Page 18 of The Endless One

Tilting his head on the stone, ignoring the drool and pieces of herbs that were stuck to his chin, he asked Sybil, “Did you find her?”

She nodded, her dark eyes filled with tears. “It’s not good, Elric.”

His name echoed in the cavern. Sybil so rarely called him by it, and especially not in the company of other witches.

“I know,” he replied. “I never expected it to be good. Where is she? What is he doing to her?”

“He wants her to become a goddess. He wants her to take it into herself willingly, and he’s…” Her throat clicked around a swallow, as though her mouth had gone dry. “He’s hurting her, Elric.”

He looked around them, meeting the gazes of all the other witches in the room who had seen the same thing. They all wore matching grim expressions, defeat in the set of their shoulders.

But he wasn’t done fighting yet.

Pushing himself upright, he cracked his neck and asked, “Where?”

Two guards hauled her up by her arms. Her feet dragged on the ground behind her, leaving twin marks in the dirt. This ritual site was far different from the last one. But she couldn’t lift her head to even look around. All she could do was let it loll between her shoulders, only moving when they jostled her hard enough.

She should be able to pick up her head. She should be able to fight back against them.

But Jessamine was so tired.

Strength required rest, and she had not had a moment’s peace in three days. Ajax was known to be a ruthless god for a reason, and he hadn’t let up. Not even when Leon had flickered into control a few times, his gaze turning horrified as he looked at what his god had done to the woman he might have married.

Jessamine had even seen pity in his eyes a few times before the man she knew disappeared and the yellow-eyed demon returned.

Now, they were in a clearing, it seemed. There was nothing here but a cliff’s edge and an altar against the sea. This would have been a far more reasonable place for Leon to try to kill her. If only their wedding had been here, she would have guessed long before she reached his side that he was going to murder her.

Her thoughts weren’t entirely rational as the guards dragged her right up to the altar and then forced her to kneel before it. She’d been in a situation like this before. Callum had placed her just like this, with a knife in his hand and distorted thoughts in his mind. It seemed that there were so many men who wanted to place her on an altar, but their version of worship was twisted and ugly.

Leon walked up beside her, his hands behind his back as he surveyed the entire situation. “This doesn’t have to be difficult, Jessamine.”

She looked up at him just to make sure it was actually Leon that she was speaking with. Thankfully, for now, it was. She joined him in looking at the altar, uncertain of what to even say.

“I’m not confident you have ever had to fight for something you wanted,” she admitted. “I think you’ve been given everything in your life, so you don’t understand where I am coming from or how hard it is for me to exist here.”

His throat worked in a swallow. “I am a man who gets what he wants.”

“You are a man who has been given everything and who has done nothing with it.” She blinked through swollen eyes, staring at the altar and wondering what they were going to do to her upon it. “I do not know how to tell you that this is wrong. I don’t know how to convince you that what you have done is evil. But I think you know all of that already. I think you’re just as trapped as I am, Leon, and I think someday you’ll regret this.”

He didn’t respond, so she looked up at him and saw his eyes had already turned golden in the light. So much for being able to convince him to help her.

Ajax grinned down at her. “It’s a very interesting speech you gave, Jessamine. Yet again, proof that whatever is in you will fuel a goddess far better than anyone else. But I assure you, Leon Bishop knows what he has done. And if he ever decides that he regrets his decision, I will make sure he never sees the light of day again. A god can kill its host and continue to use its body. He knows the deal.”

“Did he before he made the deal?”

Again, another long pause, and then Ajax laughed. “You have been in the company of gods for far too long, princess. Clearly, you understand our ways.”

Of course she did. Just like she knew, without a doubt, that Ajax was going to do something terrible to her now. And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Magic required concentration. It required energy. Neither of which she had.

Bowing her head, she stayed kneeling where she was as Ajax lifted his arms over his head and the world started to burn. He created a ring of fire around them, the flickering lights bleeding through her closed eyes in a red haze. His voice turned deep and monotone, but behind her closed lids, she wasn’t here.

She imagined the people she cared about, clinging to their image as though that might distract her mind from where she actually was. Sybil with her kindness and all the wisdom she had so willingly shared. Agnes, with her strength. Elissa and her sweet smile.

And Elric.

Oh, she pictured Elric here with her. His hand intertwined with hers, even though there was no way for either of them to break through the spell Ajax cast upon her. She couldn’t connect with any other god, but she pretended that she could. Jessamine ignored the tightening around her throat as she tried, and instead thought of Elric kneeling on the ground next to her, his fingers intertwined with her own.