matter.”
Styxxtook a step toward him,then stopped. “It does matter. I know what it costs you now... what it cost
you then.”
“Then you know it doesn’t matter to me.”
Styxxscoffed . “No. I know you’re lying, Acheron. I’m the only one who does.”
Ash flinched at the truth. But it changed nothing. “Make your decision,Styxx . I don’t have any more time
to waste here.”
Styxxtook another step forward. He stood so close now that Ash could see his reflection inStyxx’s blue
eyes. Those eyes pierced him with sincerity. “I want to go toKatoteros .”
Ash frowned at him. “Why?”
“I want to know my brother.”
Ash scoffed at that. “You don’t have a brother,” he reminded him. It was somethingStyxx had
proclaimed loud andclear throughout the centuries. “We only shared a womb for a very short time.”
Styxxdid something he had never done before. He reached out and touched Ash’s shoulder. That touch
seared Ash as it reminded him of the boy he’d been who had wanted nothing more than the love of his
human family.
A boy they had spat on and denied.
“You told me once, long ago,”Styxx said in a ragged tone, “to look into a mirror and see your face. I
refused to then. But nowMnimi has forced me to look at my own reflection. I’ve seen it through my eyes
and I’ve seen it through yours. I wish to the gods that I could change what happened between us. If I
could go back, I would never deny you. But I can’t. We both know that. Now I just want the chance to
know you as I should have known you all those centuries ago.”
Angered at his noble speech and at a painful past that no mere handful of words could ease, Ash used his
powers to pin him back to the wall, away from him.Styxxhovered spread eagle, above the floor, his face
pale as Ash showed him his powers. He could tell byStyxx’s thoughts that he was aware of exactly what
he could do. Even though they were linked together, Ash could kill him with a single thought. He could
shred him into pieces.
Part of him wanted to. It was the part of him they had turned vicious.The part of him that belonged to his
real mother, the Destroyer.
“I am not a god of forgiveness.”
Styxxmet his gaze without flinching. “And I’m not a man used to apologizing. We are linked. You know it
and I know it.”
“How could I ever trust you?”
Styxxwanted to weep at that question. Acheron was right. How could he trust him? He’d done nothing
but hurt his brother.
He’d even tried to kill him.
“You can’t. But I have lived inside your memories for the last three years. I know the pain you hide. I
know the pain I caused. If I stay here, I will go mad from the screams. If I return to the Vanishing Isle, I’ll
languish there alone and in time I will probably learn to hate you all over again.”
Styxxpaused as grief swept through him at the truth. “I don’t want to hate you any more, Acheron. You
are a god who can control human fate. Is it not possible that there was a reason why we were joined
together? Surely the Fates meant for us to be brothers.”
Ash looked away as those words echoed in his head. It was a divine cruelty that he could see the fate of
everyone around him, except for those who were important to him or those whose fates were intertwined
with his own. He held the fate of the entire world in his hand and yet he couldn’t see his own future.
How screwed up was that?
How unfair?
He looked at his “brother.” Styxx was more likely to skewer him than he was to speak to him.
And yet he sensed something different about him.
Forget it. Erase his memory of you and leave him here to rot.
It was kinder than anythingStyxx had ever done to him. But deep inside, down in a place that Ash hated
was that little boy who had reached out for his brother.That little boy who had cried out repeatedly for
his family only to find himself alone.
Should Ash deny that boy, too?
He setStyxx back on the ground.
Ash
Styxxtook a step toward him,then stopped. “It does matter. I know what it costs you now... what it cost
you then.”
“Then you know it doesn’t matter to me.”
Styxxscoffed . “No. I know you’re lying, Acheron. I’m the only one who does.”
Ash flinched at the truth. But it changed nothing. “Make your decision,Styxx . I don’t have any more time
to waste here.”
Styxxtook another step forward. He stood so close now that Ash could see his reflection inStyxx’s blue
eyes. Those eyes pierced him with sincerity. “I want to go toKatoteros .”
Ash frowned at him. “Why?”
“I want to know my brother.”
Ash scoffed at that. “You don’t have a brother,” he reminded him. It was somethingStyxx had
proclaimed loud andclear throughout the centuries. “We only shared a womb for a very short time.”
Styxxdid something he had never done before. He reached out and touched Ash’s shoulder. That touch
seared Ash as it reminded him of the boy he’d been who had wanted nothing more than the love of his
human family.
A boy they had spat on and denied.
“You told me once, long ago,”Styxx said in a ragged tone, “to look into a mirror and see your face. I
refused to then. But nowMnimi has forced me to look at my own reflection. I’ve seen it through my eyes
and I’ve seen it through yours. I wish to the gods that I could change what happened between us. If I
could go back, I would never deny you. But I can’t. We both know that. Now I just want the chance to
know you as I should have known you all those centuries ago.”
Angered at his noble speech and at a painful past that no mere handful of words could ease, Ash used his
powers to pin him back to the wall, away from him.Styxxhovered spread eagle, above the floor, his face
pale as Ash showed him his powers. He could tell byStyxx’s thoughts that he was aware of exactly what
he could do. Even though they were linked together, Ash could kill him with a single thought. He could
shred him into pieces.
Part of him wanted to. It was the part of him they had turned vicious.The part of him that belonged to his
real mother, the Destroyer.
“I am not a god of forgiveness.”
Styxxmet his gaze without flinching. “And I’m not a man used to apologizing. We are linked. You know it
and I know it.”
“How could I ever trust you?”
Styxxwanted to weep at that question. Acheron was right. How could he trust him? He’d done nothing
but hurt his brother.
He’d even tried to kill him.
“You can’t. But I have lived inside your memories for the last three years. I know the pain you hide. I
know the pain I caused. If I stay here, I will go mad from the screams. If I return to the Vanishing Isle, I’ll
languish there alone and in time I will probably learn to hate you all over again.”
Styxxpaused as grief swept through him at the truth. “I don’t want to hate you any more, Acheron. You
are a god who can control human fate. Is it not possible that there was a reason why we were joined
together? Surely the Fates meant for us to be brothers.”
Ash looked away as those words echoed in his head. It was a divine cruelty that he could see the fate of
everyone around him, except for those who were important to him or those whose fates were intertwined
with his own. He held the fate of the entire world in his hand and yet he couldn’t see his own future.
How screwed up was that?
How unfair?
He looked at his “brother.” Styxx was more likely to skewer him than he was to speak to him.
And yet he sensed something different about him.
Forget it. Erase his memory of you and leave him here to rot.
It was kinder than anythingStyxx had ever done to him. But deep inside, down in a place that Ash hated
was that little boy who had reached out for his brother.That little boy who had cried out repeatedly for
his family only to find himself alone.
Should Ash deny that boy, too?
He setStyxx back on the ground.
Ash
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