In This Chapter: Azrael: God of Wolves. Orion: God of Mages. Draco: God of Lycans. Hemlock: God of Poison. Aranea: Goddess of Arachnids. Lunette: Goddess of the Moon. Solana: Goddess of the Sun.
Blakely The library was located in the spiral tower I’d ogled yesterday during our walk through the gardens. It was just as breathtaking inside as it was outside. There were thousands upon thousands of books, more than any public library I’d ever seen. Most were tucked away in neat rows on the shelves lining the walls. A staircase wrapped curved around the length of the room, going up, up, up, with no clear end in sight. Texts both old and new soared through the air on all levels of the library. Some flapped their pages like wings, while others glided on a phantom breeze. A pair of books that appeared to be part of the same series collided with one another. The first then proceeded to chase the second further up the tower before vanishing on the fourth level. Azrael gracefully plopped down on an antique leather sofa and gestured at a group of wooden tables just a few feet away. “Help yourself. Should you need something specific just ask the mansion.” I bit the tip of my tongue. “
Draco Tension permeated Orion’s study, blanketing the floor, tables, and shelves in a thick layer. My tail twitched, picking up on the anger that poured from his body. He watched Az with that cold calm of his, a sign he was well on the path to imploding. The girl’s arrival had clearly changed something within him. “I know what I saw, Orion. She was using the mirror to watch her family. It brought her right to them.” Az ran his fingers through his hair, a habit he did whenever he experienced any sort of negative emotion. Better than self-destructing, which he was also prone to doing. These two had been slowly working on my nerves the past few centuries. Constantly at one another’s throats, always on the verge of a catastrophic argument. Once I’d been a mediator for their fights, but now I had no choice but to sit on the sidelines and watch. Moments like this I missed my human form, but it did no good to linger on what I could no longer have. A skeptic at heart, Orion turned my way
Blakely “Where is it?” Azrael cracked open an eye, then yawned loudly. “Where is what, little wolf?” “Don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talking about. Where is it?” He scrunched his annoyingly attractive face until it looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. What little crumbs of patience I had faded into oblivion. Even the good night’s sleep I’d somehow managed hadn’t prepared me to deal with these chaotic gods. “What are you doing?” I hissed, snapping the book in my hands shut. Dust motes exploded into the air, twirling lazily in the midday sun. “I’m trying to read your mind, obviously.” His features smoothed out as he tapped his chin. “Oh wait, that’s not one of my abilities.” I let out a war cry. Internally, of course. “The mirror, Azrael. Where is the mirror?” Realization dawned across his face. He sat up from the sofa he lounged on and stretched out his long legs, yawning a second time even though I knew the fucker hadn’t actually been sleeping. Nearly an hour ag
Blakely He sauntered into the dining room, wearing a wrinkled button-up that hugged his chiseled frame and a pair of dark slacks. I tore my stare away from his meaty thighs and to the vicious scowl carved onto his regal face. If immortals could wrinkle, he’d look like an eighty-year-old man. He certainly had the temperament of one. The man was as beautiful as he was a pompous ass. I hid my smirk behind the glass of wine I was nursing. Apparently, the godly realm had mortal alcohol. It was more for taste than anything since immortals couldn’t get drunk off of the stuff, but I certainly could. Orion sat at the far end of the table, directly across from me. He didn’t spare me a single glance as he inclined his head towards Azrael and Draco. The massive, pale wolf had lumbered in just a few minutes before his hot-headed brother. The left side of the table had no chairs, which made sense when he plopped down at its edge. He was so tall that he could peer at me over the thing without ne
Blakely I was halfway down the hall on the second floor when a door to the right of me swung open. For a split second I thought the mansion had done me a solid by leading me back to my room. I’d seen the messy four-poster bed and almost mistook it as being the one I’d slept on last night. As it turns out, it wasn’t. The distinct scent of smoke and leather-bound books hung in the air, tainted with notes of male musk. My mouth watered. Not because of the scent or anything insane like that, but because of the visceral disgust that churned in my gut. Clearly, my body was a traitorous bitch. This was Orion’s bedroom. Every ounce of self-preservation I possessed flew out the fucking window. A grin stretched across my face, so wide that my cheeks began to ache. After everything that bastard had said and done to me, he deserved this. Hell, I deserved this. I sauntered into his bedroom without a care in the world. As much as I wanted to stay and gawk at the stacks of books, clustered shel
Blakely As usual, the first thing I woke up to was my tormentors smiling face. Azrael’s otherworldly good looks never failed to leave me breathless, but I wasn’t the only one struggling to get air in. He was too, though it was most likely because I had a tendency to strangle him in my sleep. It was hard to care about his safety when he continued to sneak into my room day in and day out. On a positive note, I was slowly becoming fond of this particular defense mechanism. This morning I found his dimpled grin and tousled hair a lot less charming. Unsurprisingly, it had everything to do with the conversation I’d overheard last night. Even if he wasn’t serious about planning on bedding me (who even said that anymore?), I had no intentions on becoming another notch in his godly bedpost. I ripped my hands away from his throat and snarled menacingly. “Enough creeping on me while I sleep!” His response was a lazy grin, a clear refusal as far as I was concerned. Heat warmed my face as I s
Blakely I half expected Azrael to scold me for disobeying his orders, but he didn’t. Judging from the way he held the knife I’d thrown at his face he was a murder first, scold later type of God. Wait, a second. Could the god of death even die? Ugh, focus Blakely. Too bad I still got an earful from Orion once Sephtis left. Given my history of throwing objects at their faces, he made sure nothing was within range when lecturing me on the importance of following their commands. I tuned him out for the most part, making faces at him whenever his back was turned. I only chimed in at the end to let the three of them know that it was the mansion that let me out. None of them found it amusing, but it was the truth. Apparently, catching the attention of the god of death wasn’t a good thing. Obviously. Still, it came as no surprise to me. I’d been marked for death since my birth. It followed me wherever I went, a constant shroud plaguing my life. The other kids in school could practically
Blakely Solana quickly left, having things to attend to. Azrael led me from the house in an attempt to give Orion privacy while he mended all of the protective wards. As we walked, I wondered quietly what duties the goddess of the sun might have and if Lunette had any herself. Clearly, the loss of mates was due to her disappearance, but what other jobs did she have? I took in the scowl on Azrael’s face as we wandered through the gardens. “Did you recognize that memory?” There was still so much I didn’t know about these gods, but I was learning a lot from watching Azrael. He was a master at hiding his emotions, concealing them behind one of his mischievous smiles. The way he wielded chaos like a weapon was unusual. Almost like he was using it as a distraction. But what would the god of wolves be trying to distract himself from? His eyes drifted to the hedges that moved, rearranging themselves to further complicate the maze we stood in. “We knew she was aiding our people during the