It seemed like a rain cloud had been following them the last few days. Cara’s presence made all the difference. Sometimes, one of them would lash out, and they’d start quarrelling over the smallest details, like being late for lunch or some other insignificant detail, like where they’d thrown their socks. Devon grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.
“Hurry up,” Liam said testily, his face contorted into a scowl. “Clotho should be back by now. She’s going to have news.”
Hopefully, some of that is going to be about Cara.
But Devon didn’t dare get his hopes that high. They were never that lucky. He wished for the simple things—spending time with the woman he loved. But simple things had become more difficult to get once life got complicated.
“It’s thirty minutes before the meeting,” Devon said. “Half the council won’t even be there yet.”
Liam raised a brow. “Yeah? So? It’s good to be early.”
“You don’t have to sound pissed all the time. We’re all just as worried about her.”
Liam dragged a hand through his long black locks. “I don’t sound pissed.”
Theo pulled his belt through his pants. “Liam’s always like this.” He stood next to the doorway of their cramped lodgings.
“It wasn’t as bad when Cara was around,” Devon said.
“I don’t care for her,” Liam said.
“We’re back to that?” Devon asked. “Pretending not to care and hiding your feelings?”
Liam scowled again. It was always the same with that guy. Scowls were Liam’s default, because acting as if he hated everything was easier than opening your heart and letting people in.
Devon sighed to himself and dragged a hand down his face. He was tempted to do as Liam did and pretend Cara didn’t matter. It was easier that way. If he didn’t care, then she wouldn’t have the ability to hurt him.
Hansel slid from his bed and walked toward the exit, ignoring their quarrel. He had taken Cara’s disappearance the hardest. Ever since she’d gone missing, he hadn’t said much, not unless the discussion related to finding her. He was focused on his search for their goddess. A pile of reports lay on his bed, complete with dog-eared pages and highlighted text. Hansel was scouring every bit of information he could find in his search for Cara.
So far, nothing good.
Midway through the doorway, Hansel looked over his shoulder. “You guys coming?”
Devon pushed his hair behind his ears and straightened his shirt. “Yeah.”
The goddesses were about to discuss an expedition to search for Cara. He wouldn’t miss that meeting for the world. Liam and Theo were quick to follow Hansel, while Devon followed last, his feet dragged down by the heaviness of his heart. He was tired of worrying. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes at night, he’d see her face, and he did his best to imagine having Cara in his arms. She’d be breathing shallowly, and he’d be able to feel the rise and fall of her chest as she lay safely in his arms.
Where the hell was she?
Before she went missing, the goddesses had come up with a plan to have her killed. Maybe it was for the better that she’d disappeared. She’d escaped the wrath of the entire goddess council.
Still, her absence was torture.
As they walked through the corridors of the council, Devon saw people filtering into the building. They wore drab clothes and were covered with dust. Many of them were women and children. Some were crying as they held each other. Devon had heard about the increasing number of refugees coming to the council. Apparently, much of Haven was disintegrating. It probably had something to do with the disappearance of the chiasma. It threw the balance of the world out of order, and villages and towns everywhere had turned to nothing.
As they walked toward the council chambers, the vassals spotted Danna, Cara’s cheerleader best friend. She no longer wore her usual bright smile. Instead, she dragged her feet and her face sagged. Since she was staying with the council, the goddesses had dressed her in more luxurious robes. They were rimmed with gold, and bright jewelry hung from her earlobes. She was dressed too fancily to be standing next to the suffering before them. The refugees that walked in had lost their homes, families. Devon followed her gaze. She was watching a mother go up to one of the council’s brightlings (beings that were half man, half animal), begging him to give her dying child food.
The duck-headed creature shook its head. It snapped its beak at the humans, warding them off. The brightling pushed the mother back into the crowd, where she wept and hugged her child tightly. Devon’s stomach turned from the sight.
Haven had been fine just a week ago. People lived happily, were able-bodied, and didn’t have to worry about their next meal, despite the wars between the gods.
The tides had shifted too quickly.
None of the goddesses could figure out why this was happening.
He pried his eyes away and refocused his attention on Danna. She breathed out a sigh. “Do you see this? I can’t believe what’s happening. These people lost everything too quickly. Family. Their homes. Forced to move and find refuge. And…”
“It’s all right,” Theo said. He gave Danna a friendly hug, attempting to calm the jittery cheerleader. He tried to fake warmth, but that was impossible. The world had darkened too much for the vassals. Cara’s disappearance wouldn’t stop dragging their moods down.
Danna’s eyes filled with tears. “What would Cara say about this?”
“Probably something snarky,” Liam added. “She never watched her words.”
Hansel gave Liam a hard look. “You talk about her as if she’s already gone.”
Liam shrugged. “I might as well prepare myself for the worst.”
“She’s alive. There’s no way she’s dead.”
“I’m being realistic.”
Hansel balled his hand into a fist, ready to punch Liam, but Liam ignored him.
“Loosen up, guys,” Devon said. “We’re going to find her, okay? We need time.”
“Will she be safe and in one piece when we do?” Theo frowned. “We’re supposed to be her vassals, but we’ve been quite shit about this whole protection business.”
