Page 33 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

Gods And Fire

LEELA

S hantivan was a strange island with a tropical vibe.

White sands and rocky terrain on the outskirts, melted to lush green grass and spiky verdant trees.

It was warmer here than anywhere I’d been so far in Svargana.

But the weather was temperamental. Blazing heat one day and pissing it down the next.

But once the storm passed, the sun would be out once more, and the day would grow humid and balmy again.

Blue would have loved it here. The sand, the sea, the people. He would have been in his element. It was still strange not waking up to his whiskery kisses.

He would have loved the fact that here, humans lived alongside djinn in dwellings that sat side by side—squat white buildings with thatched roofs and smoking chimneys.

The tiny village had no name as it was the only village on the island.

There was no electricity, but there was running water, and that was good enough.

The demigods and their drohi were housed on the east side of the village in a two-story barracks-style building, and once again, Araz and I were sharing a room.

On the other side of the village was the drohi base—warriors stationed here to protect the people from devouring force attacks by keeping the sea space around the island safe so the natives could fish.

At present, the warriors were on the neighboring island of Jvalantar but would be returning tomorrow and bringing the Shattiraksha with them.

As Araz and I trudged through the lantern-lit village, I couldn’t help but wonder why the Shattiraksha couldn’t protect this island without drohi to ride them?

They were battle creatures—large, vicious, and powerful, from what I’d heard.

I’d yet to see one. Tomorrow was the big reveal.

But yeah, why did they need drohi stationed here?

“What are you thinking?” Araz asked softly.

“Nothing, just excited to see the temple.”

He was silent for several beats before asking, “Why are you so eager to see it?”

I’d been asking myself the same question every time the urge rose. “I don’t know, I just…felt like it.”

He looked toward the mountain ahead. The village was built at its base, as if paying it homage. The temple was halfway up, clearly visible even at night, lit up from the inside and glowing like a fiery jewel.

Something inside me tugged, and my stomach broke out in butterflies. “I bet it’s beautiful.”

“I’m sure it is,” Araz said flatly.

Annoyance licked at my belly. “You didn’t have to come with me. Ramashi was happy to take me.”

“You want to go with him?” he snapped.

“I want to go with someone who also wants to go, not a moody lug with a scowl on his face.” I picked up my pace, anger simmering in my stomach. “Just go back to the barracks. I can find my own way.”

I felt his heat at my back a moment later, and then his voice, smooth and warm like honey filled my senses. “I’m sorry.”

I turned to look at him as he came abreast of me, and the sincerity in his eyes melted my anger. I sighed, letting the irritation go. “I don’t understand. If you really hate the idea of going, why offer to…” Realization bloomed and, gods, I was such an idiot. “Are you jealous of Ramashi?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

I blinked up at him. Wow, he hadn’t even tried to deny it.

“I know I have no right to be,” he continued. “You and I agreed to be friends. But I cannot help it.”

His words wrapped around my heart, echoing exactly what I’d been feeling. “Oh, Araz, I’m so sorry you felt that way. I have no interest in Ramashi…not romantically anyway.”

“I know,” he said. “Jealousy is an irrational mistress.” He cracked a smile. “I have a mistress.”

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”

“Why? Are you jealous now?”

I smiled up at him. “I’m not delusional.”

His eyes darkened. “I suppose not.” He tore his gaze away from me and fixed it back on the mountain. “I hope you like steps.”

My thighs burned by the time we got to the temple, but the sight of the magnificent gold and cream structure made me forget about my screaming muscles.

There was a hush in the air here, a sense of otherness that slowed my step and tightened my chest. The sweet scent of incense drifted out from between heavy wooden doors, the warm glow inside inviting us to enter.

I went first, stepping over the threshold onto white marble floors and into the heart of a chamber made of walls inlaid with gold, thick stone pillars connected to an arched framework that held up the ceiling.

Patterns swirled above, soft sweeping strokes that hid stars and flames, and in the center of the chamber built into the marble floor was a huge golden spiral.

I counted eleven rings, and in the final ring, right in the center, a fire pit burned—flames blue at the base and crimson at the edges.

But there was no smoke. No heat radiating from it, not that I could feel anyway.

I stepped onto the spiral, and goosebumps broke out over my skin. A low vibration climbed up my legs and settled beneath my ribs. The flame flickered and stretched as if in welcome.

It wasn’t natural, but it was…beautiful.

“Leela!” Araz grabbed my wrist, and I blinked up at him, then down at my hand, outstretched as if to touch the flame.

“Do you want to lose your hand?” Araz held my wrist so tightly that the hard metal of his ring pressed into my skin.

The cool band heated, and I sucked in a breath, pulling away from his grasp.

He shook out his hand, his brows pinching. “What were you thinking?”

“I…I don’t know…” I moved closer to him. “I didn’t mean to.”

But his attention was on the flames now, blue shadows dancing in his eyes. “They say Iblees placed this flame here, eons ago. That it was his gift to the people of Shantivan for…something…I don’t know what. But this flame has supposedly burned for centuries. No need to feed it fuel.”

“And you say you don’t believe in Iblees?”

“I don’t believe he was God, or the first. Maybe a powerful djinn.

A prophet to the people in time of need.

One that history rewrote into a god. If he was God, if he was divine, then he would have saved my people…

His people.” Araz broke away from me and circled the flame, his gaze intense.

“He would have been reborn, just as he promised he would.” His eyes narrowed, his gaze flicking to the spiral then back to the flame.

“There’s no denying there’s power here. That this flame is indeed something extraordinary, but there are many extraordinary artifacts in this world.

” He backed away, absently playing with the ring on his finger.

“Come, let’s look around a little before we head back. ”

We spent the next few minutes studying the etchings on the wall. I counted eleven battle scenes before I came to an etching of two flames, leaning toward each other. And beneath it was an inscription that I couldn’t read.

“Araz, what does that say?” I pointed to the words.

He leaned in to read it. “Now that I have found you it ends, and it begins. For eternity.”

Shadows danced across the wall, and I looked back at the spiral and the flame, but it was burning steadily. Not a flicker.

“O-kay…what does it mean?”

“I have no idea.” Araz sighed. “But we should get back. You need to get a good night’s sleep before your introduction to the Shattiraksha tomorrow.”

“Good point.”

He led me from the temple, his hand steady at the small of my back, but as I passed the spiral and the flame, I knew that I’d be back. This place…it held a steady resonance that felt almost like home…