The Cloaked Maiden: A Reverse Harem Romance (Rise of the Ash Gods Book 2)

by Cara Wylde

  “No, I... I mean yes. But not Jupiter. I kissed Nergal.”

  If Loki’s jaw could hit the floor...

  “Death. You kissed the God of Death. And did he taste like rotten bodies?”

  “Oh my Goddess, Loki! No!”

  “Just kidding. He doesn’t actually eat human flesh.” He chuckled darkly.

  “You’re not... mad?”

  “Oh, I am!” He swung forward and pushed his arms through Valentina’s stomach, scowling when they came out the other side. “But I’m still a hologram, so there’s not much I can do. Tell you what. If you can’t teach yourself that spell to summon me for real, then card that bastard so I can punch his pretty face back into the Underworld.”

  Valentina glanced at Veles. “How much of my past and future did you see when we first met in your cave? Kali told me something... But I can’t trust her.”

  Veles closed the space between them, making Loki take a few steps back.

  “What do you want to know, Keeper?” His electric blue eyes bore into hers. “The truth, or a version you might be more comfortable with? Do you want to know why I look at you the way I do but never chase after you?” His eyes moved down to her lips. “Do you want to know why I’m not jealous even though I want you just as much as the others?”

  Loki cocked an eyebrow. “What are you talking about, mate?”

  Veles gave him an exasperated look. “Maybe I’m wrong and the Keeper of the Spades can take the truth, and you’re the one who can’t. Trickster, I’m afraid the Ordinary life you’ve led for so many centuries has rubbed off on you.”

  Loki squinted at him.

  “Please don’t do this now,” Valentina pleaded. “I just want to know if what Kali told me is true. I will save everyone if I...” She pulled down her hood and ran her fingers through her hair. “But why? How would it even work?”

  “If you give your body, heart, and soul to the gods of the Major Arcana.”

  Veles said it so matter-of-factly that there was no doubt left in Valentina’s heart. Silence fell over the room for a long minute. Not even Loki moved. Magny stopped chewing.

  “Yes.” Val’s voice trembled and her cheeks turned red. “That’s what Kali said. Word for word. Is it...? Oh Goddess, it’s true, isn’t it?”

  Veles nodded.

  Val glanced at Loki. The God of Mischief was awfully silent.

  “Did you know it, too?”

  “Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “What I’ve always known for sure was that I wouldn’t be your first.”

  Valentina blushed harder.

  “At least I was the first to find you, so yay me! But yeah... He’s right. And Kali didn’t lie to you.”

  “So, everyone knew, except me.” She went to look out the window. She needed space, and she couldn’t look them in the eye. Not now, maybe not ever. “I don’t get it. How... Why?”

  “Her name is Fate,” Loki laughed. “The most powerful goddess there is.”

  “You guys keep talking about Fate like she’s this unreachable, untouchable being no one can reason with.”

  Veles sighed and went to stand behind her. He could feel electricity coming off her lithe, fragile body, and it hurt him deeply that he couldn’t touch her. There was nothing he wanted more than to draw her in his arms and sink his nose in her rich hair to inhale her womanly scent. He hadn’t chased after her. That much was true. But it was getting harder every day. Knowing that Loki had kissed her, and now Jupiter and Nergal too. Was it wrong to want just a tiny piece of her only for himself? Maybe it was. He was a god, and jealousy was for the Ordinaries.

  “Fate is powerful,” he explained. “She’s the first spirit who was reincarnated as a goddess. Legend has it that she started in the fourth dimension, just like everyone else, then lived many mortal lives. She dedicated all her lives on Earth to the good of the people, and as a reward, she was granted immortality.”

  “Huh. If she is so good, then why is she so twisted?”

  “Because the notion of good is not something everyone will agree on. You think it’s good to do a certain thing, and you end up blind to the possible bad consequences... You think something is evil, but it turns out to be good in the grand scheme of things. Fate is the only one who sees the whole picture. That’s why she is so powerful.”

