Free Fate of the Gods 01 - Forged by Fate by Amalia T. Dillin

sleeping in the dirt.”
    “They don’t seem that different,” she said, careful not to meet his eyes.
    He laughed. “You’re still so new. The difference isn’t something you would see, I suppose. They’re far more fragile though. If not cared for, they’ll die. You and I won’t. We’ll keep living. Coming back again and again, life after life. Elohim made us immortal in ways they can only dream of.”
    She ate a few more of the nuts and considered his words. “You said you saw the difference in me, yesterday.”
    “Yes.” But he didn’t elaborate, and another woman entered the cave, bowed, and presented them with a second leaf. Adam took it and waved the woman away again, offering the leaf to Eve. “Here, try one of the berries. They’re very sweet.”
    They were red and plump, dotted with seeds and capped with green leaves. She took one and tasted it. The flavor was almost overwhelming, and the moisture soothed her throat and mouth. She sighed with pleasure.
    He smiled. “I thought you’d like them. They’re my favorite.”
    It startled her. The smile. It changed his face and for a moment she thought she saw the person he had been when he was first made. When everything was new for him too. She smiled back.
    He shifted closer to her, and their shoulders touched. When she smiles, it’s like seeing the sun break through the clouds after a storm. Elohim outdid Himself.
    She flinched and leaned away, lowering her gaze to the nuts and berries again.
    “Why do you do that?” His voice was hard now, and his eyes were stone.
    She swallowed. “What?”
    “You cringe from me as if you’re afraid.” She could feel his anger, black and burning, even when they weren’t touching. “Why?” He grabbed her arm and jerked her toward him. “What did they tell you?”
    The nuts fell from her hands when he grabbed her. She tried to pull away, but he only held her more fiercely. “I don’t know. I’m not doing anything!”
    His fingers dug painfully into her arm. “Who spoke to you?”
    She shook her head and clawed at his fingers. Her heart raced, thudding in her ears. “I don’t know!” Something in the way he stared at her made her keep Reu’s name to herself. “It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything. Please! You’re hurting me, Adam.”
    He searched her face. Of course, they wouldn’t give their name. They know not to defy me. His hand slid down her arm, gentle again. “You’re right to fear me. I am Lord now.”
    She shivered at his touch, and that seemed to please him. He raised his hand to her face, cupping her cheek and drawing his thumb along her cheekbone. She forced herself not to look away. Not to move. But everything inside her twisted. She wanted to crawl away into the darkness, but there were no shadows now to hide her. His face was so close she could feel his breath on her lips.
    “Lord Adam!” She jumped, though the voice was familiar. Reu.
    Adam closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head slowly. “What is it?”
    It was easier to breathe with Adam looking at the man, though he still held her face in his hands. She shut her eyes.
    “The fruit has been laid out for your inspection, as you wished,” Reu said.
    The fruit. Yes. The fruit first. Adam’s hand dropped away from her face. “Excellent. Set the women to making a bed of fronds for Eve in my chambers. The others may do as they wish now. I have no more need of them.”
    “Yes, Lord.”
    She felt Adam’s breath against her ear. “Later.”
    It made her shiver again, and she kept her eyes closed until she felt him move away. He brushed past Reu, leaving the cave.
    “Are you well?” Reu was studying her with warm brown eyes. The same eyes she had dreamed of.
    She was trembling. She pulled her knees to her chest again, trying to stop it, and hid her face in her arms. Later, Adam had said. Later, what? He kept touching her. He kept touching her and she didn’t understand what she was feeling.
    She heard Reu step