Inhumanly Yours

✧6. The Price of Love✧

The morning after the decision weighed heavy on Selene and Leander, the air thick with anticipation and a sense of finality. It was as though the very earth had shifted beneath them, and they stood on the edge of an unknown abyss. Selene could feel the power of her immortality ebbing away, the threads of eternity slipping through her fingers. Each passing second felt like a cruel countdown, but for the first time, she didn't care. She was ready. For Leander. For their love.

They stood on the hill overlooking the temple ruins where the gods had once stood in judgment, now silent and forgotten. The winds whispered between them, a soft caress, but they knew this would be their final confrontation with the gods.

"Are you ready?" Leander's voice broke the stillness, full of quiet determination. He reached for her hand, his touch warm and grounding.

Selene nodded, though a tremor of doubt still lingered in her heart. "I am. But I can't help but wonder if this is the right choice... If we're truly ready for what we've agreed to."

Leander smiled, his eyes filled with an unwavering trust in her. "Whatever happens, we face it together. That's all that matters."

She squeezed his hand, trying to push away the fear. The cost was high-more than she had anticipated. Immortality was not something easily given up, and the gods would never forgive them for this choice. It felt like the end of an era, not just for her, but for the world they had both known.

"Let's go," she whispered, the words tasting like a farewell.

Together, they descended from the hill, the path leading them through the overgrown grass and broken pillars of the once-grand temple. The air was thick with divine presence, as if the gods themselves were watching, waiting, biding their time.

As they stepped into the heart of the temple, a sudden chill swept through the air, and the skies darkened as though the heavens themselves had sensed their arrival. A figure emerged from the shadows, its form flickering between light and darkness.

"Selene, Leander," came the voice-a low, thunderous tone that filled the space with an unsettling reverberation. It was Zeus, king of the gods, his form towering above them, eyes blazing with ancient fury. "So, you have decided to defy us."

Selene stood tall, her heart racing, but her resolve stronger than ever. "We have," she said, her voice steady despite the storm that raged around them. "We choose each other over all that you've given us. We choose love over your judgment."

Zeus' eyes narrowed, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence between them. "You both think you can escape the will of the gods. You think you can change the course of fate with your defiance." He looked at Leander, his gaze filled with disdain. "You, a mere mortal, have no place here. You should never have crossed the line between us and her."

Leander's jaw clenched. "I don't care if I'm mortal. I will love her, no matter what you say or do."

Zeus let out a bitter laugh, his voice like thunder. "You may love her, but you will never keep her. She is a goddess, and you are nothing but a fleeting shadow. Your love will burn out, and she will be forced to watch as you wither away before her eyes."

Selene's chest tightened, the words cutting through her like a blade. She looked at Leander, her heart heavy with the truth of what was to come. He had chosen this, chosen her, but she couldn't deny the inevitable. Time would pass, and he would age, and she would remain unchanged, bound to watch as he grew old and frail.

But her love for him was undeniable. Nothing, not even the gods themselves, could take that away.

"There must be another way," Selene pleaded, her voice breaking through the anger in the air. "Please, there must be something we can do. I can't watch him grow old and die."

Zeus shook his head slowly, as if pitying her. "There is no way, Selene. This is the price of defying us. You cannot escape the passage of time, no matter how you try."

Selene closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Then we will accept it," she said softly, her voice filled with both sorrow and acceptance. "We will face this together, no matter what it costs."

Zeus' expression faltered for a brief moment, as if something in her words had reached him, but it was fleeting. He raised his hand, and the air grew thick with divine energy. "Very well. If this is your choice, you will both face the consequences. But do not think for one second that the gods will forget this betrayal."

The ground beneath them trembled, and a flash of light enveloped the temple, blinding them for a moment. When the light faded, Zeus was gone, leaving only a lingering sense of foreboding in the air.

The silence that followed was suffocating. Selene and Leander stood alone in the ruins, the weight of the gods' wrath hanging over them.

Leander turned to her, his face pale but determined. "It's done," he whispered. "We've made our choice."

Selene nodded, though her heart ached. "Yes, it's done. But I fear the cost..."

Leander reached for her, pulling her into an embrace. "We'll face it together. Whatever happens, we'll face it as one."

For a moment, they simply held each other, the world around them falling away. They were no longer bound by the gods, no longer prisoners to their divine will. But even in the freedom of their love, they knew the storm was not yet over.

As they parted, Leander gazed into her eyes, the fire of his love unwavering. "Selene, I have no regrets. I would choose this, choose you, a thousand times over."

Tears brimmed in Selene's eyes as she kissed him, soft and slow, tasting the sweetness of their love in the face of the storm. But deep within, she knew the time they had together was fleeting, and that knowledge tore at her soul. The gods may have granted them this moment, but they would take it away, sooner than either of them could bear.

The price of love was coming, and it would come swiftly.

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hadria_lucine01