My predecessor, Grim, never had a need to use social media because I was always the one cleaning things up and scrubbing the internet for anything too damning or revealing about our world. A task which still fell to me even as I judged souls, ran Sinopolis, and managed the affairs of other gods. Which is why it surprised me that I hadn’t seen what a large online presence Aaron had before now.
The stunt of riding down the Sinopolis hotel had been a turning point, rocketing Aaron’s fame into a stratosphere that continued to compound on itself, as more people shared and discovered the video and then found out what the daredevil looked like under that helmet.
The world fell for Aaron’s lopsided smile, blond locks, and recklessness. Then he was revealed to be a vampire, and his fangs only furthered the frenzy. The world’s first celebrity vampire.
His face showed up on social media everywhere from the moment I opened my phone and was now plastered all over the billboards along the Strip. The mention of his name repeatedly echoed around me from the guests at Sinopolis.
His follower count broke into the millions and was fast approaching tens of millions. Fan vids and lives were constantly popping up in my feed, making it impossible to ignore the craze he was causing. Everyone on the Strip, across the nation and streaking to other nations, Aaron’s death-defying acts had the world in a chokehold.
Can’t say I blamed them, but the entire situation made me uneasy.
And not only because there was no longer a single moment I could escape the feeling of being haunted by the man I had spent the most earth-shattering night of my life with.
I shouldn’t have come.
Miranda scanned the crowd on high alert. “Look, I know running into Aaron is turning you inside out?—”
“He is not turning me inside out,” I said too loudly between clenched teeth.
Miranda’s dark eyes caught mine.
“I have lived for thousands of years,” I explained. “I have met millions of souls. Aaron is just another among them.” Even as the words came out, my insides twisted at the lie.
“Okay, regardless of Aaron just being another meaningless person in your many old man years,” her tone could not have been more mocking or dry, “Seth is definitely up to something. We need to keep tabs on his bullshit. Even if that includes Aaron—no,especiallyif that includes Aaron.”
I blew out an exasperated bit of air. “I don’t need this,” I muttered. “Not with the Convergence about to take place."
“Oh yeah, Xander told me about that. Wanted me to tell you he was planning on attending. What is it exactly? Some kind of godly peace treaty meeting?”
“It is a rare cosmic alignment that forces all pantheons to reaffirm their oaths not to interfere with mortal governments, human wars, etc.”
Miranda blinked.
“It’s basically a supernatural Geneva Convention because the stars align.”
“Right,” she muttered. “And as God of the Dead, it’s your job to remind all the other gods you will spank them if they step out of line.”
I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose at the crass assessment. “I suppose you’re not exactly...wrong in your summation.”
“We’llbothbe there,” she said with finality.
I wasn’t sure that was the best idea, seeing as Miranda was human and wielded the only blade that could essentially put an immortal out of commission. I wasn’t even sure if Xander’s presence was a good idea. He was one of the oldest gods, but he’d been human for years. My skin itched at not knowing how to categorize him for such an event.
Miranda’s presence, in support of me, could be viewed as a show of power, or potentially an act of aggression. Again, tension gathered between my temples. I was used to juggling a lot, but it felt like if I didn’t walk the perfect line, everything would be thrown into chaos. There was too much gray area.
On the far platform, Aaron stepped into view. The crowd exploded into shrieks.
Two women stood in front of us, one holding a sign with Aaron’s photo blown up on it. The other livestreamed to her phone.
“He is unreal,” one whispered, clutching her chest. “I’d let him wreck me every which way until I died dead.”
“No joke. I worship the ground he walks on,” the other said breathlessly, angling her camera higher. “No wonder he is blowing up. He is on a whole different level.”
A faint hum prickled at the back of my skull. Something about their tone. The hunger in it. The word “worship” hanging in the air with a strange resonance. Plenty of Vegas shows and celebrities garnered attention, but this was something else. Something too focused. Too intense.
Gone were the motorcycle leathers. Tonight, Seth had poured Aaron into a cream and navy stunt suit, all polished buckles, tight seams, and theatrical bravado that didn’t belong to Aaron at all. The fabric clung to every line of his body, glossy under the spotlights, a costume meant to market him rather than protect him. Wind whipped his blond hair across his cheekbones, turning him into something mythic. A man I could envision belonging to any time or place in history.
His turquoise eyes locked onto mine. The roar around me dimmed to nothing. It felt like the entire rooftop tilted toward him, and I could fall forward, right into him.
