Cassandra looked at her with consternation. "What do you mean?"
"Finding a Dark-Hunter to protect you," Melissa said as she made notes on a small PDA. "I wish I had someone like that to look after my little ones when I'm gone. My husband died three months ago, and though I have another two years, I can't help but worry about them."
Two years…Melissa looked younger than that. It was hard to imagine the vibrant, healthy salesclerk dying of old age in such a short time.
The poor woman had lost her husband. Most Apollites married people within a few months of their own age for that reason. It was considered a bonus to find a spouse who shared your birthday.
"Is it… painful?" Cassandra asked hesitantly. She'd never seen an Apollite die of "natural" causes. Melissa made another note. "We make a vow here to let no one die alone."
"You haven't answered my question."
Melissa met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with unspoken emotions, but it was the fear there that reached out and made Cassandra shiver. "Do you want the truth?"
"Yes."
"It's unbearable. My husband was a strong man. He cried like a baby all night long from the pain of it."
Melissa cleared her throat as if her own pain were too much to bear. "I sometimes understand why so many of our people kill themselves the night before. I even thought about moving my children to a new community so that they would have the choice, but up on the surface, we have too many predators to fight. Other Apollites, Daimons, Were-Hunters, humans, and Dark-Hunters who are looking for our brethren. My mother brought me here when I was just a child. But I remember the upper world well. It's so much safer here. At least we can live openly without fear of someone learning about us."
Cassandra couldn't breathe as thoughts tore through her. She had known it wouldn't be pleasant, but what Melissa described was so much worse than what she had imagined.
It would be bad enough for her to suffer… but what of the baby? He was so innocent. He didn't deserve such a fate. But then who did?
"Oh, here now," Melissa said quickly, "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's okay," Cassandra said past the lump in her throat. "I asked and I appreciate your honesty."
As soon as they were finished, Cassandra no longer felt festive, nor did she want to continue shopping. She needed to see Wulf. She found him in the bedroom of their apartment, flipping channels on the TV. He turned it off the instant he saw her. "Is something wrong?"
She hesitated at the foot of the bed. He sat back against the pillows, his feet bare and one leg bent. The concern in his eyes meant the world to her, but it wasn't enough.
"Will you hunt my baby, Wulf?"
He scowled. "What?"
"If our son grows up and decides he doesn't want to die. Will you kill him for it?"
Wulf held his breath as he debated. "I don't know, Cassandra. I really don't. My honor commands it. But I don't know if I can."
"Swear to me you won't hurt him," she said, moving to stand beside him. She grabbed his shirt and held tight as fear and agony washed through her. "Promise me that when he's grown, if he turns Daimon you'll let him go."
"I can't."
"Then why are we here?" she shrieked at him. "What good is having you as his father if you're going to kill him anyway?"
"Cassandra, please. Be reasonable."
"You be reasonable!" she shouted. "I'm going to die, Wulf. Die! Painfully. And I'm almost out of time." She let go of him and paced back and forth, trying to breathe. "Don't you see. I won't remember anything after I'm dead. I'll be gone. Gone from all of this. From all of you." She looked around the room frantically. "I won't see these colors. Your face. Nothing. I'm going to die. Die!"
Wulf pulled her into his arms as she sobbed against his chest. "It's okay, Cassandra, I have you."
"Stop saying it's okay, Wulf. It's not okay. Nothing we can do will stop this. What am I going to do? I'm only twenty-six. I don't understand. Why do I have to do this? Why can't I see my baby grow up?"
"There has to be something to help you," he insisted. "Maybe Kat can talk to Artemis. There's always a loophole."
"Like you have?" she demanded hysterically. "You can't escape being a Dark-Hunter any more than I can escape being an Apollite. Why are we even getting married? What's the point?"
His gaze burned into hers. "Because I'm not going to let it end like this," he growled fiercely. "I have lost everything I cared about in my life. I'm not going to lose you or my child to this. Do you hear me?"
She heard him, but it changed nothing. "What's the solution?"
He pulled her roughly against his chest. "I don't know. But there has to be something." "And if there's not?"
"Then I'll tear down the halls of Olympus or Hades or whatever I have to to find you. I'm not going to let you go, Cassandra. Not without a fight."
Cassandra held him close, but in her heart, she knew it was futile. Their days were finite, and with every passing hour, she was drawing irrevocably closer to the end.
Chapter 14