🎧 Greedy by Tate McRae
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"We are working with things taking into thoughts that you only stayed with the anti-magic shackles for 8 years, since we are in a limbo when it comes to the missing 7 years between the time you were 7 to 14 years old. But even if you had been 15 years with the anti-magic shackles, which we don't believe to be the case, it should not have happened like that."
"Look, if you expect me to have answers, I don't. Yes, I confess I felt it too, how it was weird, because I should have controlled it, but I could not, instead, the magic controlled me. You are right, I've only been shackled for the last 8 years, which again, shouldn't have caused this, not even if we taking into consideration that I probably spent 300 out of 365 days yearly on the torture room, that definitely fucked me over considerably," I pointed down to my body. "But to be honest, I really don't understand what caused all this," it's true.
"Did you make any contract with a demon?" He asked.
And fuck, I've never been so offended in my existence, "What?" My hiss was so visceral, that even Dove swallowed hard. "Why the fuck would I ever doom myself like that? Do I look like one of your Kings and Queens? Do I look that fucking greedy for power? Why the fuck would I fucking do that?" I yelled, feeling repulsed, nauseous.
"You got the black stone," he said.
"Yes, and?" I hissed.
"The only 3 people who got the black stone, had some kind of little connection with the God of Death," he tilted his head, clearly stressed.
"What does the God of Death has to do with demons?"
"He's the God of the demons," he countered.
"And the God of the usurpers, I believe," I hissed.
"Do you have a connection to the God of Death then?"
I clenched my jaw, speechless for a minute, "Excuse me?"
But all of their eyes narrowed, "Do you have it or not?"
"What does the God of Death has to do with this?" I snapped.
The bastard scoffed incredulously, "Everything?"
And now he's yelling? "The hell are you yelling for?" I yelled.
"Why the hell are you yelling back at me?" He yelled.
"Because you are fucking yelling at me!" I yelled angrily. And as he glared daggers at me with those hypnotizing fog silver eyes, mine glared back at him, with the same intensity. "I am not scared of you."
"But you should," he hissed.
"I don't think so," I mocked. "You saved my life, thrice."
He clenched his jaw, "Because it's not your time to die yet."
That time will never come. "Oh? Yes, of course. Didn't you mutter back there something about us not being in the right to decide when another should die?" I mocked. "What did you say again? Oh, yes, something like 'You don't get to decide who die and who doesn't!', no?" I mimicked him, making my voice deeper to fake a bad male voice and he winced as if I had slapped him with my personification. "Why do you get to decide it?"
"I don't," he hissed.
"Then why did you save me?"
"Because," he exclaimed through clenched teeth, clearly angry, "it, was, not, your, time, to, die, yet," he said it all mockingly slowly. "You got the black damn stone, and don't lie, you knew you were going to get it."
I did. "Are you accusing me of tempering with the stone?"
"When did I say that?" He yelled again. "I'm only saying that you fucking knew you were going to get the fucking black stone. Black stone means corruption, corruption in a divine way, you were corrupted by a God, and the only God that corrupts fae is the God of Death. If you did get some-how entangled with him and made some kind of deal, you would know you were corrupted, hence why you would know you were going to get black. Stop trying to distort my damn words, you infuriating little thing."
"You are full of bullshit," I yelled back. "Stop yelling at me."
"Then stop being so damn infuriating," he yelled.
I clenched my jaw, glaring at him as if I could murder him. "You are trying to input on me, something untrue. I did not make any kind of deal or agreement with the God of Death."
"You are lying," he accused me again.
"Can you prove it?" I countered instead. "That's a big accusation."
"Then explain how are you corrupted," he hissed.
"How the hell would I know that?"
"You knew you were going to get the black stone in the damn test, and you provoked Dove because of that. You knew you were corrupted!"
Again, it's true, but so what? "And? I don't see the problem."
He stared at me as if he wanted to kill me, "The problem is that the God of Death never gives anything for nothing, without a high price, you reckless little thing. He does everything calculatedly, and for a reason. The only bloodline to ever get the black stone was the Wintergraves, and look at what happened to them, uh? Silas Witherbury made a deal with him for power, to give his bloodline a power never seen before in the fae race, that was why he changed their last name to Wintergrave, to mark them.
