The Power of Death (Book Two of The Eternal Warmth Series)

Thirty One. Energy

Thirty One

Energy

He didn’t feel one bit guilty as he kissed her forehead and slipped inaudibly out of their warm bed. She didn’t deserve what she wasn’t even involved in. Thanatos had watched for thousands of years the damage Lillian caused, every death, catastrophe, and broken soul, and he was finished it. So to Hell with what Elly might have his way when she woke up and found him gone, soon after to find out that he took care of their enemy himself.

Slipping on a black tee jeans and one of his favorite leather jackets, Thanatos stared at his beautiful wife, sleeping on her side to support her swollen tummy as their child was preparing to enter the world. He could wait to look into her, or his, eyes and see the world and everything, including his wife and family, inside them.

Nate couldn’t help it, he slid in front of her sleeping form, and softly kissed her forehead, caressing away the curly wisps of hair that escaped her bun.

He sighed, knowing the hot anger of her wrath would reach him soon enough later, but for her safety, it was worth it.

Standing, he blinked, and arrived at his destination.

No way in hell is he going alone, thanks to the binding of their souls at their wedding, Elianna had the neat little trick that allowed her to blink herself here and there. She hadn’t used it much since it unsettled her stomach, but she might as well get used to it if Nate was going to keep sneaking off to take care of their business.

She, too, dressed in a dark maternity sweater, yoga pants, and a jacket. Right as she was about to leave, her tummy grumbled, and she had a serious craving for chocolate.

Thankfully, she’d had this craving before, and had a Ghirardelli chocolate bar stowed away in her nightstand, half-eaten, of course.

Her stomach happy, she went to were she knew Nate would be. Of all places, he used their wedding venue, but it was a perfect location to meet up for a non-violent meeting. Even at this time of night, people still came and went on the sidewalk not a few feet from the garden. There would be no possible way for Lillian or Thanatos, and maybe Elianna to use their powers.

She stayed hidden, sure that neither of them could see them. She also stayed a healthy distance, as any closer, she knew Nate would be able to sense her presence.  

“I see you’ve gotten my message,” A feminine voice said. It was lilted and almost sweet, expect Elianna could hear the underlying cold contempt in it.

“What message,” She heard her husband growl. “You mean hurting my wife and our child. That is not a message, that’s a threat.”

“Of course it is! Her whore of a mother fucked my soulmate and had that devil spawn of a child.”

“Don’t you dare speak of them that way! You will never be comparable to any of them!”

“Oh I know I won’t be, because I will surpass any comparisons you try to hold me to. My bloodline, soul, and whole being are better than any other. I deserve the best, and I considered Jack Frost the best, until he betrayed me and made me this way.”

“Nobody made you this way, you didn’t like his answer and had a fit that’s been lasting thousands of years.”

“Are you saying Jack Frost and his wife don’t deserve my wrath.”

“You should have no hate towards them. Thousands of years have passed, and you still want to hurt them and their child?”

“My curse on Jackson rid him of any warmth or love anyone could ever give him, and I made it especially that only love could break his curse. I am his soulmate, not, not her.”

“Did you ever think that you might not be his soulmate?” Nate sounded almost sorry for her, but Elly knew him, and she understood why he sounded that way.

“Well now I do.” Lillian’s voice was laced with hate and fury, and Elly felt like that tone fit the bitch. “And now I have to fix the mistake I made all those years ago. I will get my revenge, starting with their whore of a daughter and that vermin growing inside of her.”

The next seconds were painful, as Elly felt a wrenching feeling in her stomach. She hugged her round belly, biting her lip to keep quiet. She couldn’t compromise herself. She needed to surprise the witch.

But as she said those words to herself, the pain in her abdomen increased tenfold, and Elianna couldn’t help but cry out at the agony she felt, praying it had nothing to do with her dear baby.

“Elly?” She heard him say through the sound of her own racing heart. “Elly!”

Wet and sticky liquid seeped through the material of her pants, coating her thighs. She couldn’t tell in the dim light whether it was blood or water, but she had a feeling it was a mixture of both.

“Of course!” She heard Lillian cackle. “The girl just has to come in and save the day all because her parents did! I remember when I tried to kill your mother, girl. But fortunately for her, that barbarian Whelp got to her before me!”

Elianna clutched her stomach, waiting for when Thanatos would find her and Lillian would kill them both in their vulnerability.

“I bet you your mother enjoyed the pain her best friend brought upon her before she became a coward. I don’t doubt that she wanted more.”

Something in her snapped hearing those words, and the next moment -pain aside- Elianna rose and roared with all the pain and anger her being could muster, and used her might to pull in her power. The ball of energy hit the witch in her stomach, and she fell over.

“I should’ve killed you when I found out about you!”

She felt her broken soul be pulled somewhere, tugging on her body but being roped back in. She struggled with breath, astonished that a blow from the little bitch was filled with that much might. Lillian coughed, blood spurting everywhere.

This couldn’t be, she couldn’t fail her Gods, or herself.

But she felt the battle for her soul come to an end, and as she felt the final bindings tear away, the God of the Underworld appeared next to her, a black and grey orb encapsulated in his hand.

“I’ve waited a very long time for this day to happen. I will be sure that your soul is in a safe and deep place in the earth. As for you, though, you will forever be tortured with the everything you’ve failed to do in your entire existence.”

Lillian used her last few breaths to seethe out, “I will return and bring everything crashing down.”

And then her eyes closed.