Page 28 of Gods and Graves

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

RAFAEL

N obody has ever asked me about my past before, about my family. Granted, the only people I can stand spending time with are the guys—and they already know everything about me—but it’s the thought that counts.

A part of me wants to tell Thea everything. Wants to describe my childhood with a single mom who worked herself to the bone and three younger siblings. My mom died just over one hundred years ago, but my siblings are still alive. Most of them have kids of their own.

I keep watch over them from time to time. Protect them when necessary. Hurt anyone who dares to harm them.

But I’ve never shown my face—not once.

Would my younger siblings even recognize their brother after all these years? They have wrinkles adorning their skin and gray in their hair. I’m still…young. And I’ll remain as such until something kills me.

I always thought I would be the first of my team to go. Everett calls me reckless, unhinged, psychotic. Maybe that’s all true, but before Thea, I didn’t have a reason to care about my life or the lives of others. I simply went through the motions, half-heartedly attempting to survive.

Now…

Now I have a reason to fight. To live. To wake up in the morning. And that reason is a five-foot woman with golden hair, a beatific smile, and a laugh that makes the ice around my heart thaw.

Thea is mine.

I think I knew it from the first moment I saw her—when she materialized out of thin air with a battle cry that reverberated through my bones. And I was absolutely certain of that truth when I watched her fall apart in the shower, two of her tiny fingers deep in her pussy.

I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I didn’t even think it was possible for me to feel this deeply for someone.

I would be the first to admit I don’t entirely understand emotions.

Sympathy, empathy… What’s the difference?

I learned how to mimic what others were doing, hoping no one would glance at me too closely and notice anything’s amiss.

Then, I gave up on pretending. Why did I care what people thought about me?

That isn’t to say I’ve never cared about anyone before. I love my family, in my own way, and my teammates.

But Thea…

The girl is so fucking cute. I loved her triumphant smile when she “tricked” the statues into revealing the truth. She seems to have forgotten that I have the ability to detect when someone is lying or not.

But I let her have her moment.

I would let her have anything, if she asked.

What is it about her? How can I have fallen so quickly for someone I barely know?

Is it fate? Something else? I don’t believe in love at first sight, but how else can I explain the almost desperate need I possess to look after her?

To own her? To care for her, the way I’ve never cared for anyone before?

My pulse quickens the second we step into a chamber at the end of the passageway. The air is thick with something—something wrong.

I whip my head around just in time to see Zaid position Thea protectively behind him.

“Hello, my friends,” a voice croaks from in front of us. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

A woman steps forward, her frail hands resting on a cane. Her hair is as white as freshly fallen snow, and her skin resembles cracked porcelain. She’s blind—I can tell from her milky-white eyes—but there’s something in the way she holds herself, an awareness that goes beyond sight.

We stop a few paces away from her, and my gaze flickers to the golden plaque above her head. My throat tightens as I read the words carved in the stone: The wise speak when they know and listen when they don’t.

What the fuck?

What vague bullshit is this?

I glance at Zaid, but he’s staring at the woman with a furrowed brow, confusion evident on his face.

Thea attempts to take a step forward, but Zaid pulls her back. She tries again, and when it’s apparent there’s no escaping Zaid’s iron-like grip, she huffs out a breath and smiles at the woman instead.

“Hello! You don’t look too scary, do you? My name is?—”

“You’re Thea,” the woman says simply, removing one hand from the top of the cane in a sweeping gesture. “And the four dashing men with you are Rafael, Everett, Krystian, and Zaid.”

Everett growls and takes a threatening step towards her. “How the fuck do you know that?”

“Because I know everything, young shifter.” A toothy grin curves up her lips. “I am the Oracle of Delphi, and I can answer any questions your heart may desire.”

“An oracle?” Thea breathes from behind me. “Like, someone who can see the future?”

The oracle’s sharp but blind eyes land on my little bird, and my hackles lift.

“I know you have a lot of questions, my dear. Ask away. I may be of some assistance to you.”

“Wait! Don’t!” Zaid shouts, and I realize he has his hand over Thea’s mouth, keeping her from speaking. She struggles futilely in his grip, but he doesn’t loosen, his desperate eyes flicking from face to face. “The inscription… The wise speak when they know and listen when they don’t.”

“So we need to listen to the oracle?” Everett surmises, frowning.

