Our story so far: Edward is the god of the Underworld, and has been promised the love of Isabella, to be his queen. She previously fell in love with Jasper, the god of the Sun, and was heartbroken when he gave her up. Edward is taking Isabella to his world, while she battles with her new feelings for Edward and her old feelings for Jasper. This story will update in short, unbeta'd chapters, hopefully daily until its completion. Many thanks for those of you who are still hanging on, and hanging in.

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And Yet They Shine

Chapter 5

Patience

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Their vessel landed against the shore with nary a bump. Everything about Edward, everything about his world was so smooth. As he held a hand aloft to guide her from the boat, she laced her fingers tight with his. He resisted for a moment, then relented, his own long fingers squeezing against hers. She began to walk forward, toward the glow of light coming around the bend. It looked like a cave, the walls made out of the same dirt, the same shining gems, the same bits of bone that she'd seen for most of their journey.

She heard a low growl in the distance, something ferocious, or protective. She wasn't sure, but she was certain they were headed toward it.

"Don't be frightened," he whispered into her ear and she shivered again at his breath on her skin. Each time he did it, she wanted him more. He batted against her like a moth, coming close and retreating, but never coming to rest.

"I'm not afraid," she said, her voice steady and low. She made as if to march forward, her fingers becoming lax against his, but he yanked her back, holding their clasped hands in front of him, giving them a meaningful look before he spoke.

"Your heart beats so fast," he said, peering down into her eyes. "Even if I couldn't hear you, I could hear that."

Isabella looked at their joined hands and felt the rush of knowledge and embarrassment. She'd forgotten how he did that, plucked the thoughts from her mind like pennies from the ground. She thought of the almost-kiss, of how she'd wanted him, and of how she'd thought of someone else at the last moment. It struck her then, the cruelty of that moment, her honest longing for the comfort of this man, mixed with the knowing desire for another.

She dropped his hand and looked down at her feet, ashamed and flushed, but Edward would have none of it. He cupped his hand to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. The smile he gave her seemed to hold no guile. It was small and resigned, and he looked at her with regret. It made her hands twitch to reach for him, to brush that look from his face with her fingertip and replace with something…extreme. He did not seem a man well suited for simple or easy or vague. She would have preferred his anger to this melancholy.

His hand left her face and he turned away. "I am seldom angry, Isabella, but believe me when I say that you would not, in fact, prefer me that way."

"Stop doing that," she said, her anger surprising them both. "You probe around inside my thoughts and then have the audacity to be upset at what you hear. It's not fair to either of us," she said. And then, in a small voice: "I'm trying."

And there, he thought, was the key to this beautiful, baffling girl. For so long he had witnessed the subterfuge of both gods and man. But this girl…she would not make a game of either his heart or her own. It made him long for her freedom while he yearned to bind her to his side forever.

Edward turned to her and felt contrition play across his face for the first time in more than a century. He reached for her, but then stilled his hand, and allowed it to drop to his side.

"I am sorry," he said, and then cast his eyes down. "I…forget that you aren't used to my abilities."

Isabella waited for him to meet her eyes, and when he did, she neither smiled nor frowned. She reached for his hand and her thoughts became a scream in his head, so loud that he winced and tried to withdraw. He saw her mind play out arguments and stalemates, each driven by his habit until finally they stood apart, alone, and lonely. Edward felt his own mind cower from the image, desolate and sad: his own version of hell.

"I would never allow things to go so far," he said, and stepped forward, cutting the distance between them in two.

"I would never let you," she said, and he felt a gentle push, and then the closing of a door. He looked at their clasped hands and felt for her thoughts, but couldn't find them. "Until you can learn some patience, Edward, I'm pulling your all-access pass."

He smiled at her then, and brought the back of her hand to his mouth. Her mouth quirked up at the feel of his lips on her skin. It sent a wave through her, and she felt compelled to be near him, safe within the circle of his embrace. As she contemplated moving, he looked at her through a fringe of lash, dark eyes shining with promise.

As Edward stood, he allowed himself a tiny smirk before wiping it clean of his face. Patience was something he'd never known, but he'd discovered that a single kiss could unlock a lot of doors. In her mind, he saw them kissing – him leaning over her, bending her back, with her thin, white arms around his neck. Her hair fell toward the floor in a cascade.

The vision was tempting. He wanted her, warm and sweet, against his mouth. But Edward was, in fact, a patient man when it was warranted. To kiss her in that moment would reveal too much, and he liked the idea of betting on a sure thing, for once.

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AN: This will post in short, unbeta'd chapters, and I hope to post daily. I really just want to get this finished, and I know that some of you have been waiting an awfully long time as well.