She rested her waist against his chest, watching him in the mirror. “Are you flirting with me?” She smiled.
“Always.” He brushed her auburn hair away from her neck and caught her dangling earring between his lips and lightly tugged. “Though we may have to try out some of these colors later.”
Inhaling a breath through her nose, she spun in his grasp. “We have to go,Lord Acacius.” She reached up and pecked him on the nose before leaving his arms.
His stomach fluttered at her playfulness and small dose of affection.
He smiled like a fool, reaching for her. “Do that again.”
She gave a low, velvety laugh as she pranced backward out of the bathroom. “Let’s go find us a monster.”
“One of myHeralds managed to capture it.” Acacius walked beside her, curling his lip at the slop in the mortal alleyway—metal dumpsters overflowing with garbage, filling the air with a putrid stench.
Dirty clumps of snow piled in the corners. A chill bit in the air. Faraway sirens echoed in between the city buildings. A lone bird drifted above, its sheen glistening against the monochrome.
Marina’s heels clicked on the cement as she strolled. “Did you get a look at it through them?”
Acacius glanced over at her, the colorful lights casting neon hues over her profile. “Yes. The Herald is using my divine power to keep it subdued.”
From what he saw, the creature was strikingly similar to his own, and yet, it did not belong to him. Perhaps, for the first time in existence, there was another deity born of his lineage. Although, if that was the case, he was disappointed by their lack of originality.
Looking through the eyes of his Herald was like watching a scene out of a slurring lens. He needed to lay eyes on the creature himself to be certain.
Acacius stopped, doing a double take; rats the size of miniature dogs nibbled on a frosted pizza box.
Marina paused and turned to him. “What are you doing?”
Acacius shuddered and continued down the alleyway. “Rats,” he muttered.
She huffed out a laugh, striding alongside him. “You thrive in Chaos and Ruin, but mere rodents unnerve you?”
He reached over and lightly tugged on the ends of her jaw-length blonde hair. “My habits may not be ascleanandneatas my older brother’s are, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy the company of vulgar, pestilent beasts.”
She rolled her eyes, amused.
They entered the blanket of shadows at the end of the alleyway. Whatever the creature was, he could feel its aura crawling up his ankles like a grim fog. They were close.
Marina swiped her hand, and the density thinned. A steep set of stairs greeted them, heading below ground.
“This looks ominous,” she mumbled.
Acacius let out a sharp sigh, internally cursing his creature for its choice of hiding spot. While he typically thrived in new, untamed situations, this one twisted his stomach in agitation. Perhaps it was because he was not alone.
He looked at Marina. “Ready?”
She nodded firmly and went to take the stairs.
A swift protectiveness rose in him, and he cut in front of her, proceeding first.
The stairway stretched on, its walls narrowing as they sank further into the throat of its abyss. Their footfalls clicked against the stone. A musty stench of mildew itched Acacius’s nose.
He stepped down into a small foyer. It held three separate doors, all warped frames and rusted metal. They looked to be old businesses, long abandoned.
A strained set of growls cried out from the other side of the door to their left.
Flashes of sight poured into his mind from his Herald as it watched the creature’s poor attempt to fight the chains of his divine power.
Acacius entered through the frail door with Marina close behind him.
