Evangeline fought with everything she had against the metal that Apollo had bound her with. She tried to rub her skin until it bled. If she could just manage one drop of blood, she could get the bonds to open. She could get back to Jacks.
Although Evangeline was fearful that Jacks was not the only one she needed to worry about.
Apollo had used an arch to transport her somewhere she’d never been before. An enormous cavern lit with lines of red-orange fire on the ground that made her think of a vampire lair, full of blood and cruel, punishing magic.
Apollo had carried her in his arms for a few minutes, but when she had continued struggling he had tossed her over his shoulder again, carrying her like a sack of food and making it difficult to get the best view.
Evangeline could see there was some sort of tree. The largest tree she’d ever seen, an enormous, horrid-looking thing with feral branches and distorted faces carved into the trunk, and—was that a heartbeat she could feel?
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It was definitely a heartbeat. Evangeline felt it pulsing through the ground as Apollo laid her down like a sacrifice in front of the dreadful tree.
“Apollo, please don’t do this!” She fought wildly against the cuffs binding her wrists. “Please, let me go!” she begged. “I—”
She tried to say she was sorry. She knew it would have been the smart thing to say just then. But she couldn’t bring herself to apologize for kissing Jacks.
Instead she gritted her teeth and glared at Apollo. “Is your pride really so wounded that you would kill me over a kiss?”
“That’s not what I’m doing.” He worked his jaw as sweat dripped down his forehead. “I wanted us to be together forever, I wanted my legacy to be yours as well. I was going to make you a queen.”
“And now you’re not, so you’re going to kill me?”
“It’s not like that—I don’t want to kill you. If there was another way, I wouldn’t do this, but there’s not. I can’t keep you safe as a mere human, but I can’t have you and be more.” He dropped to his knees and stroked her cheek with his fingers. “This is the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make. You’re the love of my life, Evangeline, and I will miss you desperately.”
He leaned in closer and he kissed her lips.
