, but all his focus was on Vir.

“Vir,” I snapped, growing tired of his reluctance.

There was a deep rumble, like two boulders grinding against one another, and then Vir stalked past us.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Aaron asked.

“I’m not sure of anything,” I said. “Now, carry me, will you? I’m about to fall over.”

Aaron leaned in and caught me up in his arms.

“Don’t worry,” I said as he lifted me with casual ease, once again proving, in a subtle way this time, that he couldn’t possibly be human. “Vir will be fine. He’ll manage.”

“It’s not Vir I’m worried about,” Aaron said. “It’s me.”

I didn’t respond. Maybe I was being petty, spurning Vir like this and making a blatant effort not to let him help me or do anything that would give our Soulbond something to latch on to and amplify. The truth was, though, that I didn’t care. I hadn’t asked for him. I’d asked for nobody; to be set free.

In a corner of my mind, I could admit that I didn’t think Vir had done this intentionally. He’d just reacted. Part of me wanted to know if he’d suspected such a thing was even possible. I certainly hadn’t. Regardless, just because it had happened didn’t mean I was about to open up and give in. That wasn’t me at all.

I watched Vir as he walked stiffly ahead of us. He was attractive as well, in a different yet equally powerful way compared to Aaron. Yet, if I was going to have a mate and let myself go down that path, I needed more than a walking sexbot who threatened to blow my mind with endless orgasms just with a look. That was all well and great, but there were things I doubted either of them could provide.

Like an actual honest mate. Vir was an immortal deity. He wouldn’t know the first thing about being mated to a human, and Aaron… Well, he radiated nothing but sex. A night with him would probably be unforgettable, but I couldn’t picture him as a father, for instance. The image just did not appear. He was too cold. Sterile, almost, in a way.

No, neither of them fit what I wanted in a life partner, and that was why I wasn’t going to let either of them worm their way into my heart. And probably not inside any other part of me.

Probably.

While I contemplated the sexual possibilities of both men, Aaron followed Vir as he led us to his temple. I craned my neck back, looking up at the giant stone statue that marked the entrance, much as one did for all the other temples nearby. It was Vir, alright. Tall, wolf-headed, holding his spear like the guardian of some unseen passageway, his statue stood tall and regal, visible in the dim light that filled the cavern, the origin of which I’d yet to figure out.

Maybe once I was recovered, I could do some exploring of the ancient city without being chased by a murderous wolf while my head tried to rip itself in half. It would probably make for better sightseeing.

Aaron, with me still in his arms, ducked in through the rectangular opening and followed Vir down the main passage. It soon opened up into a rectangular room about two-stories tall with a balcony running around the upper level. At the back, a raised area separated itself by a few feet from the rest of the chamber.

“I don’t get it,” I said, my eyes straining to pick out details. “There’s nothing here, Vir.”

“The impatience of youth,” Vir muttered, receiving a snort from Aaron that seemed to indicate agreement.

I opened my mouth to fire off a retort, but before the first syllable could emerge, Vir spoke a word of command in a language I didn’t recognize, and the entire interior of his temple shimmered and transformed.

All I managed was a croak as tables full of food materialized out of thin air, followed by trunks of clothing, cots and blankets, pillows, jugs of water, and what appeared to be a cask, perhaps of wine? I wasn’t sure.

A second later, the aroma of food hit me.

“Over there,” I said, pointing to the trays of sustenance. “Let me at it.”

Aaron chuckled and carried me to the trays, where I stuffed my mouth with fruits and pieces of bread, chewing swiftly. I grabbed a hunk of a delicious, sharp-smelling cheese and another half-loaf of bread, holding them against me while I ate.

“You can probably let me down, I said at last, pointing to the cots.

A few minutes later, the rest of Aaron’s team filed into the temple. All of them went straight for the food. Dave and Peter gently set down the travois they had rigged up to haul Johnathan first, and then they dug in as well.

The most enigmatic of them, Fred, nodded his head as he passed. “Thanks,” he said, speaking for the entire team. Then he, too, dug in.

Aaron set me down on one of the cots before joining his men in loading up a plate–I must have missed them in my eagerness for food–and for a few minutes, there was silence as we ate, replenishing our energy reserves.

