Leta couldn't agree more. Such people had always angered her too. "Familiarity breeds contempt. By bringing them in close, they realize that you're just as human as they are. That's when the madness sets in. They can't understand why you have more than they do when you're just a regular human being the same as them. Then they hate you for it."
"Yeah, but why?"
Leta sighed. "I truly don't know. Humans are capable of so much creativity and goodness and at the same time they are destructive and cruel. It's as if your kind needs adversity in order to achieve."
"No, we don't. That's just a lie people tell themselves to feel better about all the people who kick them in their teeth when it's just as easy to help a man up as it is to knock him to the ground. That's why I've withdrawn from this world. I don't want to have to watch my back all the time and I'm tired of trying to figure out if the loyalty someone professes is real and true, or just another lie that will crumble the instant they taste jealousy."
"I'm incapable of being jealous."
"Are you?"
She cupped his chin and forced him to meet her gaze. "Seriously, Aidan. In my world, jealousy is a man, Phthonos. He walks in the court of Aphrodite and he has never taken root in my heart. He never will. Even when I had all my emotions, I never let him in."
He pulled her to his lips for a kiss so wickedly sweet it literally made her toes curl. That kiss was the most incredible one she'd ever known and the knowledge that this couldn't last made her ache.
As if he sensed her fear, Aidan stiffened an instant before he pulled back from her. "I just thought of something. What happens to you when this is over?"
Leta looked away, unable to answer that question. The pain of it was unbearable.
Aidan cursed before he answered for her. "You'll have to leave, won't you? I mean, you're really a goddess. I can't exactly keep you, can I?"
"Would you want to?"
He shot up off the couch so that he could pace the floor in front of her. His entire body was tense as he moved, and it showed off every corded muscle in that lean, hard body. She could feel his turmoil. "I don't know, Leta. I really don't. But you're the only person I haven't wanted to throw out of here in a really long time."
She smiled at him. "Well, that wasn't from lack of trying on your part."
"Yeah, but I brought you back."
"True..." She sobered as she considered what lay before them. "I don't know either. I personally think we should focus on surviving the next few days and then we'll see where we stand... if we're still intact."
He paused before he raked his hand through his tousled blond hair. "What aren't you telling me about what we're up against?"
She pulled the small square pillow under her arm into her lap. "Our only option with Dolor might be putting him back to sleep again."
"And?"
"The last time I did that, my injuries were so extensive that I had to go into stasis with him in order to heal. That was almost two thousand years ago."
No part of him moved except for his gaze, which fell to the floor in front of her. "I see."
Her heart shredded at all the meaning in those two simple words. "Don't, Aidan. Don't look like that." His hurt made her ache too. "I need you angry. Your anger feeds my powers and makes me stronger. The stronger I am, the less he's capable of hurting me or you."
He laughed at the irony. "I've never had a woman ask for my anger before."
She tossed the pillow aside before she rose and crossed the short distance between them. "I'm not your typical woman."
"In more ways than one." He lifted her hand that still held the vial. "So what do we need to do?"
"We need a bed."
He arched a brow at that. "Really?"
She laughed. "Stop that. You know why. We need to be comfy because one shot of this will put us out for a full night... or longer."
He gave her a becoming pout. "You take all the fun out of this."
His words confused her. "Fighting is fun?"
"Oh, yeah. The adrenaline rush ranks up there right below sex."
Uh-huh... "It's a man thing, isn't it?"
"I would say yes, but I've known enough women to say that it's not unique to my gender. I've met plenty of marathon sluggers in high heels."
She rolled her eyes at him. Stepping back, she held her hand out. "C'mon, soldier. Let's go feed your need."
He slid his gaze hungrily over her body. "Which one?"
"Let's save your life, then we'll worry about your body."
He let out a sound of disgust. "There are some pleasures worth dying for."
"Yes. But I don't want to be one of them."
He was still pouting as she tugged him toward the bedroom. Leta made him lie down first so that she could place three drops of the serum on his tongue.
Aidan made a terrible face. "Ack, that's bitter."
"I know."
She watched as he started blinking, trying to stay awake.
"Don't fight it. I'll see you on the other side."
His green gaze met hers. "You better. I'm trusting you to be there, Leta. I need you there." And with that, he was out.
Leta took a moment to run her gaze over him. He really was beautiful. Wanting nothing more than to save him, she lay down by his side and rested her head on his shoulder before she drank the serum.
She didn't know what awaited them in the dream realm, but it would be harsh and it would be cold.
Even so, they would face it together.
"I won't betray you, Aidan." Yet even as she said the words, she wasn't sure she would be able to keep that promise. The one thing she'd learned in her long life was that the best intentions were often the most lethal.
All she hoped was that Aidan wouldn't be her next regret.