Page 21 of Kronos’ Consort

“So, I see…” Erebos’ voice was louder than ever.

“Please.” Her voice was tiny in the cavernous black void, barely audible over the banging of her raging heart. “Master.”

Beyond proving his potency to her, she didn’t know what Kronos’ intentions were by bringing her to that desolate landscape. Clinging to him, she only knew that she didn’t want to have to stay a moment longer.

“Why have you come?” Erebos demanded. “To taunt me with what I can never have?” The snide edge to his voice made the timbre all the more frightening.

“No.” Resolve boomed in Kronos’ reply, a noise she would have previously trembled at, had she not been so alarmed by their new surroundings. “Our presence is proof for the mortal. That is all.”

“Show her to me.” Erebos’ voice was insistent. “Let me see her.”

“No,” she whispered into Kronos’ body, but after everything she’d seen, if she thought her master would listen to her plea, then she should have known better.

As though her grip on him was nothing at all, her grasp was released. She watched her fingers unfurl at his behest, though he never made a move to touch her, and slowly, and entirely against her will, her body rotated. His arm remained steadfast at her middle, the hand that had held her head falling to her right shoulder as she was forced to face the darkness.

Her breath was ragged as she blinked at its stark enormity. The dark had never bothered her before, but something about those ebony clouds warned of impending doom. She watched, gaze trained on its nebulous form, and right before her eyes, those clouds gathered, collecting as if they were forming a new creature altogether. By the time a tall, shadow entity had grown, her heart was in her mouth.

“Fuck.”

She hadn’t meant to say the word out loud, but in the face of such terror, it was all she could think.

What the fuck is that?

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Kronos’ fingers tightened at her shoulder, seemingly aware of her overarching tension, or perhaps he was only cross at her vocabulary. There was no way of knowing.

“This is Kristina.” His introduction hung in the air like the suffocating humidity.

She hadn’t noticed it being so warm when they’d first arrived in the darkness, but suddenly, the heat was all she could contemplate. The temperature, just like the clawing hands at her ankles, seemed to be rising, making it difficult for her to catch her breath.

“Krissstina.” The black being called to her, its tone serpent-like as it emphasized her name.

Staring at his ominous form, she didn’t know what to say.

“Hi.” She could scarcely even get the greeting out as she recoiled against her master.

The shadow creature shifted, its body more opaque than it had previously been, and in the haze, she saw what she thought were two dark wings emerging from behind it. Huge and substantial, they stretched out behind him before settling into place behind his back.

“I told you she was beautiful.” Kronos lowered to place a kiss on the top of her head, pride bubbling in his voice.

“Yesss.” Erebos’ wings stretched wider. “And does she now believe in more than only her own mortal world?” His voice roared in her direction, apparently expecting a reply.

“Well?” Kronos prompted, his fingers massaging her shoulder. “Erebos is the darkness personified, little one. The primordial void itself, and he demands your answer. Do you now believe your master is more than any man?”

“Yes, Master,” she responded at once, her hand reaching for his fingers as Erebos drew closer.

Gawping at the giant, winged cloud, she found it impossible to look away. He was irrefutably terrifying, but there was something more about him, as well, something that inspired fascination as well as fear.

“It seems I have convinced her.” Erebos’ tone sounded pleased, and as she ogled, a new being stepped out of the foreboding cloud of black, his form as strapping and human-like as Kronos’ appeared to be. From the place his voice had roared, a mouth appeared, followed by two purple, almond-shaped eyes. “My realm has achieved your purpose.”

“I think you have achieved that end, Erebos.”

Kris could hear the smile on Kronos’ face, and she imagined his self-satisfied grin as he went on.

“I thank you for your assistance.”

“Tsk.” Erebos glowered at them, seemingly unimpressed. “You came here uninvited, Titan. I should take her from you as recompense.”