Vir, meanwhile, had retreated to the back of the room. He was sitting on the edge of the raised area, back straight, dark hair swinging freely and resting on his shoulders in places. His face was blank, but every so often, I saw his eyes move. Something had him lost deep in thought. I suspected I knew what it was, but I wasn’t about to confront him about it. Certainly not in front of everyone.

“How did you do this?” I asked, getting his attention and gesturing around with my chin, reluctant to put my food down. It was just too good.

“My temple,” he said. “My rules.”

“As far as explanations go, that’s both great and terrible, all at once,” I said.

Vir smiled. “It’s good to hear your attempts at jokes again,” he said. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Food helps,” I said with a shrug.

“My powers are diminished on this plane,” Vir said, and I listened intently. “Coming through the barrier means most of my true godly abilities were left behind. But in here, I am far less constrained,” he said, raising his arms to indicate his temple.

“I see,” I said quietly.

Vir nodded. “In here, I am still Vir. Champion of Amunlea. You will not want for food. Or safety. None will enter this place while I am here.”

“Thank you.”

The others muttered their appreciation as well.

I yawned, shaking myself awake.

“You may sleep,” Vir said, coming over to me. “I promise, no harm will come to you, Dani. You can trust me.”

“Thanks,” I said as sincerely as I could. “But I don’t want to wake up with you cuddling me, Vir.”

His jaw bunched, but I was only speaking the truth. It might not be what he wanted to hear, or liked hearing, but I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.

“Look,” I said, taking pity on him, “you know what the Soulbond did to Johnathan and me. You know how it affected me, even though I wanted to resist it because he was evil. That’s not why I’m resisting it now.”

“Then why are you?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, because I didn’t ask for it. I wanted to be free, Vir, as I’ve said probably a hundred times, even though it doesn’t seem to register with you. But on top of that, uh, you’re a god.”

“Yes?”

I sighed. “Vir, you are used to being the one in charge. Nobody makes decisions about you, except for you. I’m twenty-one. I grew up with parents, who made most of my decisions for me until I was in my teens, and even then, they made a lot. I’m used to having something else tell me what to do, and yet I still don’t like being forced to do things by this bond.”

“I know that,” Vir said, “but what does that have to do with me being a god?”

“For the first time in a long time, if ever, something else is going to be controlling you. Urging you to do things. To feel things. You’re not used to that. You’re confident of your invincibility. Neither of us has any idea how this is going to affect you. If you can’t at least see and admit that, then you’re just proving my point that you might be dangerous to me.”

That got through to him.

“I would never take advantage of you,” he snarled silently, clearly angered by the insinuations I was making.

“Let’s hope that’s true,” I said. “But how used to hearing ‘no’ are you? This Soulbond is telling you that we’re meant to be together. Yet here I am, refusing. Can you tell me there’s no part of you that thinks I’m being silly and you should just keep pushing until I realize it?”

Vir was silent while he considered my words.

The silence stretched on for a long, long time. Far longer than I expected him to think about it. That gave me hope. Maybe he was taking this seriously, starting to think through the ramifications.

“I think there is some merit in your words,” he said at last, clearly uncomfortable admitting it. “I would never knowingly force you to do something you didn’t want to do. Please know that. But I must consider what thoughts are my own and what are being given to me. I…I am not used to being rejected. There is some anger there, and I must learn to understand that so it does not rule me.”

Breathing out a lungful I hadn’t realized I was holding, I nodded. “Thank you.”

“I will instruct Aaron and the others to ensure distance is kept between us,” he said. “If they must use force to restrain me, then so be it. Until I can be confident that I can control myself, or we figure out how to sever the link, or if you…”

“Vir,” I said, gently cutting him off. We both knew what he was going to say. But I couldn’t let myself consider it. Not now. I didn’t have the energy or mental wherewithal. Too much had happened in too short a period. I needed to rest, recover, and figure out what to do next with everything but Vir.

Then, maybe I could turn some attention to the idea of being Soulbound to a god. For now, though, I needed my distance.

“Of course,” he said, nodding in understanding. “Where would you like me to go?”

I grimaced, knowing this would hurt him. But it had to be done. “Back,” I said quietly. “You should go back, Vir. To the Direen.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. Not without your help.”