Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 8: A Request from the Heart

The dagger was in her hand within seconds. But before she could move, Uriel had already pinned Ezra to the marble floors.

Hubert, the large Elysian, bent to the ground, trying to pry the angel off with his tree-trunk arms. But as strong as he was, he couldn't seem to keep hold of Uriel, who was a gold blur of unbridled rage as he landed punch after punch on Ezra.

It was only when Nyx grabbed Uriel's shirt collar and pulled him off the Elysian that Daeva was able to get a full view of Ezra. She almost didn't recognize him, save for his twinkling blue eyes which were watering with pain. The rest of his face was bruised and bloodied, resembling a rotten tomato more than a person.

Daeva had done worse to people down in the Mortal Realm. At the height of her bloodlust, she once sliced a soldier's skull open and watched both halves of his brain fall out, back when she was still adjusting to Godhood. But seeing Ezra's face so mangled was unsettling. It meant that the man that she feared could be hurt, that his blood ran red and fragile like the many mortals she had killed in the past.

She should've felt a flutter of hope in her chest knowing this. Instead, all she sensed was the deep taint of humiliation on her cheeks. How could she let someone so breakable torture her? She would kill him easily if only she could remove her Binding Chains. But maybe they hadn't affected her strength. After all, Uriel seemed to have found no trouble summoning his angelic might.

That was another thing that had unsettled her. In the time that she knew Uriel, he had been nothing but gentle and patient. She had never seen him act so violently, so quick to end a man's life. He was always restrained, clamping down on any negative emotion. It made her head spin to see the blood on his knuckles and anger twisting his soft features.

Privately, she admitted that the display was exhilarating. As a God, it meant that his strength was hers, to be used for whatever she wished, whenever she wished. She owned him, mind and body, regardless of whether he liked it or not. But saying that to herself didn't feel right. She saw him as her friend, not a servant. It was the only part of Godhood she couldn't get right. She had no trouble wielding power or committing horrible acts of violence. But she wasn't very good at getting others to do things for her without force.

Even as a God, she was still maddeningly human.

"Control your angel," Nyx said, dragging Uriel to Daeva's feet. "I will punish him if he acts violently again."

She rolled her eyes, bringing Uriel to his feet. She may have had complete control over Uriel, but she rarely needed to exercise it. And she didn't enjoy being ordered around by Nyx either.

"Is what Ezra said true? Are you unable to grant my request to bring the angels back?" She didn't try to hide her irritation from having to stick around Otherworld. It was a small consolation seeing Ezra with his face bashed in, but she didn't want to play Nyx's games. She didn't like the Lady of the Night and her strange promises.

"He's correct, but not for the reason you think. Your wish must be the thing you want most or I cannot grant it."

Daeva sneered. "You can't give me the thing I want most. You can't kill the Elysians or bring back the angels. You're weak and useless."

Careful, Anhel warned. I know what you're trying to do. Making her angry won't make her easier to control.

But rather than fall for her ploy, Nyx remained calm. "Is there a reason you cannot be honest with yourself? You ask for death and corpses rising from the ground, but you can't say what your heart wants the most." She turned to Haydn, meeting his glare with her dark eyes. "The same goes for you. For a couple of Gods, you are pathetic. All of that power and yearning, but neither of you uses it to help yourselves. I despise repeating myself so I will ask this one last time. What do you Gods want the most?"