The goddesses had been blaming Cara for this nightmare, but Devon highly doubted that she was the cause of all this pain. It couldn’t be her fault alone. It had to do with that foreign energy that had taken over her during the Burning—that time when Cara went ballistic and took out half of each army. Cara had never shown an ounce of malicious intent before that event, even though she had a propensity for randomly setting things on fire.
Devon gently nudged Theo forward, toward the corridor and away from the morbid sights. “The goddesses are handling this,” he said. “We just have to keep moving. Find out what’s happening and save our damsel in distress.”
Danna scrunched her nose up. “Cara isn’t a damsel. She’s usually in distress, yes. Terrible, worrying distress. But she’s too… peculiar to be a damsel.”
Devon wasn’t sure whether Danna was trying to be funny. Thinking about his goddess did make him smile, however. That smile didn’t last long. His father, Maxwell, Agness, and the rest of the goddesses were still in favor of having Cara killed. They thought that once she was gone, Haven would be fixed. That solution seemed too simple. Devon was certain that there had to be more to it. The whole world-disintegrating problem was too complicated. The goddesses were all as clueless as he.
Devon blocked out the sounds of crying mothers and whimpering children. He moved with his peers toward the council chambers and tried to focus on the upcoming meeting.
Clotho waited right outside the goddess council. Next to the entrance was a large window used to oversee most of Haven. Devon searched the landscape for the chiasma. He was used to seeing the dark, ominous ball hovering over the hills of Haven, watching over the realm like a protective eye. It had disappeared shortly after Cara. Liam had hypothesized that the chiasma’s disappearance had something to do with Cara’s attack on Aphrodite’s
camp. They hadn’t had word about her since, despite their efforts to find her.
“Ah, the vassals,” Clotho said once she noticed their presence. “Readying for the expedition?”
The charms the goddesses had put on them—Hera’s bracelets, and the multitude of other spells to ensure they couldn’t escape—were still there. It hurt Devon to know that he had to aid the goddesses in hunting Cara down, but there was no other choice. Once they found Cara, he would have to think of a way to get her someplace safe.
How?
“We need to find Cara,” Devon said, “But not because we have to kill her.”
Clotho rolled her eyes. “Again with that rhetoric.”
“She might be more useful to us alive.” Devon breathed out softly. “We shouldn’t do anything drastic without properly considering the options.”
“Drastic.” Clotho’s white eyelashes fluttered. “That’s not how I would put it. Precautionary, perhaps. She might be the root of the problem and killing her would merely be to protect our realm.”
“Cara’s just a girl.”
“And so are the other young villagers who are suffering from her actions—”
“You don’t even know if she’s responsible.”
“She is.” Clotho huffed. “Everybody saw her at the Burning.”
“What about the chiasma? The entire council is blaming her before actually finding out the truth of its disappearance.”
His patience had run thin. Devon was usually calmer than Theo and Liam, but ever since Cara left them, they’d all been equally restless.
“She deserves to die after her display at the Burning. The decision stands.”
“It’s a shit fucking decision!”
A force yanked Devon. The invisible power fastened his hands behind his back. Clotho had unleashed her magic on him, and Devon was useless against her overwhelming powers. Clotho raised a finger at him. “I don’t care what you think. And I’d watch your words if I were you. I am still the goddess of fate, and you are a mere vassal. If not for Agness’s intervention, you four would already be dead, so know your place, lowlife.”
Clotho was usually kinder with her words, but with Haven disintegrating, she was probably just as testy as everybody else. Uncertainty hung like a looming judgment in the air. Nobody knew what they were truly doing. Not even the goddess of fate. And the doubt that fogged the future made everything scarier for vassals and goddesses alike.
The tension in the air continued to drip, but the boil in Devon’s veins calmed into a muted simmer.
Clotho had taken control of the situation. She gathered herself with her usual poise, then said, “Now, we must discuss our next action plan. Cara could be anywhere in Haven. We must decide where to start the expedition, and the goddesses all have their reservations. Take your place in the council and—”
Flash.
A blinding light burst in the distance. Devon covered his eyes with his hands because its brightness overwhelmed him. He blinked through the disorientation the flash had caused, then looked out the window.
Where had that come from?
Clotho moved quick. She leaned on the balcony of the window and looked into the distance. “It was a surge of power,” she said. “It came from there.” She pointed at the horizon.
“That’s where we’ll start,” Liam said. “It’s as good a clue as any other.”
“It could have been anything,” Hansel said.
“It’s most likely Cara,” Theo said. “It looked like trouble, and Cara’s always where trouble is.”
“Yeah.” Devon licked his lips. Hope rose in him. Maybe that flash came from where Cara resided. If so, he’d finally be able to see her.
Then again, he didn’t want her to be found.
The goddesses wanted her dead. He saw the venom in Clotho’s eyes. Clotho was desperate, and her usual poise had been replaced with hunger and bloodlust and vengeance. She wanted to ensure that Cara was crushed.
And Devon couldn’t stand it.
Seven
Cara
“You are too much to handle,” I said, curling my fingers through the fur of my new companion. “I thought I was done having to take care of animals after we settled that whole pig thing.”
