Another chair flew. “Ohhhh. Something more than your life. Do tell.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. A suddenly burning hand. Perhaps he’d handled this poorly. There were other ways to gain her cooperation. He’d learned that, too.
“Well?” she demanded, throwing another chair.
“I’ll lose everything I’ve come to love,” he told her. “There’s no need for you to lose everything too. So you will let me do this for you. For me!”
“Love?” she squeaked, her eyes wide. “You love me?”
She hadn’t realized the truth? How could he leave her without sharing everything she meant to him?
“How else would I have the strength to keep you at a distance today?” He raised his chin. “Enjoying one more day with you is a treasure beyond measure, but it pales in comparison to your future happiness. So I will stay cold, and you will let me. I will do what must be done.”
Chair. “Oh, I will, will—”
A trumpet sounded in the distance, and his brow furrowed. So soon?
He wasn’t ready.
The conference room vanished. Suddenly, Halo stood in the center of the coliseum. He scanned the area. Most of the Astra and an army of harpies filled the stands, their confusion rampant. No sign of Ophelia. Where was she?
Chaos stood on the royal dais, with Roc, Taliyah, and Erebus at his sides. The Commander appeared unfazed by the change in scenery. He stared straight ahead, with his hands clamped behind his back, pretending a male he longed to murder wasn’t within striking distance. To attack now would be an act of war against Chaos himself. A foolish move while in the midst of a war with Erebus.
“The final battle is set to commence,” Chaos called to one and all, spurring cheers. “The two combatants are the only ones allowed on the field. Anyone who joins the fray will die. Erebus, as challenger, you will select first. Name your champion.”
32
“I choose Halo Phaninon,” Erebus called, and a collective gasp rose from the crowd.
Knew it.
Boos provided a nice chorus for a plethora of jeers and insults. “Cheater!” “He can’t do that!” “Suck a hairy nut sack!” “Take off your robe!”
The god remained unmoved by the commentary, clearly gleeful over his choice.
Fool. Halo notched his chin and fixed his attention on Chaos. This was the outcome he’d preferred. Now Ophelia’s part was done, their association over. She would live. At some point in the future, some other male would come along and win her heart—and Halo would return from the dead to do murder!
Deep breath in. Stay cold. He wanted Ophelia happy after this. What he did now was for the best. She’d given him everything. Now, he would do the same for her.
Where was she?
“And you, Halo?” Chaos called. “Who fights for you?”
He jerked his gaze to Roc. The Commander maintained his hard stance, clearly doing his best to go cold, so he could do the deed Halo demanded—stand there and do nothing while he ended his own life. Not a fate Halo would have ever chosen for either of them. The memories would haunt Roc for the rest of eternity. But what else could Halo do?
A tremor shook the coliseum, the very ground he stood upon, and he frowned. He recognized the sensation. Had felt it every time he’d battled a beast...
Foreboding prickled his nape. If Erebus had turned Ophelia...
Anyone who enters the fray will die.
Suspicions kept Halo silent. If the god had turned Ophelia into a mystical hellhound, if she burst onto the field, entering the ring of sand, and she wasn’t named as Halo’s champion, Chaos would kill her, no matter the outcome of the battle.
What if the creature wasn’t Ophelia? Merely a trick?
Hope bloomed.
But he knew better. Erebus had turned her and no other.
Hope withered, despair rising in its place. Not so cold anymore.
The ground shook with more vigor, and Halo’s heart thudded. Metal bars exploded from the entrance to the catacombs, a three-headed dog flying out. No, the lioness. No, the hydra. The bird. Bull. Horse. She morphed again and again, until various parts of her solidified into different beasts, creating a monstrous amalgamation.
“Ophelia Falconcrest,” Halo shouted in a rush. “I choose Ophelia Falconcrest.” Now Chaos couldn’t kill her for interfering. She could survive. She would survive. Halo would make sure of it.
The course was now set in stone, the ending clearer than ever. But oh, how he despised this. Detested the guilt she would carry for the rest of her life. The killing of her consort and entwine. Mostly, he hated that he hadn’t spent their last hours together in bed, loving each other.
He was the fool.
As the beastly Ophelia charged for him, Erebus boomed with his customary laughter. Three heads, three sets of metal teeth coated with firstone. Foam formed at the corners of each mouth. Crazed black eyes locked on him.