In this Chapter: Draco: God of the Lycans. Azrael: God of the Wolves. Orion: God of the Mages. Lunette: Goddess of the Moon. Solana: Goddess of the Sun.
Blakely I was getting very, very tired of gods throwing me over their shoulders. At least Azrael didn’t stomp like his brother. Orion’s shoulder had left a splotchy bruise on my stomach that still wasn’t fully healed. My hair had fallen into my face, obscuring the room we’d just entered from view. It wasn’t until I was slung backwards, my ass hitting the cushioned seat of a chair, that I was finally able to see. All around us were bookshelves. They lined the walls, towering high above our heads, nearly kissing the domed ceiling speckled with glittering stars. Draco padded past each one, waltzing over to the corner of the room before sitting on his hind legs. I’d yet to see the god of the Lycans in his human form. It was hard to believe he preferred living as a wolf when his kind were forced to shift every full moon. Old tomes sat on many of the shelves, but also cluttered the room in messy stacks. A large wooden table sat just a few feet away, pushed up against an open window. The
Azrael “Was that really necessary?” Orion exhaled sharply through his nose, a tell-tale sign that he wasn’t in the mood. That didn’t change the fate of the unconscious girl lying in my arms, snoring softly as though she hadn’t a care in the world. I dragged my eyes away from the gentle slope of her cheek, and from the bright tresses of hair hanging down her back. The bedroom door swung open on a gust of magic. Since Orion’s was now drained, it had to be the mansion. Draco stalked ahead, his hackles half-raised, and padded inside. Shattering Orion’s spell hadn’t just sapped his magic, it had also blasted the wards over the land to shreds. He wouldn’t be able to erect them for a while. Not until his magic replenished. Draco would likely spend the night patrolling the grounds. We’d lost nearly a dozen mortals in the past to the creatures lurking nearby. Too many for it to be a coincidence. Someone didn’t want us to break the curse. I released a long sigh. Now that the girl was uncon
Blakely Holy Moon Goddess, was I just flirting with Azrael, God of the mother-effing wolves? Bah, of course I wasn’t. He’d made a lewd comment, most likely to stroke his already over-inflated ego, and I simply knocked him down a peg. Really, I was doing the world a favor. Was there a medal for that? There should be. It was bad enough he was the most attractive man I’d ever seen, and judging from that smirk he knew it too, but he also held all the power of a god. Beautiful and deadly. A combination my lady parts seemed to love. Clearly, I needed therapy and a cold shower. I didn’t so much as glance his way until we were both in the kitchens, sitting at the island as we had been mere hours ago. The feast laid out before us spewed steam and a myriad of mouthwatering scents into the air. Once again, there was no meat. I was pleasantly surprised the magically possessed mansion cared about my dietary restrictions. There were platters of smoked vegetables, heavily seasoned with someth
Blakely The look I gave him was so brutally dry that he laughed. I tried not to be mesmerized by the musical sound of it. “Despite what you might think, Orion doesn’t enjoy killing. We were created for one purpose, to serve the moon goddess. Finding Lunette, freeing her from her shackles, it’s something we cannot fight. Removing the curses that bind us is the first step in doing just that.” I picked at the dead skin on my lip. “Okay. How can you go about doing that without killing me? If I’m the key or whatever, then don’t you need me alive?” Still facing me, he began walking backwards, leading the two of us further into the maze. The sound of rushing water, likely from the fountain at the center, continued to grow louder. “Yes, we need you alive. The memories can’t be retrieved from a corpse, and you—” he spun back around, “You just so happen to be the first of your line to survive Orion’s spell. No one’s been able to shatter it the way you have. That means something.” Despite t
Blakely I didn’t even get to enjoy my post-nightmare high thanks to a certain god. The year I’d spent at the blood mage’s camp hadn’t just scarred my body, but my mind too. Sleep was a constant battle that I rarely ever won. To hide the damage of my mother’s decision, I bought an alarm clock and kept my bedroom door locked at all times. I couldn’t risk attacking dad or Lina should one of them think to wake me up. Yes, I was a partially insane mess; no, I didn’t want to talk about it. Ignoring the problem had worked for me before, and it would have to do now. Besides, judging from Orion’s piss-poor attitude, there weren’t psychiatrists in the godly realm. Guess it was a good thing I was a pro at compartmentalizing. Azrael laughed beneath the pillow I suffocated him with, his chest rumbling beneath my forearms. Blinking the cobwebs from my eyes, I debated on whether or not I should continue my attempt at murdering him. Would killing a god earn me bragging rights? It fucking better.
Blakely The library was located in the spiral tower I’d ogled yesterday during our walk through the gardens. It was just as breathtaking inside as it was outside. There were thousands upon thousands of books, more than any public library I’d ever seen. Most were tucked away in neat rows on the shelves lining the walls. A staircase wrapped curved around the length of the room, going up, up, up, with no clear end in sight. Texts both old and new soared through the air on all levels of the library. Some flapped their pages like wings, while others glided on a phantom breeze. A pair of books that appeared to be part of the same series collided with one another. The first then proceeded to chase the second further up the tower before vanishing on the fourth level. Azrael gracefully plopped down on an antique leather sofa and gestured at a group of wooden tables just a few feet away. “Help yourself. Should you need something specific just ask the mansion.” I bit the tip of my tongue. “
Draco Tension permeated Orion’s study, blanketing the floor, tables, and shelves in a thick layer. My tail twitched, picking up on the anger that poured from his body. He watched Az with that cold calm of his, a sign he was well on the path to imploding. The girl’s arrival had clearly changed something within him. “I know what I saw, Orion. She was using the mirror to watch her family. It brought her right to them.” Az ran his fingers through his hair, a habit he did whenever he experienced any sort of negative emotion. Better than self-destructing, which he was also prone to doing. These two had been slowly working on my nerves the past few centuries. Constantly at one another’s throats, always on the verge of a catastrophic argument. Once I’d been a mediator for their fights, but now I had no choice but to sit on the sidelines and watch. Moments like this I missed my human form, but it did no good to linger on what I could no longer have. A skeptic at heart, Orion turned my way
Blakely “Where is it?” Azrael cracked open an eye, then yawned loudly. “Where is what, little wolf?” “Don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talking about. Where is it?” He scrunched his annoyingly attractive face until it looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. What little crumbs of patience I had faded into oblivion. Even the good night’s sleep I’d somehow managed hadn’t prepared me to deal with these chaotic gods. “What are you doing?” I hissed, snapping the book in my hands shut. Dust motes exploded into the air, twirling lazily in the midday sun. “I’m trying to read your mind, obviously.” His features smoothed out as he tapped his chin. “Oh wait, that’s not one of my abilities.” I let out a war cry. Internally, of course. “The mirror, Azrael. Where is the mirror?” Realization dawned across his face. He sat up from the sofa he lounged on and stretched out his long legs, yawning a second time even though I knew the fucker hadn’t actually been sleeping. Nearly an hour ag