I carried one bear cub, while the other followed closely at my ankles. I’d had to lug them around earlier, flying the cubs around Haven with my red wings.
Troublesome creatures.
It didn’t help that they incessantly wriggled when I carried them. They didn’t like heights. I struggled to keep them safe in my arms. I’d be beside myself if I dropped one of them and ended up with bear mush.
We walked through a forested area, the shade giving me a nice reprieve from the hot sun baking me alive. The cubs seemed thankful for the shelter, too. They’d been less rowdy since we entered the shadier parts of the forest. One cub opened its mouth and yawned.
“Tired now?” I asked. “Maybe I finally can rest. You guys are harder to handle than children.” Not that I’d ever taken care of a child before. I’d heard stories.
I looked around where I’d landed, clutching the bear cub tighter to my chest.
Where had Amber gone?
Ever since he’d left the cave, I hadn’t seen him anywhere. I needed to just forget about him. He didn’t matter. Just an absent-minded fellow whom I happened to stumble across. I should head back to the Sanctuary. Its tall towers and looming silhouette continued to call to me from the distance. I didn’t really like the place. I mean, it did contain a bunch of creatures that wanted to eat me alive, and hid piles of dead bodies in its bushes. But at least my family was there—my vassals, not the blood family who’d abandoned me as a sacrifice to save their own asses. It was the only place I could somewhat call a home in Haven. My heart belonged with the guys. They made me feel safe, not like crazy Amber, who’d disappeared on me after going apeshit with the kissing.
My vassals were the only guys I could trust.
I wiped my mouth. Why’d I cave in and let Amber kiss me? I should have slapped him, pushed him away, and turned him into a chicken with my new godlike powers or something.
“Do you want to take a break?” I asked the unfortunate bear cub I’d made walk. It was easy to differentiate the two. The one walking had slightly longer fur, and its features were gentler than the other’s. “You’re slowing down.” She was a female, while the cub I carried was a male. Strangely, the male was smaller than his sister.
My answer was a soft whimper. I took that as a yes.
I hadn’t decided to give them names. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep them as pets, and names were the best way to ensure I grew attached. They were adorable now, yes, but how was I to deal with them when they grew to ten times their size, maybe more? Did goddess privileges give me rights to keep them?
I found a comfortable, shaded clearing. I swept aside a bunch of fallen leaves and sat on a log. I hadn’t had anything to eat ever since waking up at the chiasma. The good thing about this body was that it didn’t get hungry. I did miss the chocolate fountain they’d provided me back at the council, however. Eating was a good way to get rid of boredom.
With my goddess body, I could eat without getting fat. Never mind the accidental mass killings. This was amazing.
Damn it.
Maybe I shouldn’t make light of what I’d done. How was I going to pay for my sins? Was that even possible?
I hated myself.
I missed thinking that I was badass and loving myself all the time.
“I don’t think I’ll look for Amber,” I said, talking partly to myself, partly to the bear cubs. “He’s not really my problem. I should head straight to the Sanctuary.” But what did he remember? A side of me knew that Amber contained a wealth of information, and I needed to know what exactly he’d recalled.
My brain hurt from everything I was going through. I nestled my butt on the log and glanced at the bear cubs. The moment I’d decided to rest, they’d decided to play, and they were wres
ting with each other in the dirt. “You two enjoy your break. We’re flying back to the Sanctuary in five.”
The female rolled on its belly, shook its ears, then yawned. It obviously didn’t understand my words. I sighed, then kneaded the bridge of my nose.
A breeze whipped by, giving me the chills.
It wasn’t cold, but it felt eerie. Like a thin sound whistling through sharp-edged leaves.
Everything around me felt off. Did that have something to do with the missing chiasma? The forest sounded quieter than usual. The blue of the sky edged on green, and should there really be so many fallen leaves on the forest floor? Too many of the branches that surrounded us looked barren. Did Haven experience winter? Was it coming soon? That would explain why the landscape seemed to be dying.
Dying.
How did I come to that conclusion? I shouldn’t be so pessimistic, but that was my gut feeling about my environment. A dreary bleakness cloaked the whole of Haven. I thought I’d seen a band of travelers, dressed in drab clothing, when I was flying to the forest. I wasn’t sure what they were moving for, but some of them were weeping.
I blew out a sigh through my nose and craned my neck up to the sky. Did the goddesses have the answers to the strangeness I felt around me? I wondered how they might greet me when I returned to them.
Squeak.
I snapped my head to my left. The female cub had wandered and fallen off a nearby cliff edge. My heart leapt to my throat. I stood and swept the male cub into my arms, not wanting to lose it too. “Hey!” I scampered toward the edge and looked over. Relief swept through me. The cliff wasn’t that high up, and the cub wasn’t injured at all. It got to its feet, shook, and recovered—
Flash.
A sharp, blinding light encompassed my vision. I had to shut my eyes.
Once I regained my vision, which didn’t take very long, because this body was overpowered, I looked ahead, wondering where the light had come from.
Amber was kneeling before me.
Amber?
I’d thought I was done with him.
Goddess Academy: The Complete Reverse Harem Collection Page 58