Black Blood (Series of Blood Book 4) Emma Hamm (popular novels txt) 📖

does not want to become a God, but he doesn’t want to see Mercy die either.” Her brow furrowed. “He doesn’t know how this will change his future. Mercy is immortal, but he is not, and Ignes has a strange place in their relationship as future husband, once Jasper is gone.”

Again, the words were repeated.

“But, they will make the right choice.”

“Are you using your powers?” Pitch asked. “You’ve done enough of that lately to drive a man to exhaustion.”

“You’re tired?” she replied with a chuckle. “How do you think I feel?”

“Like you need to snuggle up next to me on a beach at midnight. We’ll watch the stars.”

“That’s all? Disappointing.”

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

“I would imagine it would be the other way around.” Her lips quirked. “After all, I am thousands of years older than you.”

Their eyes met, and she saw her life reflected in his gaze. Every moment of love they would feel, every difficulty they would undergo, every whisper in the night and fight they would have. It was a happy life. One she had fought for and finally, finally, won.

“We’ll do it.” Wren’s voice rang loud and clear in the still world of nothing. “But we don’t know where to begin.”

“You will,” Lydia said. “And you won’t regret this decision.”

Her head lolled back on the couch and six orbs appeared in the air. They hovered, each a slightly different color. The pair of red orbs zipped toward Mercy and Jasper, sinking into their skin which glowed golden before stilling. The blue orbs swirled around Lyra and Wolfgang before bursting like bubbles in a shower of blue sparks. The remaining white orbs shimmered in white mist that covered Wren and Burke like a blanket.

All six turned startled faces to Lydia, who weakly sat up.

“I can see everything,” Wren whispered.

“I feel millions of lives connected to mine,” Wolfgang said.

“The elements are mine,” Mercy sobbed. “It’s not just fire, it’s everything. It’s all mine.”

“Can’t you feel it?” Tears dripped down Lydia’s cheeks as she watched her family. “It’s the world breathing.”

She inhaled and let herself feel. The first day of summer, wheat grass waving in the wind. A boy learning how to ride a bike, and a little girl battling monsters with a twig sword. A Pegasus taking flight for the first time, shaking its head at the sun and the wind rustling through its feathers.

This was the world they would create together. A seamless combination of human and magical creature because their Gods were exactly that. In this decision, they had saved humankind not just from the Five, but from magic itself.

“Thank you,” Jasper said. “This is wondrous.”

“All the thanks should be given to you,” Lydia replied. “You saved the world I love dearly. For that, I owe you all a great debt. But we are not yet done.”

She waved her hand, ushering forward the one man they all despised. Malachi.

Molten silver encased his hands. It ensured he could not use his magic though Lydia could control him in this place she had created. This in between space was easily malleable.

“Malachi,” she said. “The time has come for you to be judged. As I promised, the judgment will not come from my lips.”

“Us?” Jasper asked.

“You are the Gods of this world now. You can peer into his soul and measure the weight of his guilt.”

Malachi struggled against his bonds. “You promised!” he shouted. “You promised me you would save me!”

“I did,” Lydia bowed her head. “It is my gift to you that I argue in your defense. My children, this man is not a good man. He has committed many evil deeds, and he has harmed you personally. I ask that in your first decision as Gods, you showcase humility and forgiveness. He was twisted by men and women he trusted. Many of you have felt the same. I do not ask for you to spare his life, merely to consider its worth.”

Her words fell like weights to the ground. They thumped against the still air and she worried they fell upon deaf ears.

Mercy growled. “Absolutely not. I want him dead, and I want him to suffer.”

“The things he did to Mercy,” Jasper shook his head. “They are unforgivable. There will be no leniency from me.”

Lyra cocked her head to the side. “I have done terrible things in my life, not nearly as bad as him, but I know the feeling of regret. I can taste it in his soul and hear it in the song he sings.” She nodded at Lydia. “For you, new mother, I would forgive him.”

“As would I,” Wolfgang agreed. “I stand beside the old ways. I don’t want him to live, but I don’t want to see him suffer.”

A crackle of fire licked at the air. “You saw what he did to me,” Mercy growled. “He poked out my eyes, put metal stakes between my fingers, and you want to forgive him that?”

Lydia watched their choices carefully. She was measuring them, waiting to see what kinds of Gods they would be. The first choice laid heavy on the shoulders for millennia.

She had made the right decision when her magic first drew breath and the stars inside her came to life. Many had not.

Wren stepped forward, her feet silent upon the ground. “It falls to us, Burke. What do you say?”

“I follow your lead,” he murmured. “You have something up your sleeve.”

“Yes I do,” E’s voice warped Wren’s. Her eyes were no longer just white, but swirling with power. “Siblings, I do not ask you to forgive him, but I do not want him dead. I want to keep him.”

“Like a pet?” Mercy chuckled.

“No. I want him to live inside my head with the others. He has much knowledge and experience. I do not want him condemned to the Underworld for that is where his soul will go. I want him to remain with me. Ever useful, and at my beck and call.”

The others seemed to ponder this choice.

Lydia dipped into Malachi’s