by James Tate
With that ominous promise, she took off into the dense forest behind her, leaving a small puddle of that blue-black blood on the side of the creek. Just in case I’d been under any illusions that she was human, that proved otherwise.
“Lo!” Ty shouted from somewhere behind me, and I turned just in time to find him crashing out of the trees. Without pause, he barrelled into me and scooped me up in a rib-cracking hug, while his heart thundered in his chest.
“Ty? How did you know where to find me? How did you know I was in trouble?” I had way more questions, but most of them pertained to the appearance of a homicidal goddess and what exactly I’d done to piss her off. Questions Ty couldn’t really answer.
He pulled back just far enough to see my face but didn’t set me down just yet. “You’re hurt,” he observed, his eyes on my cut cheek.
“Ty,” I snapped, at the end of my patience, thanks to having just nearly died. Again. “How did you know to come here?”
His attention lifted from my cheek back to my eyes, and he gave a small smile. “I didn’t,” he admitted. “Zan woke up in a huge panic, saying you were drowning and that we needed to save you.”
My brows shot up. “So, how come you’re here and not him?”
This made Ty grin more. “Have you seen me? I’m roughly seventeen times fitter than either of my brothers. It stands to reason I’m faster than them, too.”
I tried to smile back, but my teeth were suddenly chattering and my face was numb. “Um, cool. Could you use some of that speed to get us back to the inn? I think I’m in shock or just super cold or something.”
Ty’s grin dropped, and he shifted his grip to cradle me in his arms. “I’ve got you, Lo.” He started jogging back toward town, and I tucked my freezing face into his chest as he whispered, “And I’m never letting you go.”
13
By the time Ty got me back to the inn, the worst of my shivering had subsided and I was beginning to get a grip on my shock. Strangely enough, it wasn’t the fact that I’d nearly drowned that’d left me so shaken. It was the fact that a fucking goddess had felt the need to personally see me dead.
“Pass her to me,” Lee demanded for the tenth time as we entered the inn. Ty just shook his head and continued carrying me up the stairs and into the room they’d been in earlier, when I’d first arrived back. Zan and Lee hadn’t been all that far behind Ty, but had mostly stayed silent for the brisk walk back to the town.
“Seriously, Ty,” Lee snapped, kicking the door shut with his heel once we were all inside. “I need to heal her. Look at her face, for Zryn’s sake!”
“She needs to shower and warm up first,” Zan countered, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at… well, all of us, I think. “Her injuries are not life threatening, but hypothermia is.”
“She is right here and can hear you just fine,” I informed them with a raspy voice. “But for once I think I agree with Zan. Do you mind if I use your shower?” This question was directed at Ty, seeing as it was his stuff strewn everywhere.
“Of course you can,” he murmured, carrying me across to the bathroom and pausing only when I made a noise of surprise and laid a hand on his chest.
“Uh, alone?” I added with a small laugh.
Ty’s face stained an adorable shade of pink, and he nodded awkwardly. “I just meant to put you down in here so you didn’t have to, uh, walk as far.”
I arched a brow at him, and he carefully put me down on the fuzzy mat inside the bathroom.
“Her legs are fine, Ty,” Zan snapped. “Quit hovering.”
Ty’s face clouded over. At the signs of an argument about to break out, I did what any self-respecting woman would do. I shut the door so I didn’t have to listen.
Cranking the taps of the shower to the fully “on” position, I let the sound of rushing water drown out whatever was going on between the three princes on the other side of the door. Thankfully, this inn still had their internal plumbing because in just two short weeks, I’d become far too used to hot showers.
With a shudder, I peeled my soaked, freezing dress off and left it in a wet puddle on the floor before sticking my hand under the spray to check the temperature. The second the water hit my palm, though, a wave of terror rippled through me.
My vision blurred and blacked, and before I even knew what was happening, I found myself curled in a small, naked ball on the far side of the bathroom. My breathing was labored and every muscle in my body trembled with sheer, debilitating fear.
“Fuck,” I whispered to myself as I fought for control over my own emotions. I was better than this. I was no one’s victim. “Come on, Rybet. It’s just water. You can’t stop showering for the rest of your life. You love showers, remember?”
A sharp knock sounded at the door, and I gasped, jumping a little as I turned toward it.
“Everything okay in there?” The thick wood muffled Zan’s voice, but his familiar baritone carried well enough. Just knowing they were there, that they were thinking of me—worried about me—it instantly calmed me down.
“Yeah,” I called back, swallowing past the worst of my mini-breakdown. “All good.”
Slowly, I uncurled from my protective ball and climbed to my feet. Still trembling slightly, I stepped back toward the running shower and took a few deep breaths.
“It’s just a fucking shower, Rybet,” I whispered. “The water didn’t try to kill you. Aana did.”
Clenching my jaw, I welcomed the anger the thought brought. I was much more familiar with anger than fear. Anger made me productive. I could handle anger.
“Fucking goddesses,” I hissed quietly, then bit the inside of my cheek as I stepped into the steaming spray and shut the glass door behind me. “Fucking Aana trying to ruin simple pleasures like showers. Not today, asshole.”
