Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 858: The Magus And The Devil

Another day had passed, and Amedith and Liliyana were waiting for Raven to come back home. Only after he was back would the next stage in their journey begin, but even before that, there was the banquet and everything else. Being away from the mansion since last night, however, the two didn’t realize that he was already back–especially since their minds were too focused on having a relaxing time by camping out by the river, not too far into the Athenian forest.

Pointing in the direction of the minotaur cave, Amedith explained to Lily how everything began. The death of their dark mage, who was now a dark warlord. How a miracle performed by the goddess Athenia had changed their lives forever.

"I don’t even know how many years ago that was, but sometimes it feels like yesterday." Leaning against his lover’s shoulder, Amedith cycled his legs as they dangled in the river. The water slashed here and there, but Liliyana didn’t mind. Instead, she leaned against his head and moved their feet together.

"I wish I had more memories to share," staring into the darkness of the night, her eyes lifted to the stars. "But I don’t remember much from before my capture by that Lamia and being put in that prison. Whenever I do try to think back on it, I get this strange headache, and Will-O doesn’t like that."

"We can always build a future that turns into a memorable past together," smiling, the magus looked up into Lily’s eyes. Their gaze met for a moment, then their eyes went shut as their lips drew together. "I love you so much."

"Me too," Liliyana replied, right as their lips locked together.

Lost in their kiss for a while, the two lay down by the riverbank with the cool dirt sapping the warmth from their sides. As the kiss broke, however, they looked at each other–their hands caressing the face of the other.

"I... Don’t like where things are headed," Liliyana whispered, her tone tinged with worry.

Blinking, Amedith squinted and peered deeper into her somber expression. Caressing her face, he stroked a rogue hair to the back of her head. Moving closer to her body, he brought his face closer to hers again.

"Nothing will happen," pressing his lips shut for but a spell, he forced on a smile. "Don’t worry. Neither me nor you nor anyone is going to die–"

"You know that’s a lie," cutting him off, the devil closed her eyes and heaved. "You don’t have to lie to me. I know what I signed up for when we got together. You’d always been on this journey, and if one of us dies... If it’s me, then I–"

Feeling the cold touch of a finger against her lip, Liliyana opened her eyes to find Amedith hushing her with a finger on his own lips.

"Don’t say that," shaking his head left to right, the magus reached into his shirt and took out an empty string. "The life-giving gem that saved me from Aran’s strike, remember? If it were written in fate that I shall die, it would’ve happened already. But life has given me and so many others around us a second chance, so I suggest we make good use of it–however fickle that life may be moving forward."

"Easier said than done," Liliyana replied, smiling before biting lightly on his finger.

As Amedith slowly pulled his hand away, the two rose back up and decided to take a plunge into the cold water. Getting the mud off their arms was one reason, but for the most part, with nobody around, they could finally have a moment of intimacy without being disturbed at all.

And as it so happened, Athenia gave them their privacy by putting away her looking glass. Groaning as she leaned back on her throne of burdens, her gaze pierced the dark, and her fingers drummed the edge of her seat. A sense of loss had overtaken her for a few days. Almost as if she was missing out on something important–something everyone had while she was deprived of.

"Love?" Her clone muttered with a laugh.

Scoffing at the remark, the goddess turned her head to the clone and stared at it quite hard.

"I can have any lover if I so wish to have, what is there to laugh about?" She protested.

Shaking her head, the clone bowed politely before looking back into Athenia’s eyes. Smirking still, she took a deep breath and laughed again as she sighed.

"The goddess of life and death, for you to have a lover or someone to love, your personality would prove quite the hurdle. Unfortunately, your mother’s whorish actions also dissuade you from chasing after men. So much so that the marionette Mono might be more experienced in romantics than the goddess of life and lover, herself."

"Quite tame for my clone, did you lose your jest?" A tad disappointed by a simple explanation of her thought instead of more mockery, Athenia quickly looked away from the clone and peered into the darkness once again. "Besides, with Nerva right on our tail, I can’t afford any time for intimacy or... this love. My father’s love is enough; I do not need a man to feel fulfilled."

"But you do, my liege~." Clicking her tongue, the goddess glanced at the clone again. "All that lives needs a warm shoulder. You may be cold as iron with blood of gold, but your heart and your soul are no different than that of a mortal."

"Ughh... I preferred the insults." Waving her hand, Athenia made the clone disappear. Though she longed for the warmth of family and love, the goddess knew that this was far from the time to expand her reach in such directions. Nerva could easily exploit such weakness, besides being a goddess made of death and life–she was in perfect equilibrium with herself and could even birth another life without the use of a man. So why would she search for a weakness? A lover of mortal flesh?

Well, looking back at Amedith and Liliyana, Darius and Aelin, and even Raven and the many girls, Athenia was reminded of the reason. To not be alone, to have someone to return to, to be loved unconditionally and held when the days grew gloomy. But in this prison of a dead mind, there was no room for such dreams. Thus, putting herself to sleep, the goddess retired for the night while the rest of the party were busy with different things.