Page 15 of Eternal Surrender

“You pushed me for a name,” Alex said. “So I gave you one.”

“I’m joined with the man who killed my father.” My feet felt unsteady. “God help me. I’m joined with. . .”

“Your nemesis,” Alex whispered it.

Chapter Three

“I’m fine, really,” Catherine said, letting Jacob know she was ready to be left alone with me.

“Catherine, I’ll wait for you outside.” Jacob glared at me. “I’ll be listening to every word.”

I sat down in the pew opposite Catherine. Head down, she rested her hands in her lap as though finding the courage to speak. Her blonde curls cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, and I imagined how soft they’d feel should I dare to reach out and run my fingers through them.

This old dusty chapel hadn’t seen a religious service conducted in centuries, and despite the layers of time that gave away its neglect, it still maintained its dutiful Protestant presence. Catherine seemed to be trying to gain strength from the tipped-over crucifix resting on the once-used altar. Or perhaps I was just making her nervous.

“Jadeon’s father died in this castle.” She broke the silence at last. “At your hands, Orpheus.”

I broke eye contact with her, wishing I’d insisted that Jacob stay.

“And now you’ve outdone yourself.” Hate welled with her tears.

It hurt—deep and raw—that she could look at me that way, that someone I had loved, someone I shared a past with, could feel nothing but hate for me now.

“I’m Jadeon too.”

She pressed her hand to her lips as though the true horror of what I was finally hit her. “Jacob promised he’d do whatever it took to protect Jadeon.” She flinched, as though the loss was too much for her. “Was your hate for Jadeon your reason for doing this?”

“What?” I sat back, surprised. “No. You think I planned this?”

“You tortured Jadeon for centuries, and this is your ultimate revenge.”

“I’m finding a way back from this.”

“So now you regret it?”

“I chased you relentlessly trying to save you from him. . .” It was coming out wrong. “It’s complicated.”

“I did everything I could to save Jadeon from you, but in the end those two hundred years of staying with you, loving you, being everything you demanded of me, meant nothing.”

“Loved?” I asked.

“I misspoke.”

“You loved God.”

“And you wanted to kill me for that.”

“You never once told me you loved me.” And it shocked me, even after holding her captive for years—that any trace of affection could still linger for me in her.

This was Orpheus’ legacy. Everything blurred, and I couldn’t tell where his shadow ended, and I began.

“And that surprises you?” she asked.

“Catherine, I’m not ready for this.”

“You always hated the truth.”

“We were childhood sweethearts, you and I?”