Chapter 204: Chapter Twenty-Two

Timber

I remembered everything—mainly, I remembered her. Choosing Kyra despite my brother’s protests, claiming her as my own before my father could get the chance, and being punished for our love.

We were given sixty days before my soul would be lost to hers, before the curse of the gods took over and completely obliterated me from the inside out.

I kissed her soundly again. The only problem with my memories was that I wished she was sharing them, but she had no idea. She had been reborn—she wasn’t a god; she didn’t know, and I did.

My love was all consuming.

My obsession bordering on dangerous.

And yet this human still looked at me like a science project, a pretty one she wasn’t sure how to experiment with.

I’d never in my life had to woo a woman.

And now that I finally had her, the one that I’d searched for, the one who had saved me and risked her life to do it—I would need to woo her again so she understood.

We were made for one another.

There was no coming back from this.

I cupped Kyra’s face. “I want you.”

Her eyes locked on mine with uncertainty. “I want you too, I just feel like I’m missing some giant piece of our story.”

“Let’s make a new story,” I rasped. “One in this time, together.”

A small smile formed across her lips. “You mean one where I’m the bartender and you’re the cranky boss?”

“You’d be cranky too if you couldn’t feel, yet remembered what it was like to feel everything, to be less powerful but not know why.”

One of her dainty hands slid up my cheek. Her fingertips were like velvet. “Do you remember? Why you did it? Why you tried to borrow a soul?”

A weight settled against my chest. “The truth?”

“Please.”

“I thought I was stronger. I thought without my soul I would be the same. But instead, nothing satisfied me. The only way to find satisfaction was to devour human flesh and even then I was always empty, but I had flickers of a past life where I’d been powerful—full. So I went to the only person who could give me what I craved. By then I was already lost to what I used to be, completely sick but unable to die. I barely lasted a hundred years without you in my life. When the goddess offered an exchange, I knew exactly what I was doing, but if it meant one day I would feel again, it would be worth it. So I allowed her to give me a borrowed soul, not knowing that mine would be restored thousands of years later. She was the goddess of death, you know her as Mania, one of the Roman goddesses. She takes on different forms, different faces, and since the gods were all but extinct, I knew she would give me what I wanted.”

Kyra sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I wrapped my arms around her body and pulled her close. “It could have been worse.”

She frowned. “I don’t see how?”

“I could have lost you.”

Her eyes flickered to my mouth. “You didn’t, I just wish…”

“What?”

“I wish that I remembered more… of us.”

“I know.” I felt helpless, something I was hoping would be a rarity. Then again, I did have power, right? I would be limited, but maybe I could show her, maybe I had enough power to show her a glimpse. “I’m going to try something.”

“Okay.” She looked petrified.

I grinned. “It won’t hurt. It’s not like I’m biting you again.”

She gulped. “Yes. That.”

“You liked it.”

“Maybe.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t worry, I liked it enough for both of us,” I whispered, lowering my head to hers. I pressed a kiss to her parted lips, then deepened it as I placed my right hand on her chest. She jumped and then relaxed as power surged through my fingertips.

I felt her soul.

Felt the stirring.

I turned my fingertips, drawing her soul from her body. It clung to my hand just like I remembered, wrapped its tentacles around my fingertips so tight that I winced.

“It’s your turn,” I said against her mouth. “To remember.”

I kissed her harder then, sliding my tongue into her mouth while holding her soul in the palm of my hand, letting it take whatever energy or memories it needed.

Kyra gasped and pulled away. “We were in the Great Hall.”

“Yes.” I felt my eyes flash with the memory, and my body burn.

“You, you tried to turn away and I…” She looked horrified. “I seduced you!”

“I was gladly seduced.”

“You tried so hard to do the right thing.” Tears filled her eyes. “And I just ignored it!”

“I told you not to touch me.” I kissed her again, tasted her. “It hurt my heart, it made my soul shake in my chest—and then you did. I was brought down by one touch, to my very knees.”

She trembled in my arms. “I was selfish.”

“You were terrified,” I corrected her. “My father was going to murder you.”

Kyra shook her head. “No, we were going to get married and…”

“Murder. You still had the soul of a goddess thanks to your father. Trust me when I say he was going to use you to buy himself more time… innocent of body and soul.”

Kyra gasped. “And my parents knew?”

“How could they? They were blinded by the thought of peace.”

I released her soul and waited while she stumbled back and sat on the edge of the bed, my bed.

It was like existing in two times, I was remembering everything but at the same time was still Timber, still my old self.

The only difference was the power I felt surging through my veins and the very real need I had to strip Kyra naked and keep her that way for the next decade.

I assumed it would be easy to get her to see.

Instead, in perfect Timber ridiculousness, I’d made it worse.

Once a demon, always a demon, lucky me.

“I um…” She looked up, and I knew, this was what rejection felt like, when all you wanted was the person looking at you with regret and pity in their eyes knowing you would sell your soul for just one taste—and do it again and again until you were sick with it. “This is a lot right now.”

I clenched my teeth, took a deep breath. “You should sleep.”

“But this is your—”

“Don’t argue with the cranky boss, Kyra.” I smiled sadly. “I’m going to go shower and pray that food finally tastes like something other than sand.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Sadly, you get used to it.” It was painful, taking a step away from her, leaving her in that room, my room, knowing what I knew.

It was like my soul was getting ripped apart all over again. I’d assumed it would be easy.

I forgot—about free will, about fear.

What a cruel twist of fate, that all would work out in the end, only to find out that the one woman I gave everything up for.

Didn’t feel the same way.