  “But how...” She turned on her heels and looked into the god’s eyes. Her shoulders slumped. Why was it so hard to admit it to herself even? This solved all her problems. She wanted Loki, then she had wanted Veles the first time she saw him in all his naked glory. Jupiter made her heart beat faster, and Nergal was so sexy and mysterious that she could barely think straight when she was around him. Who was she kidding? She wanted this! She’d wanted it all along!

  She looked over at Loki, who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She could see in his eyes that he didn’t approve of Veles being so close to her. The only reason why he hadn’t tried to murder Jupiter and Nergal even in his holographic state was because he hadn’t seen them kiss Valentina, so he could still lie to himself that it hadn’t happened.

  “It seems Fate has dealt me a tough hand,” she smiled. He didn’t seem impressed. She reached out her hand and beckoned to him. “Please?”

  Loki sighed and went to stand next to Veles. He didn’t try to take her hand. Why bother? Valentina let it drop to her side.

  “We’re going to make this work,” she said confidently. “I’m not leaving this room until I learn that goddessdamned spell.” She looked at Veles, then at Loki. “I promise you that I won’t do anything with Nergal or... err... and Jove before you two can... mmm... participate too.” Her neck and face went up in flames. “I mean...” She gulped. “You know what I mean.” She averted her gaze.

  That was when she realized Magny wasn’t in the room anymore.

  Unbeknown to them, the hobgoblin had poofed himself someplace else, hopefully somewhere where the sexual tension didn’t make him feel like he’d just landed on the set of a cheap erotic movie. Okay, it was obvious where he was: the hotel kitchen.

  “Cross your heart?” Loki asked with a small smile.

  Valentina nodded. She still couldn’t look at him. When she felt the tingle of his ethereal hand on her chin, she considered playing it cool, pretending she didn’t understand what he wanted. She cursed herself silently. There was no way she could ignore Loki. She raised her eyes to his, feeling like she wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there until Fate got bored of her and left her alone. But wouldn’t she regret it afterwards? Yeah, she’d regret it dearly.

  “Cross my heart,” she whispered.

  “You should practice directly on our cards,” Veles said. His serious tone blew up their bubble. It was back to business! “Not on the Swords, and not on the Pentacles. Not even on Tristan and Iseult.” He walked to the bed, where she’d left her tarot deck. “What do you say, Keeper? Put us back in, and when you take us out next, maybe we’ll be made of matter again.”

  Valentina nodded determinedly. She could do it! If not because the Mysteries of the Trionfi depended on it, then because the ache between her legs needed some kind of relief. Soon.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Four days of being stuck in the hotel room, reading and practicing from morning until late at night, and Valentina wasn’t sure whether she was even headed in the right direction. The spell and sigils for summoning the Tarot in flesh and bone weren’t supposed to be easy. Okay, she got that. Only the High Keepers could perform them because they were the only ones who could be fully trusted with the secrets of the Original Tarot. When the time came, the High Keepers chose their heirs from the members of their covens and passed the spell and sigils along. This was not the sort of magic a witch learned by herself. It hadn’t been designed to work that way, and for good reason. If every witch could teach herself how to summon the cards, then where would it stop? Too much power, too much responsibility. In witchcraft, some gate keeping was always in
order.

  “It’s the cloak,” she sighed, plopping onto the floor. Magny had poofed in a bunch of extra pillows so she could make something that looked like a fort. And a comfortable one, at that. “It doesn’t just weaken Ravenna. It weakens me, too.”

  “Well, you’ll have to push through it, won’t you?” Magny said encouragingly.

  During these four exhausting days, the hobgoblin had provided the pillows and the moral support, Jupiter had provided the food, and Nergal had provided some cool stories to help Valentina unwind before bed. They all involved killing someone. In the kindest way there was, of course, since in Nergal’s world, assassinating someone meant erasing his or her bad karma forever. Thus, his victims were always good people. The best people Death could track down. He was doing the world a favor, although not even Valentina could entirely grasp how exactly.

  “Try again,” Loki said from inside his card.

  “Come on, Keeper. You’re close. Don’t give up.” Veles was in his dragon form again.

