She continues, running the paddle through my wet tangles. “Lycan tradition recognizes the Luna goddess as the mythical figure responsible for love matches. For those she favors, she unifies two hearts by bestowing a bond that represents unconditional love and fealty."
Maurleen and Wyatt are an odd pair. But from what little I’ve seen, her partner would do anything to protect her. There’s an undeniable fierceness in every glance they exchange. I’ve never observed anything like it.
After I slip into a clean set of sweats, Maurleen escorts me into the dining room where a leather-bound book and a steaming cup of cinnamon tea await. Along with another woman, whose grey roots flow seamlessly into her ash brown hair.
“Vessa, this is Lyndi. She and I are oracles, part of an ancient clergy of witches known as the Servos Primae Lunari. Upon swearing our sacred oath, we are each tasked with finding and protecting the human bound by the goddess's curse. You.”
Ancient witches. Okay, sure. If I wasn’t so emotionally drained, I would laugh right in her face.
“Like you, we have our own target on our backs. Oracles are coveted for their secrets, which is why we scatter ourselvesacross the continents, moving from city to city. Once a year on the winter solstice, we gather to offer ourselves to our goddess, the First Mother. The wolves of this realm know her as Luna. She has whispered to us of your coming for centuries, through visions."
Tears brim my eyes. This is no longer amusing. I must be dreaming. Hallucinating.
Lyndi’s voice is low and croaky. “Tell me, girl, what do you know about Somnium?”
The foreign name doesn’t compute. Gods, nothing surrounding the circumstances of Mom’s car accident does. “Pardon me?”
“Somnium. The Underworld. The resting place of the damned and the origin of all dark magic.”
I’m not sure what exactly she’s getting at, but what I do know is that if I don’t sit down in the next five seconds, the pressure between my temples is going to implode.
Maurleen pulls out the wooden chair for me. I reach for the steaming mug, plop down, and take a hearty gulp. “I didn’t know that Hell had another name.”
She brings a hand to my shoulder. It’s then that she fully fractures the worldview I’ve been desperately clinging to since I witnessed the slaying of two monsters. Most humans spend their entire lives blissfully unaware of the three other species that coexist with their kind—witches, vampires, and lycans. For thousands of years, our world, Terris, has been cloaked by forces of what one would call the supernatural. Though exceptionally rare, there are anomalies, bloodlines that pass down what Maurleen refers to as "second sight": theability to see through the metaphysical glamour that allows these humanoid creatures to roam undetected.
Humans with second sight aren't just a liability, they are the ultimate prey. Once they reach maturity, their pheromonesmutate, amplifying a unique scent. One that’s impossible to resist. Clearly, one that’s worth killing for.
Lyndi straightens her spine.“What I am about to tell you, you mustn’t repeat to any other soul. Ever. Not unless Maurleen is with you and can shield you from the consequences.”
The temperature of the room plummets. No longer does it feel like I am sitting in a gathering space, but a morgue. Apprehension pricks the back of my neck as Lyndi speaks, revealing her necklace to me. Two silver moons, forming an eye.
"The gods have long had their eyes on you, Vessa. Thousands of years ago, the queen of Somnium, Clethra, sought to overthrow them all. She channeled magic to her womb, where a babe took root, nurturing him by feeding him the blood of the damned. The throne of eternal night would one day pass to her son, the Blood Master. Upon his ascension, she would take to the heavens to reprimand King Helius for confining her to the Underworld.
“When Clethra’s son became of age, he petitioned his mother to find a bride he could rule alongside. On a visit to our realm, he fell in love with a human princess, favored by the goddess of lycans. She conspired with the echelon gods to sabotage their marriage, a necessary sacrifice to stop Clethra's ambitions and to prevent her son from ascending to godhood and unleashing their demonic army on the heavens."
My brows raise. "What does this have to do with me?"
Maurleen carries on. “Both present and future queen were killed as result, Clethra’s son banished and stripped of his throne, confined to our earthly realm. Alone. While the other gods called for the Blood Master's death, the lycan goddess took pity on him. She swore to make amends, bestowing a curse on the princess's surviving bloodline. The soul of his bride would one day reemerge in the mortal world, only to be known by thosewho possess the sight of the oracle. It only took three millennia, but at last, we have found her."
Who, me? These two are fucking delusional. "This is completely absurd. I mean, what kind of name is 'Blood Master?’"
“That name belongs to a monster who sires demons that feed on the flesh of humans and oracles who devote their lives to concealing your identity,” Lyndi scowls. “For each oracle he claims, the stronger his next generation of vampires evolves. But he needs you, Vessa. You aren't just his betrothed. Your blood will raise the gates of Somnium. And if he returns, he will ascend as a god. Believe me when I say that, if we incur his wrath, the realm will not survive."
I spring out of the chair, the legs groaning against the hardwood floor. “No. No, I refuse to believe a word of this! My mother—” My voice splinters. “My mother would’ve told me if our family was cursed.”
Unless she didn’t know.
Lyndi’s eyes harden, fixating on my silver bracelets.
My face crumples. “I just—” A hiccupping sob cuts me off. “I just want to go home.”
“I know, darlin’,” Maurleen soothes. “But we’ve been over this . . .”
How do they expect me to justacceptthis rude awakening?
“There may come a day when Maurleen or I fail to keep our oath,” Lyndi continues. “If you want to stay alive, you’ll keep those cuffs on. If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that they’re the only armor you’ve got.”
That conversation stayedwith me in the weeks that followed as I slowly immersed myself in the oracles’ intricate web of secrets. Two months later, Lyndi’s warnings would prove correct.