* * *
I spent longer than I really needed to in the shower, but every moment I stood there under the running water, I regained a little bit of myself that Aana had tried to strip away. By the time I stepped out, my skin was pruning up, but I felt whole again. In control.
“I hope you don’t mind,” I said to Ty as I rejoined the three of them wrapped in a thick, white robe I’d found hanging on the back of the bathroom door. “My dress was a bit damp.”
Ty snorted and rolled his eyes. “Understatement. You’re welcome to my robe anytime you want, Lo.” He was stretched out on his bed with his arms folded under his head. Muscles bulged against his thin, stretchy top, and they reminded me of how strong his grip was. How easily he’d carried me back from the river. How safe I’d felt cradled in his arms.
“Come over here,” Ty suggested, patting the bed beside him.
Instinctively, I took one step in his direction before catching the stricken look on Zan’s face and pausing.
Fuck.
Panicked, I looked to Lee for help, but his face was closed off and totally unreadable.
So much for being willing to share.
But that wasn’t necessarily what he’d said, was it? That’s just what I’d wanted to hear. He and Ty had just made it clear that they were playing to win—not playing to tie. As for Zan…
I sighed inwardly, shifting my attention back to the oldest prince and meeting his tortured gaze with a cringe. Something told me Zan wasn’t playing at all.
Lee cleared his throat and gave a small nod to an empty chair that seemed to be a safe distance from all three of them to not be showing favoritism. I gladly took it.
“So, Ty filled us in on how he found you,” Lee started, smoothing past the unspoken jealousy soaking the room. “But that doesn’t explain much. What happened to you, Calla? How did you come to be out in the woods in the middle of the night?”
Sucking in a deep breath, I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. “Aana.”
The goddess of fortune, who had so long been my favorite of our deities. Her name no longer brought me comfort or confidence. Instead, it made me shudder, and I practically spat
the word like it was laced with poison.
“Aana,” Lee repeated, frowning slightly. “The goddess, Aana? How…?”
I shook my head, rubbing my eyes briefly. “I know, it sounds totally insane. But it was her, in the flesh. There’s no doubt in me about it.”
The three princes looked shocked, but none of them spoke up to tell me I was frog-shit crazy or that I must have been sleepwalking. That in itself gave me more confidence to continue my story.
“I woke up, and she was standing outside my window, waiting for me. So I followed her. I have no idea how she made me do it, but it was like I was dreaming. Maybe I just assumed I was still dreaming? I don’t know.” I groaned a bit at my own stupidity. “It’s just… who has ever known the gods to walk among us as physical beings? I’ve never even heard rumors of something like that happening! So, yeah. I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Either way, I followed her. I knew it was a bad idea, too, but for some reason I just kept following her instructions anyway until she was holding my face under the rushing stream and telling me I was an abomination who ought to have been killed at birth.”
There was a long pause, broken only by Ty.
“Holy shit,” he murmured.
I gave him a tight, humorless smile. “Yeah. Pretty much. Apparently the gods want me dead, and it’s important enough that they’re doing it themselves.”
“Do you have any idea why?” Lee asked, squinting at me like I was a puzzle he needed to solve. “Why you? Why now?”
I stared back at him blankly, hoping beyond anything that he could figure it out because it was so far beyond my own capabilities I didn’t even know how to approach the issue.
“It’s got to be linked with this mysterious man who saved you from the fire and healed all your injuries. The one you can’t talk about.” Zan’s voice was low and dark, like he wanted to hurt someone. “It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“I agree,” I told him with a small shrug. “But that still doesn’t tell us why any of this is happening.”
Lee hummed a thoughtful noise. “I have a theory, but I’d like to keep it to myself until I can work it through a bit more. If you’re okay with trusting me on this?” His gaze was on me, but his brothers nodded when I did. “Cool,” he murmured, “I just want to do some research when we get back to the palace.”
“So where does this leave us now?” I asked all three of them, tightening my grip around my knees. “The gods are suddenly taking an active role in our world, your father is trying to kill you all, and mutated beasts are tracking and eating the crown stones.”
The four of us all sort of exchanged looks of I-have-no-fucking-clue, which in theory sounds hard to do, but we made it work.
“We will work it out,” Zan finally said, his voice loaded with the steel of sheer determination. “Somehow. In the meantime, we’re not letting you out of our sight for even a second.”
His overprotectiveness got my hackles up, and I glared at him.
“Well, that will be tricky considering I’m going to sleep in my room with Jules for the rest of the night.” My statement gave no room for discussion. I wasn’t asking his damn permission for anything.
He narrowed his eyes at me and opened his mouth to argue back, but Ty cut him off.
“Zan meant that as a figure of speech, Lo,” he smoothed over. “You’re not our prisoner, so if you’d prefer to sleep in your own bed, you’re more than welcome.” He paused, and I swear he flexed his muscles a bit. “Just like you’re welcome to stay here, if you want.”
His brazen flirtation brought a small smile to my lips, despite the tense situation. Zan clearly didn’t appreciate his brother’s suggestion, though, as he stomped across the room and held the door open. “Go. Sleep. We’re leaving early in the morning.”
