“Melalekin,” Reece shouted from behind me, and even though I told myself not to look, I had to risk one glance back.
Our eyes met, and his held nothing but fury at my betrayal. I shook my head, pressing a hand to my mouth before I stepped through the transport.
I was done.
1
Many centuries later…
The air in the Library of Knowledge felt cooler than usual as I walked in from the Honor Meadows. Or maybe it was simply that the meadows were going through their warm transitional months, heading toward the wet season. My birth world was not like Earth, where the wet season consisted of literal rain for days or months. In the meadows, it was about the energy flow. The hotter it was, the less the free power disbursed, and when it cooled down, we all got a boost.
It had been a long time since I’d had to care about such things, thanks to being the last in a very powerful family of transcendents, but after the battle in the Shadow Realm, where I’d expended a decent chunk of my energy in an attempt to help my best friend Mera Callahan defeat the Danamain, I could use a boost.
A few cooler days to replenish my base would be welcomed right now.
I had no regrets about using my power; I’d been willing to throw as much as I could at the Danamain—to the point of death—to ensure my new family and the rest of the worlds survived. The fact that I’d been reborn, without the scars of the past dragging me down, was a bonus I hadn’t seen coming.
Every day now was a new experience, especially with a best friend like Mera. She was turning all our lives upside down and bringing us together for some of her favorite Earth customs. Today I could feel her excitement, thrumming through the bond we had. It was a fairly new bond—so new that we should barely even sense the other at this stage—but thanks to both of our unusual powerbases, we were forging new ground.
We’d even managed to mentally connect and talk in the realm, at the point of my death when a ton of power spanned between us. We hadn’t been able to replicate that again, but I knew eventually we would. We had all the time in the world now.
As I hurried farther into the great library, my usual sense of awe filled me. This room contained all the knowledge of the worlds, and as a lover of knowledge, I’d never get enough of this place. It had been a solace to my soul for most of my very long life.
Probably why I felt almost the same sense of ownership over it that Mera did.
Speaking of, as I passed the shelves on Faerie, I came to what used to be a central reading area but was now a snowfield… Hence the new chill in the air.
“Angel! There you are!” Mera, the goddess in question, snapped as she appeared between some shelves about twenty feet away.
I hadn’t seen her for a few days, and I took a second to note that there was a decidedly festive, and a little crazed, look about her. Her red hair was messier than usual, piled on top of her head with green tinsel threaded through the strands. She also wore a bright red Christmas dress stretched over her rounded stomach. Santa was on the front with the wordsHo Ho Ho… what the fuck did you just call me?stitched underneath.
Glancing down at my simple, tan shift dress made from a light silk of Faerie—perfect for the meadow’s hot season, it was clear that I’d underdressed for this occasion. Oh well, if I was a betting transcendent, I’d wager that Mera already had an outfit set out for me—a thought that was strengthened when Gaster, the goblin who ran this library, hurried past with a red hat perched jauntily on his head.
Trying not to chuckle, I moved forward to meet my friend, who was dashing toward me. It was a mystery to all of us how she managed to move so fast for someone in her very pregnant state, but one thing I’d learned was to never underestimate this particular being. She’d started life as a shifter before evolving into a goddess. A goddess who’d tamed one of the most formidable and scary “gods” in our worlds:Shadow Beast.
Truth be told, no one could ever truly tame him, but Mera had definitely softened some of his harder edges. The beast and I had always had a tenuous relationship, but thanks to Mera, we considered ourselves more friends than frenemies now. She was also the reason I used words such as “frenemy” andallthe curse words, because why the hell not? Those of us long-lived either stayed with the times or we retreated from the worlds. At one point I’d chosen retreat, but now that I’d been reborn, I was embracing this new side of myself that did not carry the burdens of the ancients. The memories remained, but the pain was muted.
“Yo!” Mera was in my face now. “It’s been days. I’ve missed you. Also, are you here to help me set up for Christmas or what?”
I laughed, shaking my head—since her pregnancy, she’d been extra fiery. “Are you actually getting crankier? How long until the baby is due?”
Mera sighed, all but sagging against me, her frame far too fragile for someone who was technically indestructible. “Fucked if I know. Shadow keeps telling me it’s best if we don’t discuss how long and just enjoy the experience.” She trailed off into a ton of curses and colorful phrases regarding theShadow Bastard,finishing with, “Which is easy for him to say since he’s not the one growing a beast spawn or experiencing these insane cravings. Or”—her face screwed up into angrier lines—“dealing with my ridiculous mate. You know that today is the first time in months he’s left my side? He keeps growling at anyone who steps near me like the caveman beast he is, but today he had to head to the Shadow Realm because it just couldn’t wait. And he left me with five fucking bodyguards.Five!”
The moment she said “five,” I was hit with an urge to spin on the spot and return to the meadows. There wasn’t much in the worlds that scared me, not after everything I’d seen and done, but one of Mera’s five bodyguards was a male I’d rather not be in the same room as.
Reece of the Desert Lands.
I’d known him for what felt like forever, and once, very long ago, we’d been best friends. Now we were bitter enemies, and for some reason, recently, that bitterness had grown near out of control. After all of these centuries, I wasn’t sure why he’d once again started acting like a royal dick, and I didn’t have the energy or inclination to explore his newfound hatred for me. In truth, it was only a matter of time before we had no choice but to sort our shit out the old-fashioned way: battle.
My rebirth might have changed much of who I was, but my fighting skills were as strong as ever. It would do him well to remember whom he was constantly challenging.
“Come on,” Mera said, tugging my arm as she led me deeper into the great library, dodging shelves and other world’s inhabitants, all of whom bowed respectfully to both of us. Mera barely noticed, though, her focus on the winter wonderland she was establishing.
“My Christmas event is in two days,” she said in a rush. “Two freaking days. My baby’s first Christmas. I’m just not ready.”
“Your baby is not exactly born yet,” I said tentatively because her moods were supremely unpredictable right now. “I don’t think they’ll mind if it’s not quite the perfect Christmas.”
She paused, and I braced myself for yelling. But instead, she sighed. “I’m being overbearing, aren’t I? Shadow told me I was, but I just thought it was his usual asshole personality rising to the surface.”
