“We’ll be below when you’re ready,” Zephyr whispered in my ear as he and the others left Damien and me alone in the foyer.
I met Damien’s gaze, his eyes holding a look of astonishment as they swept over me. Knots twisted in my stomach, my eyes falling to my dress as I inspected myself, suddenly self-conscious. “It’s too much...”
“No,” he said, approaching me.
My hand rose to my cleavage beneath the sheer fabric. “I was afraid it might be too much. It’s really revealing, I feel so exposed.”
“You’re perfect,mea luna. The word beautiful is not enough.” Damien pressed a kiss to my forehead, the velvet touch sending my heart into a frenzy. “It’s like I’m reliving a memory. I knew you’d look stunning, but...”
My heart fluttered, and I couldn’t resist asking. “What memory?”
“The first time I saw you in a gown… as Moira.”
“Can you tell me more about it?”
His smile faltered for a moment, and I frowned. “Sorry, our relationship had a bit of a rocky start…”
Something twisted in my gut, and ice skittered down my skin.
“It was complicated, and I didn’t deserve you, still don’t think I deserve you to this day, but, when I saw you for the first time after we’d been apart, the sight of you… it was like the very earth had shuddered, like my reality had shattered and reforged itself with you as the center of my universe.”
My chest swelled, and I smiled as he leaned his forehead to mine.
“I wish I could remember it all,” I muttered.
“You will. In time.”
My smile faded, my stomach dipping because not only did I feel I wouldn’t have enough time to remember it all, his presence meant it was almost time. “I’m nervous.”
He took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll be fine. You’re just there to observe. None of us expect you to navigate your way through the politics on your first day.” He paused a moment, giving me a knowing look. “You’ve got your dagger on you, don’t you?”
I didn’t meet his eyes, biting back the smile forming on my lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He turned, tucking my arm under his as we headed down the hallway. “Just think carefully about who you use it on. I’d rather not have to clean up a mess today.”
I giggled as we reached the door to the basement. We stepped down the stairs to The Propylaea where we would pass into the Godsrealm to Selene’s temple and the chamber in which The Council met.
“You think this will go well?” Zephyr asked, looking at him as we entered.
The shadows were already beginning to dance around Damien, snaking out along the ground around us. “We’ll see.”
16
CASSIE
The hall was colossal as we stepped through the arched entrance, the ceilings twenty feet high or more, and I nearly tripped over my dress as I took it in. I inhaled the faint scent of jasmine lingering in the air, but there were none of the delicate flowers in sight—in their place stood something magical.
Surrounding the hall, interlaced with the stone columns, stood those incredible glowing white trees I’d seen when I’d first met Selene. The branches were void of any leaves, the smooth bark nearly as white as the moon itself, and the pale glow of the trunks and branches cast a soothing light over the room.
Just how huge was Selene’s temple? Were there other chambers like this?
The hall was empty, save for a long wooden table. It wasn’t a man-made table, though. It was as if a tree had grown from the soil beneath the temple and formed the table before me, the marble floor cracked at its base where roots stretched out. Twists and knots decorated the pale trunk, coiling and twisting along the floor, the top smooth and flat.
On either side of the living table were eight stone chairs. At the top of each chair, different insignias were inlaid in stone, I assumed one for each house they represented. My eyes fell on the two larger, more ornate stone chairs sitting at the head of the table. They were so beautifully carved, with runes like the ones on Moira’s sword, my dagger, and Damien’s tattoo. A crescent moon adorned the head of one, and a swirl of black shadow was on the other, which I assumed was the insignia of House Skiá.
Thrones. They were thrones. A dull ache sank into my chest, my heart heavy. How many meetings had he suffered with an empty seat at his side?
We were early, but we weren’t the first ones here. Damien hooked my arm in his, guiding me down the steps toward the large table where one of the Kyrios stood. A pair of guards I’d never seen before were speaking together near an arched entrance at the opposite end of the chamber.
