Page 24

Story: Kiss of Death

The others slowly settle into their seats, with my mom sitting at the far end of the table with two empty seats beside her. Brenden, Cassian, Donovan, and Nex sit on one side of the table, while Wraith sits with the horsemen on the other side. Beside them, I’m surprised to see the ferryman. His dark cloak is still pulled over his head, but he nods toward me when my eyes pause on him.

Shaking my head, I find Celeste at his side with a strange woman beside her. Opposite them are Diana, Melody, and Warren. Beside them are two men and then Nyx, whose name I recognize. She’s the goddess of the night. I believe she’s the goddess most vampires follow—if they even believe that the gods exist. So many people in the world have stopped believing in the gods.

Which isn’t important right now, is it?

I turn my gaze to the opposite side of the table to find two men surrounding a woman.Four of these unfamiliar faces must be the remaining gods.

“As I’m sure you picked up, this is Nyx, the goddess of the night. Beside her is her consort, Erebus, the god of darkness and shadows. On his other side is Cerberus—”

“Cerberus?” I ask, cutting him off. “As in the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld?”

The man in question lifts his brows as he smirks. “Do I look like I have three heads?”

Tell me why my eyes fall to the table hiding his crotch. At least I don’t blush since the embarrassment is there and gone again.

Cerberus throws his head back as he laughs. His brown hair is thick and falls down his back like a lion’s mane. He’s not classically handsome like most of the other men in this room, but that doesn’t make him any less attractive. “I like the way you think—Audrey, was it?”

“Yes.”

Not daring to meet his eyes, I run my eyes over Erebus instead. Whereas Nyx’s skin is pale, Erebus’s is as dark as her hair. His hair is a shocking white as it spills over his shoulder and down his back. His eyes are the palest blue,almost white, and as soon as they meet mine, I tear my gaze away.

I’m not going to lie. Meeting gods is intimidating as hell.

“Cerberus is the guardian of hell and he does guard the gates into hell, but it’s not just him. He’s a hellhound shifter like your mate but bigger.” Lucifer points to the woman at Celeste’s side. “That’s Meg. She’s one of the furies. I know what you’re going to say, and no, they’re not gods. They’re demigods like the angels. They’ve just chosen a different path.”

“A path of vengeance, rage, and anger,” Meg says with a smirk as she brushes her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You would’ve made a fine addition to our numbers, Audrey, if you’d been born with a little more mortal blood.”

I need to remember not to fuck with her or the other furies. She’s terrifying.

“Beside her is Thanatos, the god of death, Hecate, the goddess of magic and witchcraft, and last, we have Hypnos, the god of sleep. Since there are no modern gods based on them, they’ve chosen to stick with their Greek aliases.”

I barely allow myself time to glance at them before my eyes find the floor once more.

“Of course you already know Charon.” Lucifer pauses. “Audrey, would you like to introduce your friends and mates?”

Fuck no, I don’t want to introduce them. Why does he want me to draw more attention to myself? I pull up my big girl panties and do what he asks.

“On the other side of Cerberus are Warren, Melody, and Diana. Diana and I were in the same class at the academy. Celeste, who’s beside Charon, was also in our class. The three of us were placed in the same dorm and remained close. Wraith, or Death, is one of my mates. I’m sure you’ve met him and Donovan. And probably Cassian, as he is one of the judges. Brenden’s my vampire reaper mate. Then there’s Nex.”

I glance up at Lucifer to find him smiling. “Thank you. Why don’t you take your seats beside your mom while I explain what’s going on?”

I want to scurry to my seat as the weight of the gods’ gazes sits on me, but I don’t have the energy for that. Instead, I plod my way over with Wren at my side. I take the seat beside Brenden while Wren moves around to sit beside Wraith.

Lucifer is still standing, filling everyone in on what’s been happening over the last few days, and I kind of tune out. It’s not like I don’t already know what happened—I was there for most of it.

My head lifts when someone takes my hand, and I look over at my mom, who’s frowning at me.

“Are you okay, honey?” she whispers.

It’s a whole lot harder lying to her than it is to Wren, so I shrug.

“Not really, but there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” I hesitate. “But thank you.”

Mom doesn’t look convinced, but why would she? It’s not like I told her I was fine. I admitted I wasn’t, so of course, she’s going to worry.

“So the angels are rebelling? Isn’t that quaint?” Meg snorts. “And the furies are the ones with the bad name. Make it make sense.”

“We all know that most of the angels are pompous jackasses who have their heads stuck so far up their asses that they can’t find their way out.” Cerberus chuckles. “There’s no way they’re all working together.”