An Eternity of Dead Sun (An Eternity of Eclipse Novel Book 2) Read Free Page B

appearances—Sloth resembled a geeky college student while Eclipse resembled a gorgeously flawless Greek God—the one common denominator they shared was that they had overbearing personalities. I had the sinking feeling that similar to Eclipse and Sloth, the rest of the Devil’s sons were just as arrogant and insufferable.
    “Must’ve been a pain growing up with six older brothers,” I commented, envisioning what an explosive household that would be.
    Eclipse laughed again. In the background, the Rav4 growled in desperation, its engine fighting to take us uphill without collapsing in exhaustion. For the first time today, he was truly amused by my words. “Oh, you have no idea.”
    “Are you only close to Sloth?” I continued to ask, truly wanting to understand his relationship with his family.
    Eclipse shook his head. He didn’t appear to want to talk about his family, but for me, he did so anyway. “I’m civil with Sloth and I’m relatively civil with my other older brother, Gluttony.” He grinned at the reminder of his other brothers. “I’m not on particularly good terms with Wrath, Envy, and Greed. Out of all my brothers, the one I’m closest to is my eldest brother—Pride.”
    I stared at him quizzically. The respect in his voice was unmistakable. I had never heard it before, not even when he spoke about his own father.
    “If you’re so close to him, why did you try to overthrow him as well?” I blurted without filter.
    I regretted my impulsive delivery, but fortunately, Eclipse didn’t seem to mind my question.
    “My eldest brother has been very . . . busy . . . which is why he asked Lyna to help watch over me. My brother’s distraction with his extracurricular activities has rendered him neglectful in matters pertaining to our monarchy.” A muscle leapt in his sculpted jaw, indicating what a touchy subject this was for him. “In my mind, when I attempted to overthrow the monarchy, I believed he would understand the political motivation behind that. I believed he would understand that I was trying to do what’s right for my Kingdom, and of course, what’s right for me.”
    “What was his reaction?”
    “Don’t know,” he provided with a halfhearted shrug. The disappointment in his voice was irrefutable. “Like I said, he’s busy taking care of his own stuff. He does not busy himself with the monarchy’s business.”
    I gave him a stupefied look. “What could be more important than his Kingdoms?”
    Eclipse favored me with a concurring smile. He heavily appreciated my outlook on how one should view their monarchy.
    “ That was what I said too, but as you may have discerned from meeting Sloth, not all of my brothers are fueled by the responsibility to better their Kingdoms.” Disappointment shrouded his face. “Sloth, Gluttony, and Pride are the three brothers who have a very flexible attitude towards their throne. In their minds, they are either satisfied with their position in life, are too lazy to want more, or see no value in becoming the sole monarch in a powerful Kingdom such as Hell.”
    He sighed. “They are very unlike myself and my three other brothers—all of whom have the same power-hungry mentality as me. The only difference between us is that they are more obedient towards the will of my father. For them, if my father intended his monarchy to be ruled over by his seven sons, then this command will be upheld without exception.”
    He laughed dryly, bitterness encasing every inch of his voice upon the reminder of his hibernating father.
    “My father, even if he hasn’t been around for millenniums now, still wields insurmountable power over us. Everyone knows that a divided monarchy is weak, provisional at best. Only a sole monarch has absolute power. My father knew this before he went into hibernation, hence the reason why he created seven of us as opposed to one of us. We are merely tools used to keep his throne warm before he comes back and reclaims his monarchy.”