Page 32 of Crazy as Hell

“Maybe you will feel something if we open the jar,” Arson suggested.

“Don’t!” Zeno and Emrys shouted at the same time.

“The jar is a special container for preservation. Once you open it, the soul will start to deteriorate if left for too long,” her father explained.

Naomi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if a part of her soul was destroyed. This was a whole new nightmare she couldn’t begin to comprehend how to fix.

“I know this sounds bad, but you must admit, everything worked out in the end.” Zeno smiled brightly. “I mean, here you are, happily mated, and now we have a chance to finally meet.”

Viktor glanced at her. “Can I?”

She nodded. “Go ahead.”

“What do you mean?” Zeno asked, then he could only gasp as Viktor slammed his fist into his face.

“Ow! You hit me! I’m your father-in-law!”

“Don’t call yourself that,” Viktor snapped. “You don’t deserve that title after what you’ve done.”

“You are both still angry.” Zeno pouted. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. Honestly. Can’t we just move past this? Why do you have to be so judgy?”

“I died because of you!” she shouted. “Hundreds of fucking times!”

Zeno went pale. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Hundreds of times,” she repeated. “I’m stuck in a death loop that never fucking ends. I just keep dying and coming back, over and over again.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Zeno said. “Really. But you are here now.”

“That’s it. I’m going to fucking kill him,” she muttered, stalking forward.

Viktor grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up and carrying her several feet away from the others so they could have some privacy. Killian and Arson stood their ground, blocking Zeno when he tried to follow after them.

“Your father is an asshole,” Viktor said through their bond. “There is no doubt about that. But you might regret it if you kill him right now.”

“I really don’t think I will.”

He smiled. “Let’s focus on what’s important right now, love. I can put your soul fragment somewhere safe until we decide what to do with it.”

She nodded vigorously. “Yes, please do that.”

When the jar disappeared, Naomi felt a little of her panic ease. She felt far more comfortable with Viktor safeguarding it than leaving it in the hands of the ridiculous male claiming to be her father.

“Since your father is the God of Mishaps, that could explain some of the things that have happened to you.”

She’d certainly had plenty of mishaps during her countless cycles.

“If his original spell was trying to awaken your god powers, perhaps that is still what it has been trying to do. It could be a clue why you have been stuck in the death loop. Every cycle, you kept getting stronger until you became a goddess.”

She considered that. “You think I keep dying to level up?”

“I think it could be one of the reasons. The other is to try and find your soul fragment.”

“And you,” she added softly. “I had to find you.”

Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms around her. “And to find me. Now, we need to figure out a way to merge your soul back together. But since we are here, perhaps we should still try asking the Tree of Life for a piece of fruit.”

She pulled back to look up at him. “You don’t want to marinate my soul fragment like a pickle, do you? Because that would just be weird.”