I was too damn tired to argue with him further, so I just pushed out of my seat and started to exit the room. Zan’s hand snagged my wrist as I passed him, and I paused to see what he wanted.
“I’m just,” he murmured softly, his voice uncertain and hurt, “really fucking worried about you, Luna. When I thought you were drowning, it felt like I was right there with you. I don’t know what I’d do if something worse happened.”
I swallowed past the guilt I felt far too often these days. Guilt for refusing to choose between them, guilt for making them worry about me, and now guilt for dragging them into this mess I had going on with gods-damned Aana.
“I know,” I assured him, reaching up to cup his cheek with my hand. “But I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
Zan sucked in a long breath, then released it in a huff. “Good night, Luna.”
I stretched up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Night, Zan.”
14
“Is there something on my neck?” I asked Jules as we dressed to leave the town a few hours later. With only two days left in the second trial, there was no time to waste feeling scared or confused about Aana’s attempt on my life.
“How do you mean?” she asked me, adjusting her tits until they practically spilled out of her maid’s dress. It reminded me that she’d been expecting a mysterious John the night before.
“Here somewhere.” I tapped the bend of my neck where Aana had been staring. My hair was tied up in a high bun, so my skin was exposed.
Jules frowned and came closer, peering at the patch I was talking about. “That’s weird,” she muttered. “I wouldn’t have seen it if you hadn’t said anything.”
My breath caught in my throat for a second. “So there is something there?”
“Yeah, it’s sort of like the mark on your back, except a different shape.” She frowned at me. “How did you get it?”
“I have no idea,” I breathed, and a shiver of fear ran through me. “What shape is it?”
The mark on my shoulder blade, the one I’d always called my birthmark, was three small lines. The mark on Zan’s chest was a little zigzag.
“It’s like two circles overlapping?” She shrugged. “It’s really faint, nowhere near as easy to see as the one on your back. What is it?”
“I wish I knew,” I murmured, rubbing the spot she’d touched with my hand. Whatever it was, Aana had noticed it and known what it meant. What had she said, again? She wasn’t the only one who had sensed my “protection” wear off? So, did that mean the mark was from another god or goddess? If so, what did that say about my birthmark, or Zan’s new one for that matter?
“Ry, hello?” Jules waved a hand in front of my face, like she’d been trying to get my attention for a while. “We need to go. Weren’t you the one wanting to hit the road before dawn?”
“Oh.” I startled. “Yes, let’s go.” I started towards the door, but she grabbed my arm.
“Rybet,” she said, then bit her lip nervously. “Are we... okay? I mean, obviously not how we used to be, but...” She trailed off with a shrug, and I considered her question.
Were we okay? She’d done a shitty thing, betraying me to Bloodeye. But my new normal seemed to be brushes with death at every turn. So did I really want to spend what could be my last days alive hating on Jules?
“Yeah, we’re okay,” I assured her. “Or at least, you don’t need to stress about me strangling you in your sleep anymore.”
Her eyes widened. “That was a possibility?”
Flashing her a quick smile instead of a response, I grabbed one of the bags and slung it over my shoulder before heading out of the room.
* * *
The princes and our two guards had already prepared the horses, plus the wagon for our supplies and Jules—seeing as she couldn’t ride and wasn’t about to learn on the road.
“Here, I’ll take that,” Ty murmured, taking my bag as I wandered over to Cat. “You feeling okay this morning?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. “Just tired.”
He quirked a grin at me, slinging my bag over Cat’s saddle. “You still look like a damn goddess though.” His gaze travelled down my eme
rald-green riding dress, then he must have realized what he’d said because he froze and cringed. “Sorry, I mean—”
“Don’t worry,” I waved him off. “Aana was still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, even if she was a psychotic, murdering bitch.”
Ty’s lips curved in a smile. “Well then, the comment stands.”
I laughed lightly as Ty walked away to check his own horse, then gripped the pommel of Cat’s saddle to pull myself up. Just my luck, though, that was the exact moment that my body decided it had been through enough punishment for one week. The riding, the drowning… those missing days. It’d all just compounded to the point that when I tried to climb into Cat’s saddle, I collapsed onto my ass.
Or, I would have, had a pair of strong hands not caught me inches from the dirt.
“Are you okay?” Zan asked me with an intense frown when he set me back on my feet.
Biting my lip in embarrassment, I nodded. “Good catch,” I commented, squeezing his forearm in appreciation. His hands were still tightly clasped around my waist, and I was desperately fighting the desire to throw myself into his arms.
“Not really,” he murmured, his gaze darting around to check if anyone was listening. “I sort of felt your strength giving out.”
My brows shot up, but I didn’t protest when Zan effortlessly boosted into my saddle and passed me the reins. “Can we talk about that?” I asked him when I was sorted and ready to ride.
He gave me a nod and crossed to where his glossy, black horse waited patiently for him. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and his forearms flexed as he pulled himself up and situated himself. For a moment, I let my mind wander as I drooled over his hot body.