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.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24 (Reading here)
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83