  “I’m close!” She laughed out loud. “How can you even tell? Because I sure can’t.”

  “I think you need a break.” Jupiter entered the room without bothering to knock. He was carrying a tray chock-full of fresh fruit and ice cream.

  “A break?!” Loki started gesticulating widely. “She doesn’t need a break! She needs to get this right. We don’t have all the time in the world, okay? I mean, I know you’re fine with the current situation. Peachy! You get to tuck her in every night while my dragon mate and I only get to watch.”

  “Your time will come,” Jove chuckled.

  Valentina rolled her eyes. “I think you’re right,” she told Jupiter as she popped a strawberry in her mouth. “I need a break. I can’t focus anymore. I need air!” She looked longingly out the window. “But air is the last thing Cairo has...”

  “Summer is the worst season to travel to Egypt,” Veles stated.

  “Gee, thanks! Now I know.”

  “I have an idea.” Jupiter sat in front of her, shooing Magny away. It was the best spot to watch Valentina eat. “Have you seen the pyramids? You’ve been in Cairo for like... what? Two weeks? More?”

  “I think I’m going on three...”

  “And you haven’t visited the pyramids yet.”

  “Well, I’ve been rather busy. You know... saving the Suit of Pentacles, chasing after you at the airport, getting my time sensor screwed up, being kidnapped by a blue, scary goddess... My schedule was full.”

  “All right, it’s settled. You’re taking today off.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Magny, would you be a good hobgoblin and go let Nergal know he’s invited too?”

  “Why do I have to be the courier?! You’re all taking advantage of me!”

  “We’ve talked about this. Stop whining and start poofing.”

  Magny blew out his cheeks and disappeared in a small cloud of dust. Since Valentina had refused to leave the hotel, room service hadn’t been allowed in. He could clean the room himself if he wanted to, but as he’d just said, they were already taking advantage of him. That was what always happened with Ordinaries, non-Ordinaries, gods and other creatures alike. Once they figured out what he could do, they all assumed it was okay to ask the hobgoblin to run their errands. After all, what was so difficult about poofing from one place to another? Okay, nothing. To an old hobgoblin like Magnus Luchtar, it was second nature.

  When Nergal showed up half an hour later, Valentina had already eaten all the ice cream and taken a shower. She’d put on a pair of jeans and a yellow blouse, white sports shoes, and Death’s cloak. It was a miracle she could shower without it! If she kept her eyes closed, didn’t move around too much, and kept it short, it was possible. She had gotten rather bored of it, and she dreaded that she didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t exactly her style. Nergal’s? Sure. Loki’s? She could see the Trickster looking great in it. It was too long and too black for her taste, and the fact that she had to wear the hood at all times was driving her insane! At least, it wasn’t a normal cloak, which meant that even though it was blacker than the night, it didn’t absorb the sun. She hadn’t tested her theory yet – mostly because she had no idea how, – but it seemed that the material it was made of kept the sun’s unforgiving heat at a distance. She wondered what it would be like to wear it in winter. Would it keep her warm?

  They took Jupiter’s car, but left it in a parking lot full of tourist buses and other two dozen cars once they reached the plateau of Giza. The rest of the way, they hired a small carriage pulled by a single horse. It was hot, the earth was parched, the sun made it impossible to look in the distance or up at the pyramids without wearing sunglasses, and the plateau was full of camels, horses, locals, and tourists. It was crowded, but Valentina didn’t care. For one, this was the first time in her life when she was riding in a carriage. The bumps in the road, the wind caressing her cheeks, the yellow dust that rose under the carriage wheels... It all felt so surreal! How was it possible that she’d almost missed this?! She’d been in Cairo for two weeks and a half, and she hadn’t even considered visiting the Giza plateau. Unbelievable! She’d been so caught up in her problems and worries that she’d forgotten to live. Now she knew that if she’d gone back to Leavenworth without seeing the pyramids and the Sphinx up close, she would have never forgiven herself. She stole a quick glance at Jupiter and Nergal, who were seated next to her, and smiled. Thank Goddess for them! Up on her left shoulder, Magny seemed equally satisfied.