"Later, the God of Death marked more two at birth, two fated mates who were going to build an even stronger line, Orpheus Wintergrave and Lilith-Melantha Hallownight, which makes sense if you think of how the Hallownight were originated from second son of the Wintergrave bloodline, the God of Death mated them not to let any loose ends, and ever since, all the Wintergrave were mated to Faes of bloodlines that crossed with theirs along the way.
"But then he felt like claiming their lives back, a price to be paid, to pay for the power they got, a power the Conqueror bargained his future descendants for. He is unable to come to the living realm with his full power or his appearance, for that, he would need a living link in here, a visceral and strong link, which would be made through immortality. Which was why he played with the Usurpers' greed for power and fear of death, fear of him, and made them do his biding.
"Hence why they ganged up on the Wintergrave Imperials, because at that point in time, they were the only ones remaining of their bloodline, the only ones touched by the God of Death, thus the ones to pay for Silas' bargain. However, that damned Princess stole and drank that immortality dew, and vanished from this damn realm, hiding somewhere like a damn rat, being now unable to fucking die, and unable to fully pay the debt of her bloodline for the God of Death.
"Not just that, as she is now what links him to the living realm, as she is immortal, and she now possess a part of his power inside of her," he yelled exasperated and angry. "And he's making everyone try to fucking find that damned brat, because if he at least locks her at his side, he will be able to walk in the living realm with his full power.
"However, nobody seem to be able to fucking find her, and that's why he forced the Kings and Queens who stupidly made a deal with him during the usurpation, to collaborate with the demons who worship him, to find her. Which he will someday use against the Kings and Queens' just like he does to everyone who is dumb enough to make a contract with him. But it was different from his deal with Silas, I doubt he'll ever do something like that again, given how much trouble it got him.
"And that is why everyone has been waiting for that brat to come around like she promised she would, to try to avenge her family, so we can get her, hand her to him, separate the demons from the fae, and go on with our fucking lives, separately. Which could or could not take another 15 years to happen, or even more, now that she has fucking eternity at her will, as a damned immortal. And this is why you should not make a deal with the God of Death, because he will make you or your descendants pay for it on a later date, and you will be doomed for eternity."
Shit, I'm screwed.
I'm sooooooo majestically screwed.
"You are very intense, aren't you?" I mocked and his jaw dropped in incredulity. "And I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of going of with whatever this dumbass of a God wants, shouldn't you be all trying to figure why he wants to walk in our realm with his full power? That sounds like the real problem to me, or are you all mindlessly submissive to him?" I scoffed. "Besides, making a deal with him is not the only way to be corrupted, I did not make a deal with him. And if you expect me to help you find Ravenna, just because I was friends with her, I won't. You can all die for all I care."
"You were friends with the brat?" He yelled.
"I told you to stop yelling at me," I hissed. "And yes, I was."
"What?" Dove's jaw dropped.
"My mom was the Empress' favorite maid in waiting, my dad was her favorite Knight, I was the same age as the Imperial Crowned Princess, she was a sweet child who liked to play, so, I played with her because I had no siblings, and she was the oldest. She would constantly call me to her chambers to play, and we became friends, her mother the Empress also liked me a lot, and so did the Emperor, and later, her baby siblings too. So, don't you even try to ask me to help finding her, I'll never do that," I laughed. "And I'm humble enough to say that I might be the only one able to do it."
"Have you fucking lost it? Can't you understand the importance,"
"I am loyal, Dove, something you probably don't understand, given how you didn't even fight against the usurpers, when you called yourself the Empress' friend. You knew Ravenna too, and you are still here, trying to find her to hand her to this fucked up God. Heavens, who knows what he'll do to her? She is the only one he can't take for himself, because he possess people through death and she is immortal. She's unique, something he must be unfamiliar with, when even Gods can die, except him. He is death itself, and she can't die."
"Where were you in the 7 years you were away?" He hissed.
"I was not with her, if that's what you're implying, asshole."
"Where, were, you?" The deepness of his voice gave me chills.
"I was in the human realm," I yelled, exasperated. "Damn it, can't I even keep my secrets, secretive, anymore? You inconvenient bastard."