Page 51 of The Demon God's Desire
“Do you truly wish to see the reality where you would not have to fight in this war, and where you and your human survive, and are happy?” He asks. His tone and phrasing should make me hesitate, but I don’t, too deep in the throes of my own agony to hear his wordless warning. At my vehement agreement, the portal springs back to life again, a different set of images beginning to unfold.
As I watch, the breath is crushed from my lungs. It’s Bridget- smiling, and healthy. Her belly is round with life, her skin glowing like the Mother herself. A little boy clings to her legs, looking up and laughing with her.
I study the boy, confusion beginning to take root. There’s no doubt that he’s Bridget’s son, with her honeyed eyes and dark hair, but I see no trace of elven blood in him. As my mind tries to make sense of the image before me, portal-Bridget and the young boy become animated, their eyes tracking something excitedly that I can’t see.
The portal expands, showing a human man with long, dark hair and tanned skin running toward the two of them. He sweeps the little boy into his arms, crushing him in a hug before kissing Bridget tenderly.
Confusion begins to mingle with anger. Who is that man? The Deceiver promised a timeline where Bridget and I could be happy together, safe from war, but the man with Bridget is clearly human.
It’s not until the man turns around that everything makes sense, and my mind empties out, my eyes glued to the picture within the portal.
The man is me- if I were human.
Gone are the points of my ears, dulled with humanity, and my ashen, elven skin is warm and earthen. Even changed by mortality, however, my face is unmistakable.
My heart breaks anew in my chest. The only reality that exists where Bridget and I could be left alone and happy, where we could avoid the coming war between the gods, is if I were human.
My knees threaten to buckle beneath me, anguish swirling and growing like a black hole behind my ribs. I will never be able to keep Bridget safe as an elf without being in this war- and even then, our chances of survival aren’t good.
“Is it true? Is this the only reality where this is possible?” I ask, my voice hardly above a whisper. I don’t want to believe that this is the only way, that the only future that I could be with Bridget and avoid war is one that isn’t possible. The Deceiver is the god of trickery, after all- is this a trick?
The Deceiver cocks his head at me, as if hearing my thoughts, his soulless, ancient eyes appraising me.
“It is the only reality where your survival and happiness are possible if you don’t fight in the coming war,” he replies after a long moment.
I hang my head, my shoulders sagging as the fight drains out of me. I have no choice- it’s already been decided for me.
I have to be the Heartkeeper’s champion, whether I like it or not, if there’s even a shot at Bridget and I surviving what’s to come. The Hearthkeeper is downright giddy over the Deceiver’s shoulder, a feline grin spreading over her face.
She steps forward, opening her arms to me and beckoning me forward. Extricating my arm from Bridget’s vice-like grip, I step toward her, resigned to my fate.
“Come, my child,” the Hearthkeeper coos as I take another step forward, obviously thrilled by my sudden submission. “Together, we will change the world.”
I stop short a few feet from her. The roaring in my mind becomes nearly deafening, the moral code I’ve held on to for so long screaming and railing against aligning myself with her, against offering my sword to the very being who would sooner kill Bridget and I than let us be happy, but I know what I have to do.
My knees wobble as I ready to kneel before her, but a gasp stops me before I lower myself to the ground.
On instinct, I turn toward Bridget, my hackles raised and ready to leap into action in defense of her, before I see what’s caused her sudden surprise. The portal between the Deceiver’s hands brightens, playing more images inside.
Images of another way.
26
BRIDGET
My mind races, my body numb in the wake of everything I’ve just seen. Earlier today, I never would have imagined I’d find myself in this predicament, surrounded on all sides by literal deities and gazing into a portal that shows the future, but here I am.
The images from the Deceiver’s portal flash through my mind, refusing to be forgotten. Watching my own death, and worse, watching Guilri’s death, over and over through the portal was nothing short of traumatizing.
The idea that everything could be ripped away from us, all because of the decisions of beings that I wasn’t even sure totally existed before today, only serves to inflame the grief and anger I feel in the aftermath of the Deceiver’s show.
It feels as though I’m going to be dragged under by the storm of emotions raging inside of me. I’m terrified, and angry, and grief-stricken in the face of what the future may hold for Guilri and I, but I’m also unbelievably happy.
Guilri loves me, and I love him.
Even just that mere fact is enough to allow hope to bloom in my chest. If we can just find a way to get through this, a way to survive the trials ahead, maybe we can find a way forward together, despite what the Deceiver’s portal has shown us.
The image of Guilri’s human face flashes behind my eyes, chipping at that hope. The only way for us both to survive, to be happy and have a family without this war, is if he was human- at least, according to the Deceiver.