Page 49

Chapter Forty-nine

Asteria

The mists of the portal surrounded me, becoming all I could see or feel for an infinite moment, expanded in time. White and black spun together like gossamer threads layered over top the other, becoming so thick there was no hope of seeing through them. But layer after layer began to be shed as we made our way through, until they disappeared entirely as we stepped through the portal. Entering the vast unknown for those who lived and breathed.

The City of the Gods.

I looked up, my fingers tightening around Calix’s, as I took in a sharp breath. I was unable to believe my eyes, sure they must be playing some trick on me.

This realm was… unreal .

The ground under my feet caught my attention right away. My feet shifted side to side, feeling it out. It was… fluffy? It reminded me of clouds, puffy and light, except that it was solid. There was even what I thought was grass. At least until I took a closer look.

“Are these…” I asked hesitantly, not able to voice the ridiculous thought.

“I think they might be diamonds,” Calix answered, sounding just as bewildered. “Just, well, green. They don’t look like emeralds.”

“Green diamonds? What the fuck?” I mumbled, and he barked a laugh.

“There’s no moon or sun, either,” he murmured. My neck nearly cracked I looked up so quickly. I couldn’t imagine living without the precious beasts that lit our world. But he was right. There was nothing up there—just a purple and blue sky, dark and light in parts, shifting in certain places between the two colors. No sun or moon hovered in the sky, giving the realm a strange cast.

I flinched as a dragon roared, and I looked up to the left where the sound came from, watching as a pink and green dragon swooped down and back up. It wasn’t alone either, with a blue and orange dragon following behind, chasing after it merrily.

They flew directly over a palace in the distance, one that seemed to glow against the blue-purple sky. Half of it was light, and half was dark, just like the kings. Two enormous main towers in each hue dominated it, with smaller towers reaching no more than three-quarters of their height. The black and white met in a hazy line down the center of the palace, and I was sure it was playing tricks on my eyes as it seemed to move.

“I guess we’re supposed to go there.” I pointed to the palace, and Calix nodded slowly.

“Most likely. Seeing as there was no welcoming committee,” he smirked when I managed a small but sincere laugh. This was too bizarre, but I was glad he was at least here to appreciate this strangeness with me.

There was a path just ahead that we quickly began down, following around the bends and turns. It had high walls as the landscape dipped and rose at strange angles. I couldn’t make sense of its layout in my head, but the path looked to be the only way toward the palace. And with the other dragons in the sky, flying wasn’t going to be necessarily safe either.

This realm didn’t seem to have the same brightly colored flora we’d seen in Elysium. Like the rest of the strange reality to this place, the flowers weren’t even really flowers. Strange wisps instead grew from the ground, with twinkling breaths of light that shifted from there to gone in a split second. The little wisps would appear on the side of the path one moment and be missing the next, before it blinked back into being again.

The trees I could make out in the distance weren’t any more familiar. The shape, the colors, none of it was like anything I had ever seen. The gold and white swirled trunks and dripping black inky mass on top might not even qualify as a tree as I knew it.

We hadn’t been walking down the path long before we stopped short. My mouth dropped open as we came upon a Pegasus lounging on one of the fluffy cloud-like spots of the ground. When it spotted us in return, it clambered to its legs, purple feathered wings flapping and its white coat gleaming.

And, most prominently, it had a horn on its head, coming straight out of its forehead at a slight slant—one that it seemed to be aiming straight at us for some reason.

“Do you see that?” I nudged Calix, voice hushed. “It looks like the Pegasus on Dusk’s sigil, with the horn. Cyrus doesn’t have that. Neither does Zerlina.”

A shrill cry pierced the air, and we ducked in alarm as fire soared too close over our heads. The ball of fire landed before us, slowly extinguishing its flames. A red and black phoenix stood protectively in front of the Pegasus, blocking the creature with its own bulk as it squawked protectively.

“We’re not here to harm,” Calix said soothingly, holding up his hand not locked with mine. “We’re here to see the gods.”

That shrill squawk was its only response as its head tilted to the side, like it was examining us. But it didn’t speak to us, didn’t shift, didn’t do anything. It didn’t seem Fae at all, just pure animal.

“Calix, are they even shifters?” I asked in a whisper as I tugged on his hand. He shook his head slowly, his lilac eyes creasing in thought.

“Perhaps not,” he responded, sounding vaguely befuddled. He looked around the landscape for a moment, but it was clear the only way to go was forward or back. The path lay in one direction, and I certainly didn’t want us getting lost in the damn city of the gods.

Calix tugged on my hand after a moment, leading us to the far wall of the path so we could edge around the creatures and continue on our way. The phoenix stayed with us, blocking the Pegasus from sight as it rotated. Clearly, it was very protective of the other animal. Strangely so.

“The Pegasus were said to once have horns,” Calix told me as soon as we were out of sight of them. “The rumor was they lost them through the years.” He paused for a moment, shaking his head, “That we all did, really.”

“What do you mean? