by K.N. Lee
Goddess of War
Fallen Gods Books One
K.N. Lee
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Goddess of Ruin
Author Bio
Newsletter
An Exclusive Excerpt from Rise of the Flame
An Exclusive Excerpt from Half-Blood Dragon
Also by K.N. Lee
Great Reads by K.N. Lee
Copyright © 2016 by K.N. Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
www.knlee.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Goddess of War/ K.N. Lee. – 1st Ed.
Created with Vellum
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone that has supported me on my writing journey. Thank you, as always, to my fairy god-mother, Colleen M. Albert, my mother, brother, and father. Thanks to my amazing husband, and to my little angel, Jensen.
Dedicated to my younger brother, Desmond Allen James Williams. Thank you for always listening to my stories when we were children.
I love you, Desi.
Prologue
“THEY WILL BOTH have to die,” Litha said.
Nausea filled Kellian’s gut as he looked down at his twin children. They practiced their swordsmanship in the clearing behind their manor in the countryside of Latari.
Parthi directed them in the proper technique of the East, making their strikes fluid, smooth, and precise.
Kellian’s heart was broken. He had a devastating choice to make. His children were chosen to join countless others in the selection of the next ruler of all the gods of Aden, Latari, and Gilborn.
“I don’t agree with this decision,” Kellian said to the Goddess of Law as she watched his children with that cool gaze of hers.
She glanced over her shoulder, her long lavender hair flowing down her back and to her heels.
“You always were a rebel. This time, the Council has made their demands clear. Do you not have faith?”
Kellian turned his gaze from his former wife to his current wife, the mother of his beloved children. He wasn’t strong enough to make the decision.
Allana’s sparkling gray eyes met his. Tears clouded them. She shook her head.
“Don’t look at me. You know how I feel about all of this,” Allana said. She shot a glare at Litha. “I’d rather keep my children here in their home and forget all aspirations toward ruling this world.”
“Then it is a good thing your opinion doesn’t count for anything,” Litha said to her, her cool blue eyes going from Allana to Kellian. “Now is not the time to have doubts, Kellian. You’ve had ten years to think this over. Pick one now, lest the Council punishes you for such blatant stalling.”
Kellian’s shoulders slumped. “I cannot send them to their death.”
He avoided the gaze of his darling daughter, Preeti and his son, Vineet as they finished their lesson and looked up at them. How would he tell them what was about to happen?
Allana stepped to Litha, the tears trailing down her cheeks. “How can you be so cold about this? If you had children, you would send them to their death without a second thought, you heartless witch.”
A ghost of a smile crept onto Litha’s lips. “You’re right. I would send them without a second thought.”
“Right,” Allana said. “Because you are a heartless witch.”
“Because I have faith.”
“Lord Kellian,” Greyon, Kellian’s advisor said. He stepped in from the inner corridor of their two-story home, carrying his staff along with him. With a long black beard, olive-colored skin, and hair that reached his lower back, Greyon looked as though he could have been Kellian’s father. “There is a way around the Council’s ruling.”
Litha grimaced at him, shoving him aside.
“No. We do not need your advice. The Council was clear on this, and as the Goddess of Law, I deem it unlawful to shirk their demands.” Litha stood nearly as tall as Greyon, with her white shall pulled tight across her shoulders.
“Right.” Greyon stepped back; his head lowered in submission. “My apologies, Goddess.”
Allana walked out through the archway to her children.
Kellian shook his head at Greyon. “Sometimes I curse the Council and their holy rulings,” he said before following his wife.
Litha stayed behind, her mouth pursed at hearing Kellian’s words.
Kellian nodded for Parthi to leave the children. The master trainer bowed before leaving through one of the gates to the barracks where Kellian’s army trained and resided.
Kellian watched Allana bend to her knees before the young girl and boy. They were identical twins, with their mother’s bronze skin, long black hair, and gray eyes. It seemed that the only trait they’d inherited from Kellian was their height and athletic build. At sixteen, they were already the height of most adult gods in the empire.
Allana looked at the two closely, her gray eyes full of sorrow.
Kellian looked away with a deep sigh.
The satisfaction on Litha’s face as he glanced at her brought his rage to a boil. She didn’t do this for their world. She did it because she wanted him to suffer. What could be worse than losing his beloved children? The chance of one of them being chosen to rule was thin. Even if one were chosen, the other would be lost forever.
Either way, one of his children would die.
Litha gripped the balcony railing. “You are lucky that we have two children. Your chances are at least greater than most of the gods.”
Kellian couldn’t speak. He knew that if he did, he’d say something that would increase Litha’s hate for him. She was a Greater God, one with power far greater than Kellian’s as a Lesser God. Still, he imagined himself crushing her throat in his fist.
Greyon put a hand on Kellian’s shoulder. “Do not worry. I will take care of Preeti and Vineet’s arrangements.”
“Fine,” Kellian said with finality. It was as if his children had not just been condemned to execution at the Cliffs of Ranoun with hundreds of other sacrifices.
Kellan stood beside Allana as they watched th
e grand procession. Dawn had barely filled the sky with sunlight as Preeti and Vineet marched out to the Cliffs of Ranoun with all of the other sacrifices. They wore their best garments, shiny and rich in red color. Indeed, everyone in attendance wore their most lavish clothing.
It was time for a reckoning.
He knew how terrible the sacrifices were. The Cliffs of Ranoun would either claim them or send their bodies hundreds of feet into the sharp rocks at the bottom. After that, only the powerful waves from the Ranoun Ocean could cleanse their bodies from the rocks.
This is how the gods chose their rulers. Not through war, or through ancestry.
Sacrifice was the only way.
Kellian could only hope that the gods would find both of his innocent children worthy. He couldn’t stand the thought of watching them die.
Litha sat back in her chair, her legs draped over the side as she drank a goblet of wine. Her smooth brown skin seemed to glow beneath their red sun. All eyes went to her when she stood.
Litha’s eyes met Kellian’s a smirk deepening the dimples in her cheeks.
“Let the ceremony begin.”
Preeti and Vineet followed the others. The heat of the red sun beamed down on Vineet’s light bronze skin, making sweat glisten on his forehead, soaking through his garments. Even his feet battled the heat as he walked along the burning hot dirt toward the cliffs.
His eyes darted from person to person. Fear bubbled in his stomach as he watched the reactions of the people around him. Some had tears streaming down their faces, others screamed as they were pulled along like prisoners. The ones that interested him the most were those that had stern faces full of purpose and determination and those with serene smiles.
Their smiles made his skin crawl. Even he could tell that nothing good was about to happen. From what he knew of this event, he would not survive. Tears streamed down his face as he realized that he would never see his family again.
Why were they chosen for this? Neither of them wanted to rule. They simply wanted to live out their lives like normal gods.
He held Preeti’s hand, giving it a squeeze when she showed hesitation.
“Come, sister. We have to go.”
Preeti bit her bottom lip but nodded.
Vineet knew her thoughts and feelings. He wanted to cry as well.
What did it matter if anyone saw them cry?
On this day…he and his sister would die. They all would.
No amount of pampering or pep talks the week leading up to now could hide that fact or ease his fears.
“Go with dignity.”
“Do not show your fear.”
“This is a beautiful thing.”
“It’s an honor,” they said.
“The Cliffs are all knowing.”
“Perhaps you could ascend from the sea and rule our world. You never know…”
Vineet did know. Either way, one of them would die. He glanced back over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of his mother and father. There they were in the distance, watching.
He paused, staring back at them. His heart was broken. He would never see them again.
The sudden quiet all caught Vineet and Preeti’s attention. When they looked around, they saw that the procession had stopped.
It was time.
Vineet took a deep breath. He tried to be strong, and yet he could feel his hands shaking. The Clerics ushered everyone forward. Like fools, they would toss themselves off the cliffs and into the sea. From such a height it wasn’t possible to survive such a fall.
Could it be me? Vineet asked himself the question that was on the minds of everyone there.
His feet moved slowly as his eyes bore into the back of the teenage boy before him. An elderly woman stepped in between Vineet and Preeti, taking their hands into hers.
Vineet glanced at her, forcing a brave smile. He had no idea how he was staying so calm. He did it for Preeti. Others seemed to lose their mind the closer they got to the edge. They flailed and screamed, all while the Clerics told them to be brave and to not ruin this beautiful day.
High Cleric, Orthon stood on a pedestal and spoke to the crowds. With arms outstretched he smiled. “Ignore the cries of anguish and agony, brothers and sisters. This is a beautiful day. I can feel it. One of us will be chosen on this day. We should rejoice.” An arm draped in white gowns stretched toward the cliff. “Smile at your destiny.”
Vineet wished that Orthon would toss himself off the cliff with a smile. He closed his eyes and took a breath.
“I’m afraid,” Preeti said in her soft voice.
“Everything is as it should be,” the elderly woman said. “Do not worry yourself.”
Vineet pursed his lips. Knowing that Preeti was the brave one and still felt fear turned his stomach. Why couldn’t he protect her?
What was the point of training with her in weaponry? Or history and language skills? There was so much Vineet wanted to do with life.
Everything they’d experienced and learned was all for nothing now. Every second that passed by brought him closer to death, and it frightened him to no end.
As they reached their spot at the edge of the cliff his lower lip trembled. The sea below was beautiful. Green mixed with purple and blue. One could almost forget that it was full of Teranic, and not water. One fingertip in that pool and you’d lose an entire arm to its wicked magic. Like fire, it ate everything. The waves crashed on the slick black rocks below as bodies fell or were tossed against their will.
Vineet’s heart pumped with fear as he watched those bodies enter the water never to be seen again.
The screams and sounds of waves below made his throat clench back a yelp of his own.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, looking over at Preeti.
His beautiful sister. She didn’t deserve this.
Vineet considered grabbing her and flying away to somewhere safe, somewhere he could protect her, but the older woman wrapped her arm around Vineet and Preeti’s shoulders.
“We go together, all of us?”
Preeti burst into tears.
Vineet nodded, unable to speak or barely see through his own tears.
“I’m sorry, Preeti,” he whispered.
The woman kissed them both on the forehead, tenderly.
“Bless you, children,” she said, and before Preeti and Vineet could lose their nerve, they jumped with the old woman.
Cold air blew into their faces, like a gust of wintry wind laced with sharp knives. Vineet’s mouth opened, fighting back the wind that affronted his face, sending chills through his body.
Was this was what death felt like?
He found the cold air odd since it was such a sweltering hot day under the red sun. The air sucked his screams away, filling him with an odd sensation of drowning before he even hit the water.
They fell slowly, slow enough that the descent made it possible to look from side to side.
The old woman was no longer there.
He panicked. What’s happening?
Someone grabbed him from behind.
“I’ve got you,” a familiar voice said.
Vineet couldn’t speak or scream even if he wanted to, but he knew that voice. It was the old woman, and he was no longer falling. His face paled as he realized that she held him still in mid-air, halfway between the cliff and the sea.
Preeti stood across from him, on nothing but the clear air. Her gray eyes were wide in a look of wonder and confusion that matched his own.
The old woman’s face didn’t look so wrinkled anymore. Her hair looked less gray and more silver, braided long to her feet. She smiled at him as her skin went from pale to smooth ash. Silver eyes gazed into his.
“How long I have waited.”
Vineet felt odd standing on nothing at all. He was sure this was a dream or perhaps he was already dead because he’d never seen anyone stand on the air like this.
But Preeti was there as well. Were they both dead?
Waited for what? He
wished his mouth would work. He had so many questions.
Her smile widened.
“To choose two gods worthy of ruling this world.”
Chapter 1
THE SCREAMS OF the dying would have been better than the silence of that morning. Kellian was used to battle. He’d fought for the army of their world’s gods for centuries.
War was his profession. As a general in the Aden army, Kellian thought he had seen it all.
Fighting demons and shadows from other worlds had hardened him, yet seeing his home in ruins was something he was not prepared for.
The air was thick with the scent of blood. Vultures feasted on fresh corpses, squawking as he passed them by as if he’d snatch their meals from under their crimsom beaks.
In heavy boots, he walked along the blood-covered pathway. Eyes wide with panic, he ignored the dead soldiers and kept his gaze fixed on the entrance to the manor that stood in the center of the valley.
As he ran through the golden double doors, nothing mattered at that moment but making sure his beloved family had not passed on to the world of the dead. Each hallway was crumbled, the floors destroyed by indentations much like a quake had ravaged the land.
When he reached the living chambers, the door was already broken down, and the stench of death filled his nostrils despite the frost that seeped in from broken windows. White and silver mist and snow fell and swirled around the room by an unseen force.
Frost? In this weather?
Preeti. His daughter. She must have used her power on whoever did this.
Kellian froze at the archway when he saw his wife’s body nailed to the wall. Snow covered everything in the room.
His eyes lowered to his blood-covered boots. The image of her bruised corpse would never leave his memory. The body of her personal bodyguard lay beside the door to the secret exit with a gaping hole in his chest.
Who dared to harm his family?
Did they know what kind of revenge he would exact upon them?
The manor was surrounded by a wall with sentries and archers equipped with the best weapons made by the Dreamweavers. No one could enter his home without proper authority.