“I have never been romantically involved with anyone trying to lead a…a…” I look around to make sure no one lingers in the hallways before leaning in and whispering the words that would find me beside the goddesses at their exile. “A rebellion.”
“I am not romantically involvedwith him, and it is not a rebellion. It’s a change in leadership,” Nina corrects.
“It’s treason! Whatever part you’re considering playing in Mikais’ ludicrous plan, I suggest you change your mind, quickly.”
My sister’s eyes burn, embers of rage and hatred evident in thesmouldering irises of the Goddess of Flame. It takes only a fraction of a second for me to realize that my words fall on deaf ears.
We have all suffered under Nobus’ cruel rule, but the defamation of our father was the final straw for Nina. Each of us dealt with the grief of losing him differently. I threw a funeral, but Nina helped start a rebellion. She wants to see the God King burn and doesn’t care who carries the torch. Mikais and his little power grab are simply convenient timing.
I can’t help but wonder if Lyra is more involved in Nina’s plans than she claims. Has the Goddess of Song used her powers to coerce the Wolf God? Or does his hatred and disloyalty to his brother stem from something else entirely?
“This is happening whether you like it or not, Selene. I suggest you see the error in your refusal before you find yourself on the wrong side of history.”
Nina storms off in a blaze of fury, Lyra following closely at her heels. The paper in my hand turns to ash as my sisters depart.
“It’s always the youngest siblings that are the spitfires.”
The sensual, disembodied voice stirs something in me as I scan my surroundings for the corporeal form of its owner. A swirling mass of shadows appears in the white-washed hallway, the toes of his polished shoes coming into view atop the gold-veined marble floors. I follow them upwards as the god I last saw over a year ago slowly appears in front of me.
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” I chastise as the wisps part to reveal Drayven’s chiseled face.
“You shouldn’t discuss rebellion in the palace of the king you plan to overthrow.”
With a snap of my fingers, I extinguish the lights that line the hallway, casting us into total darkness. A quick deterrent to anyone who may be wandering nearby. There’s nothing to see—and more importantly, nothing to hear—in this hallway.
“Do you want medead?” I whisper through clenched teeth. “Nobus will send me to the Under Realm faster than you can say the word ‘go.’”
A cool chuckle echoes in the dark. “You would hate it there.”
He’s wrong. I can’t say for certain how I know, but I feel it in my bones. The dark depths of the Under Realm crave the light, and I wonder if he can feel it too.
“Do you hate it there?”
The lack of light emboldens me to ask the question that has plagued me ever since I saw him that night more than a century ago. The Dark God on his knees in the slate that covers the beach, hands tangled in his ghostly hair, green eyes shining in the light from the crescent moons.
I watched him from behind the boulders that line the shore, listened as sobs wracked his body. As the first sun rose to chase the moons from the sky, Death removed his shirt, soaked with the salty evidence of his blood-mixed tears, and disappeared in a swirling mass of onyx night.
Silence envelops us as it becomes clear he isn’t going to answer. I take a step forward in the darkness, certain I will discover that I’m now alone.
Strong hands grip my shoulders, stopping me as my nose grazes his stone chest. Cold emanates from him, my skin turning to ice everywhere he touches. A shiver snakes up my spine and he drops his hold.
“I will ask you the same.” His tone is as cold as his touch. “If you join Mikais, you’ll never be allowed here again. There is no telling which realm he will exile you to, but Nobus will pick one that will destroy you slowly. So ask yourself, Selene. Doyouhate ithere?”
“You do.” It’s not a question, but a declaration.
Drayven didn’t step foot in the God Realm for a hundred years after that night. Rumors have flown wildly amongst the gods, but I alone know the truth: something or someone here hurt him terribly.
“What are you even doing here?”
“I was summoned.” The agitation is clear in his clipped voice.
“Kings can be summoned? I thought royalty simply did as they pleased.”
“I only do things that please me.” Drayven’s breath tickles my cheek as he speaks. “Nobus thinks he’s flexing his power, but I know something he doesn’t. His little princeling is arriving tomorrow, and what better threat than for Death to attend the birth.”
“You wouldn’t steal his heir. You aren’t cruel.”
“I am cruel, Light, and you would do well to remember that.” His voice booms over my head again, the god no longer crowding my space. “I won’t steal his heir, but the prince will come willingly to my realm one day. He will be drawn to its darkness.”
