Chapter Nineteen

Aliana’s POV

After finally escaping the bedroom, Ani pulled me out into the hallways that, in the daylight, looked just as magical and enchanted as they did at night. Despite the dark colors of the onyx rock, the rays of day seemed to enhance the silver veins, casting a warm glow across the floor. Sunlight poured through tall windows framed in climbing ivy, flooding the long stone corridor with gold. I’d never thought a castle could feel so--- alive!

The air itself shimmered, humming with unseen energy…

The horned beast led me through winding hallways and finally opened a door, and the scent of something sweet and citrusy pulled me out of my daze of amazement. If I’d expected a gloomy, Gothic space to match the castle, I was wrong! It was bright and airy, walls tiled in obsidian and gold, counters carved from onyx that caught and fractured the sunlight, spreading it evenly and warmly throughout the room. Before I even realized I was walking, I stood in the middle of the huge living room, with a kitchen that could even make Gordon Ramsey jealous...

“Oh my Zeus!”

Suddenly rang throughout the entire room in the most melodic voice that had ever graced my ears. Spinning towards the sound, I saw the woman from before, Nyx, standing next to a set breakfast table, her lips stretched into a wide grin.

“You’ve finally arrived!” She exclaimed happily and clapped her hands once, magically making flowers bloom in the vase that had been bare and naked before. “Lunch has been served.”

“Welcome home, Master!” Said behind her, and my eyes were drawn to a figure behind her. Tall and broad-shouldered, with hair the color of ink and eyes as yellow as the sun, stood a man who had the same otherworldly appearance that Ani and Nyx had. Even doing something as mundane as flipping pancakes – his movements so graceful, they were almost hypnotic – and humming softly, couldn’t take away the strength and control in his every muscle.

And dressed in nothing but a white apron!

“Thanks, Nyx. Erebus! Good to be back,” Ani said, and while he didn’t freely share their excitement, there was warmth in his voice when addressing them. It was obvious that he felt at ease with these people. And despite them calling him master, there was no air of superiority or hierarchy clinging to them. But---

Seriously?

Nobody was going to address the naked man with an apron?!

As if sensing my growing discomfort with what I might accidentally see, he put an arm around me and pulled me to his side, kissing the top of my head. It spread a heat through my body that felt like a kiss of life. As if he was the first breath I took that made me truly live for the first time...

“I would introduce you to my Muse,” Ani casually continued, his lips twitching ever so slightly. “But I don’t want her exposed.”

“Huh?” Erebus gaped, completely oblivious to the whole thing. And then flinched, when Nyx slapped him upside the head so hard he stumbled a step forward.

“You’re naked, you fool,” she hissed indignantly, while the poor man cursed and rubbed his sore head. “He doesn’t want to introduce her to your bare balls!”

He looked from her to us, back to her, and then finally down at himself--- and threw his head back, laughing!

“I’m so sorry,” he quickly apologized--- and before my very eyes, he was suddenly fully dressed in a vest-like tunic and loose pants under his apron. I didn’t understand their powers, but damn!

They sure were impressive!

“I completely forgot!”

“I can guess,” Ani replied with a sigh, shaking his head. “It’s not like you two were ever quiet about your… hmm, shall we say, passion?”

That had both of them blushing...

“Oh,” Nyx grinned, putting a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You heard us?”

“You’d have to be dead not to hear you,” suddenly thundered behind us. I spun to see Nyla fly by the window, that now suddenly was a huge balcony with ample space for her to rest her head, and join the conversation. She gave the couple a playful grin, teasing them: “Crovus was so jealous, he fled to the mortal realm to get his own relief.”

“That wasn’t just us,” Erebus exclaimed, gesturing to--- me?! “They’ve been going at it like horny teenagers!”

Oh. My. GOD!

“Did you guys--- hear us?!” I gaped, mortified and... Yeah, quite frankly, ready to join Corvus and flee the scene...

Please!

Dear God, no…!

But the way Nyx grinned and bit the inside of her lips, as if trying not to laugh, while Erebus suddenly was very, very interested in the design of the spatula he was holding, told me everything I needed to know…

“Stop teasing her,” Ani growled low, but his anger only seemed to amuse them more. He then turned to me, his crimson eyes warm and reassuring. “They can’t hear anything that happens in my room, but they’re not stupid. You’re the first and only woman I’ve ever taken to my bed, so they put two and two together.”

First and only woman…

While the statement settled a burning in my chest that I hadn’t been able to name, it also took my breath away. Did that mean that he’d been---

A virgin?!

“Oh, come now, Ani!” Erebus laughed as all the food he’d made appeared on the table before us. “You’re spoiling all the fun.”

“Come on now. You must be starving. Have some! There is plenty of everything,” she said, ushering us over to the table that seemed to be overflowing with everything your heart could desire. There were pancakes, with fruits and honey, butter, and syrup that looked ready to melt. Exotic fruits and berries lined the plates, carved into various animals and flowers, making it look like a small zoo. The air was filled with fresh bacon and fried eggs, the yoke still runny and golden.

It looked like a feast for the--- well, gods!

“Erebus insists on cooking himself in honor of Master Ani’s return,” Nyx beamed, glancing over her shoulder at her lover with that easy, devastating smile of hers. “It’s his way of showing love.”

“And not to brag---!” Erebus began, the cockiness in his tone overflowing.

“He totally does it to brag,” Nyla cut him off, earning her a huff from Erebus, who playfully threatened her with the spatula.

“He really does, though, but I love him so dearly anyway,” Nyx whispered conspiratorially next to my ear, grinning. Of course, the God of Night heard her, turning to her with his mouth open in sheer flabbergasting astonishment at the betrayal.

I laughed!

This whole thing was just so ridiculous and unreal--- what the hell else was I supposed to do? I was sitting and having lunch with two gods, a goddess, and a freaking dragon! But somehow this seemed to be my new normal now, and I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around it...

“The beautiful woman you see is Aliana Bekim,” Ani finally introduced me, as if he was introducing me to his parents, and then turned to look at me. His eyes glowing with a feeling I couldn’t name. He looked at me as if I’d hung the moon for him. As if I were the light in his life...

“She’s my Muse.”

Muse!

There was that word again...

And I was no closer to understanding what it meant than I was the first time I heard it.

“I knew it!” Nyx exclaimed, fist-pumping the air, and then turned to me, her blue eyes beaming. “You’re stunning! The perfect Muse for our Master!”

But what the hell was a Muse?