Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 9: Julia the Hungry

Make Julia suffer. Those were the three simple words that made up the task that the Board assigned Daeva.

Under ordinary circumstances, Daeva would have enjoyed the task. Julia was the first Elysian to torture her and she had made her suffer uniquely. She was all too happy to be the force of karma that returned the favor, but there were certain challenges that stood in her way.

She couldn't kill Julia. Unless Nyx secretly wanted her to, she was fairly certain that the Elysians were still valuable to her. How was she supposed to make her suffer if she needed to keep Julia alive?

She contemplated her difficult task, sitting on the cushions in her room. Matthius arranged for the Gods to be placed in suitable living arrangements. Given the animosity between them and the Elysians, Nyx didn't trust that the Elysians would treat them kindly. And given Daeva's current mission, they had no reason to.

Her stomach still tingled from the purple sweets, fluttering from the magic. She was excited to finally get her memories back and see why she had chosen to be Anhel's vessel. Finally, she was going to see the reason behind her suffering. Finally, she would know why she wanted to live.

Haydn stirred next to her, shifting in the cushions. He was fast asleep, the sounds of his steady breathing filling up the room. The paper with his task was nowhere to be found, no doubt safely tucked away in a pocket somewhere. She briefly thought about searching him for it, but she feared that she would wake him up in doing so.

For the moment, she occupied herself with gazing at his sleeping face, marveling at the peace that settled over his features. His request to Nyx had surprised her. She half expected him to press for the death of the Elysians considering how adamant he had been about it from the moment he met her.

Instead, he had asked for his first love. A woman named Evelyn, if Daeva remembered correctly. It reminded her that she still knew very little about him despite agreeing to return to Otherworld with him. But she understood his wish. At least she thought she did in the way she would catch herself occasionally longing for her imaginary soulmate.

Her eyes scanned the room for Uriel, who was standing outside on the balcony of their room. He didn't speak a word to her after Nyx had given them their tasks. She was afraid that he might be angry with her although she couldn't imagine a reason why. All she knew was the heat of his silent fury.

She was tempted to stand next to him on the balcony, to gaze at the stars that formed the many paths of the Celestial Road and babble to him about how strange everything was in Otherworld. She wanted to talk about Nyx, how she never expected anyone to have influence over the Elysians. She wanted to inspect his bloody knuckles, to see if there were any bruises from his altercation with Ezra. Most of all, she wanted to see if he was alright, being in the home of the monsters who had brought about the death of his people.

She knew she wasn't well. She couldn't sleep and the memories from the last time she was in Otherworld were slowly creeping back into her consciousness. She had called it "torture" when explaining why she wanted to kill the Elysians, but truthfully "torture" was an understatement. At least torture had a purpose. No, what they had put her through could only be accurately described as a complete violation of her soul. She had been used and abused to the point of no return.

She glanced at Uriel again, seeing his golden wings fully open and reflecting the lamps in the room. She could make him talk to her, force her to bear audience to her feelings. If she willed it, he would do anything she commanded. That was the nature of their relationship, master and servant, God and angel. They weren't friends no matter what sort of kinship she felt toward him. It didn't matter that he was beautiful and kind. They were bound by blood and he had no free will. It was senseless to assume that they were equals, to continue her fantasy of slowly, but surely being in love with him.