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“Well, well, look who finally graced us with their holy presence,” Basanti said with a sarcastic smirk.

They’d just entered the ballroom: Nyx, the First Angel, and Ronan, the God of Earth’s Army and Lord of the Legion of Angels. Fluttering in the air between them like a butterfly was their son Damon.

With bright white wings and a full head of black hair that swirled around him like he was underwater, Damon was three-quarters deity and one-hundred percent adorable. He’d definitely be breaking a lot of hearts when he got old enough to distinguish between a kiss and a punch. He quickly joined the other birthday boys in their battle against the birthday girls.

Meanwhile, I pounced on the opportunity to finally grill Nyx and Ronan about their mysterious time off world. And the mysterious gods popping up everywhere.

“It’s nothing you need worry about,” Ronan replied, totally brushing me off.

Which wasn’t suspicious at all.

“There is definitely something fishy going on,” I muttered to myself as Ronan and Nyx walked away from me.

The seed of suspicion in my gut had taken root, sprouting a full-out conspiracy theory. Ronan knew something. And I needed to know that something.

But before I could run after him, my parents popped into the ballroom.

“So, where’s the birthday girl?” Faris declared very loudly, like thunder bursting open a vacuum of silence.

10

DEITY DRAMA

Even the sudden, dramatic arrival of Faris, the God of Sirens, and Grace, the Demon of Vampires, wasn’t shocking enough to put an end to the birthday kids’ battle. Sierra and her friends kept on playing like they didn’t have a care in the world.

Sometimes, I really envied them.

“What are you doing here?” I said, hurrying over to my parents.

“I am here to see my granddaughter,” Faris said stiffly. He set a perfectly-wrapped box next to the gift table. It was covered in shiny pink metallic paper with animated, enchanted illustrations of dragons and unicorns all over it.

“What’s in the box?” I asked him.

“Probably a statue of Faris,” Grace said with a soft, breezy chuckle.

Faris pivoted sharply toward her. “It is obviously not a statue of me. That would never fit in such a small box.”

Faris’s present was larger than the whole gift table. I didn’t comment on that. I did, however, make a mental note to tell Alec to examine the present very closely before giving it to Sierra. I trusted Faris about as far as I could throw him—which wasn’t very far thanks to his abnormally large head.

“I also brought Sierra a present,” Grace said smoothly.

She set her present on top of Faris’s. It was much smaller than his, no larger than a matchbox, but the wrapping paper was identical, right down to the gregarious unicorn who was rallying the other illustrated creatures into a boisterous singing round of ‘Happy Birthday’.

“Great minds think alike,” she commented to Faris with a coy wink.

“Ridiculous,” he huffed, turning toward the ballroom entrance.

My cousin Stash was here too, along with my cousin from the dark side, Aerilyn. Decked out in full heavy armor—and fully armed—Stash and Aerilyn had to duck and turn to squeeze themselves through the balloon arch.

“Heya, Leda,” Aerilyn greeted me with a heavy thump on the back. “Sorry we’re late. We didn’t warrant a dramatic entrance.” She rolled her eyes at my parents’ backs; they’d turned to accept gourmet mini pizzas from a passing server.

“What is this food?” Faris asked, narrowing his eyes at the mini pizza in his palm.

Grace nibbled a tiny piece off the appetizer. “Delicious,” she said, licking her lips.

Then Faris took a bite. “Indeed.” He took another. “These pastries would make an excellent addition to the gods’ next banquet.”

Score another point for Tessa. Her menu wasn’t just fit for an angel; it was fit for a deity.