  “The Great Pyramid of Giza,” the hobgoblin said in a dreamy voice. “No matter how many times I see it, it still blows my mind.”

  “You’ve seen it already?!”

  “Yes, Keeper. At least a dozen times. I’m old, remember? I’ve been on this Earth, in this third dimension, long before many of your ancestors were born.”

  “Then, I’m surprised you weren’t here when it was built.”

  “Okay, I said I’m old, not ancient.”

  Nergal chuckled. Valentina looked at him curiously, then noticed that Jupiter was smiling too.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You’re the only one here who hasn’t been inside the Great Pyramid yet,” Jove said. “You’re going to love it.”

  “And watching you loving it... It’s going to be satisfying,” Nergal added.

  Valentina huffed. She didn’t feel like dealing with them right now. If they wanted to make fun of her, whatever. She didn’t care. She had a bunch of pictures to take with her phone.

  “I wish Piper were here...”

  “Me too,” said Magny. “I miss her. She would have loved this!”

  “Yeah.”

  Their carriage was getting close to the base of the Great Pyramid. Soon, they would have to get off.

  “Do you think I’m a bad friend, Magny?”

  “What?!” His pointy ears perked up. “No!”

  “I lied to Sia.”

  “Yes, to Sia, but not to Piper. They’re not one and the same, you know. They’re not joined at the hip. It’s not like Sia is a very likable person, if you ask me.”

  Valentina shrugged. “Yes, but Piper likes her. That means I have to like her, too. I feel bad. If I hadn’t lied, Piper would have been here with us. We would have explored the pyramids together.”

  “You can’t know that. Everything is exactly as it’s supposed to be. Think about it. If Piper and Sia hadn’t gone to Leavenworth, if I hadn’t gone with them too, then you would have never known what’s happening there. Who would’ve told you that your family, friends, and all the other Keepers are still alive? Who would’ve told you that the smoke creatures didn’t kill them?”

  “Because they possessed them,” she murmured bitterly.

  “At least you know!” He poofed himself on the edge of the carriage, intentionally photobombing the Sphinx. “And listen to me, Keeper of the Spades: knowledge is the most important tool you need when fighting evil.”

  Valenti
na sighed and took the picture. Not bad. The hobgoblin sure was photogenic.

  “Your little friend is wise,” Nergal said. “I can’t say that about all the hobgoblins I’ve met.”

  “Well, I’m special!” Magny crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his tongue out. “I come from an old, respected family. My ancestors have always been just as wise as they were hairy.”

  Valentina cocked an eyebrow. “I didn’t know your wisdom is directly related to the abundance of hair on your body.”

  Magny rolled his beady eyes. “It’s not. That was a joke, Val. A joke.”

  She laughed out loud. “Sorry. I’m slow today.”

  Jupiter jumped out of the carriage, then grabbed Valentina by the waist, lifted her in the air like she didn’t weigh a thing, and put her down on the nearest rock. Magny took his place on her shoulder, and Nergal paid the local for his service. The man immediately found his next clients – a group of young tourists who were going back to the city.

  Valentina looked up at the pyramid, her mouth open in awe. She held onto Jupiter’s big shoulder for support. Nergal was at her side in a second, taking her hand and helping her off the rock. With two strong, handsome men to help her and protect her at every step, she couldn’t deny that she felt like a queen. A desert queen. The Queen of Egypt. She laughed at her own silliness. They had to go on foot the rest of the way, and the closer they got to the pyramid, the more crowded it was. Up at the entrance, there was a queue of people waiting to buy tickets and go inside.

  “Oh, this is going to take forever,” she moaned.

  “Not if I have a say in it,” Nergal said.

  “What do you mean?” Her blue eyes widened. “You can make all these people go away?”

  “Sure I can. They won’t even know why they suddenly got the urge to return to the city.” He gave her a mischievous grin.

  Jove crossed his arms over his wide, bulky chest.

  “I would do it myself,” he said. “But you offered first, so okay. Let’s see it.”