Zaid shakes his head adamantly. “I think the trick here is not listening to the oracle. Showing restraint. If we were to start asking her questions, we would receive misleading answers that could guide us down a route we can’t return from.”

Thea finally wiggles away from Zaid and turns to glare at him. “Okay, first, your hand smells good. I kind of wanted to bite it.”

Um…okay?

Fuck, I love it when my little bird gets feisty. It makes me hard.

“Second, this may be the only way of getting answers. Who knows what Athena will tell us…or if she will even tell us anything worthwhile? The oracle has answers, answers we need.”

“Oracles are known for being vague intentionally,” Krystian points out, raking a hand through his white-gold hair. “I think I need to take Zaid’s side on this one. It’ll be best if we just ignore her and continue on our way.”

“You have to remember that this is a test, Thea,” Zaid says gently, beseeching her with his eyes to listen and understand. “Everything about this maze is designed to test our intelligence and strength.”

“I’m not an idiot, Zaid,” Thea snaps.

Zaid seems taken aback by her sharp tone. “I know you’re not.”

“You guys are all forgetting that this is about me. I should be allowed to make decisions concerning myself.” She jabs a finger at her chest for emphasis.

“There’s no ‘you’ anymore,” Everett growls, moving to stand directly behind Thea, so close that his chest brushes against her back with every exhale. “The second we agreed to help you—the second we made you an honorary member of our team—that ‘you’ turned into an ‘us.’ We make decisions together.”

All of us stand in stunned silence, unable to believe the words leaving Everett’s mouth. My brows crawl upwards in disbelief.

My, my… It seems as if our gruff, growly shifter has a heart after all. I always knew Thea would wear down his defenses. I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

When Everett sees us gawking at him, he bares his teeth. “Fuck off.”

“So we take a vote?” Krystian asks, his gaze flicking towards the grinning oracle.

“All those who want to ask the oracle questions, raise your hands,” Zaid says.

Thea’s hand automatically lifts, and after a moment, mine does too.

She’s right. For all we know, Athena will give us no answers. But if this oracle can tell us something, anything, about Thea’s origins and how she’s able to remain in a physical form…

Zaid’s lips purse when he sees my hand up, but he doesn’t call me out. Instead, he says, “And all those in favor of continuing along?”

Krystian, Everett, and Zaid all raise their hands.

Thea frowns, appearing discouraged, and Krystian quickly moves towards her.

“It’ll be okay, love. Athena will have answers. I know she will.”

“Are you sure about that?” The oracle tilts her head to the side, strands of white hair reflecting off the flickering torches.

“Or will you just receive more questions? Don’t you want to know where you came from?

Who you are?” The creature’s white gaze flicks towards me.

“I can see the wheels in your head turning, Rafael. What questions do you have for me?”

I bite down on my lip hard enough to draw blood, that one move filling my magic reserves and making power spark in my fingertips.

This whole damn Labyrinth feels like it’s leading somewhere dangerous, and I can’t stand the thought of Thea falling into whatever trap Athena has set out for us.

The oracle’s head tilts, like she’s sensing my thoughts, and her lips twitch into a barely there smile. The sight makes my stomach twist.

“Rafe, don’t,” Zaid warns.

“Harm will come to her, Rafael,” the oracle continues, nodding towards a door behind her. “Come into my room, dear. Let me tell you your future. Let me tell you how to save her.”

Harm will come to her.

Harm will come to her.

I turn to look at Thea, my heart hammering in my chest, and the world narrows down to just her. She’s the one who keeps me tethered to this world, to sanity. I won’t let something happen to her. I can’t.

Before I can move, I hear Everett’s voice—low, firm, a warning. “Rafe.”

I don’t want to listen. I can’t. I need to know what the oracle is talking about. It’s the only way I can protect my little bird.

Maybe this is a trap. Maybe I’ll be trapped in this damn maze forever.

Does it even matter, if it means Thea is safe?

Zaid’s hand catches my arm with unexpected strength, pulling me back. I haven’t even realized I started walking in the oracle’s direction.

“Rafe, let it go,” he says, his tone gentle but urgent. “Trust me. Please. We’re not supposed to ask questions. Just ignore her and move on.”

I try to pull away, my teeth gritted, my pulse pounding in my ears.

She’s going to get hurt, and it’ll be all my fault.

Everett grabs my other arm, his fingers digging into my skin. “Rafe! Don’t!”