Page 41 of Into the Abyss
“He is tough, but he is not cruel. And hewas not the varcolac who sealed the jinn away.”
“Wasn’t it cruel to lock so many away for solong to begin with? There were two hundred three seals.”
“Perhaps it was cruel, but if the occupantsof those seals were all slaughtered outright, you wouldn’t bealive.”
CHAPTER 18
Amalia
“True,” I reluctantly agreed. “It was still ashittything to do to them though.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think the varcolac whocreated the first seal knew what to do with the demons who steppedout of line. Before the angels, Hell wasn’t really a place ofslaughter and war. Perhaps that varcolac planned only to keep themimprisoned for a certain amount of time before releasing them, butas the number of seals grew, and new varcolacs rose, the intentionsof the first one were lost.”
“Maybe,” I muttered as I gazed at thebouquet he’d given me. I didn’t miss that it matched my hair andeyes, a personal touch of his, I knew.
“Do you hate the king?” he asked, hisfingers briefly digging into my skin.
“I can’t hate someone I’ve never met, andwillingly or not, his queen did destroy the seals and set usfree.”
“You’ve heard the tale then?”
“I think everyone has.”
“The act earned River the loyalty of manywho were sealed away.”
“I have no loyalties in this, Magnus,” Isaid honestly. “I have no grudges, and I’m not much of a fighter. Isimply don’t want to be judged for what I am, and one day I dreamof living in peace. I guess that’s the fae in me.”
“It’s a good dream to have, Amalia.”
“But?” I inquired when I sensed more behindhis words.
“But sometimes war comes to our door, and wehave no choice but to fight it. We can’t allow the craetons to win.Not only will they enslave the human race, but the horsemen andfallen will turn on the demons before turning on each other. Theywill destroy what the palitons have battled to preserve since thegateway opened. They won’t care if the fae in you doesn’t want tofight; they’ll kill you anyway.”
“Perhaps, but no matter which side I chose,I will inevitably have to kill, and I don’t want to.”
Releasing my shoulders, he brushed back thesides of my hair and gripped it against my nape with his hand. Hisfinger traced the curve of my cheekbone before dipping down to runit over my lips.
“You are unlike anyone I’ve ever metbefore,” he murmured.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Oh, it’s a very good thing in mostways.”
“And in other ways?”
His eyes met and held mine. “It makes meworry about you.”
“I may prefer not to kill, but Iwilldefend myself.”
“A battered body can heal; a battered spiritmight forever be maimed, and if you are forced into something youcan’t handle, that could happen to you. I’m going to do everythingI can to make sure it doesn’t.”
Before I could respond to his vehementwords, he released my hair and turned away. I stood and gawkedafter his stiff back as he continued down the path. His confusionradiated from him, yet I also sensed he was trying to distancehimself from me.
But why?
• • •
Amalia
