Our love, however.
Was not.
“Thank you,” I whispered towards the skies, hoping my parents were listening, “Thank you for him.”
TIMBER
The ache intensified in my chest — yet I knew my soul was present. I knew it just like I knew I was breathing. The temptation to turn toward darkness was always present, and I knew the more I isolated myself the more it would pull at me. Two different races — one good, one born for evil.
I took a staggering breath as I looked around the room.
What had possessed me to take Tarik under my wing? A wolf?
A pup?
I had books older than him!
Damnation!
I grabbed another glass of wine as the woman who’d approached me earlier locked eyes with me.
I knew exactly who she was.
She knew me.
I didn’t say a word.
Or breathe it aloud.
It was forbidden.
It had been wrong.
It had also been so good.
Twice a year, I’d touch her.
Twice a year, we’d met.
And then, we’d both walked back to our separate prisons, never to breathe a word of it to anyone again.
And now, she was here.
It was wrong on so many levels I had trouble seeing straight. To mix such good with evil.
To mix at all.
And yet, when I looked around, that was all I saw, blood mixing, doing exactly what the creator had warned us against.
I had to wonder what the ramifications would be in the future for our people, for the humans. The Creator never said we wouldn’t suffer consequences of our actions. He simply said he’d made it for good.
I knew the Creator. I knew the way his words worked.
And I knew it wasn’t over. It was a battle for the ages. For the souls of every human that existed. For the souls of every race, even the immortals.
Evil never died down. It simply went into hibernation.
I glanced back at her.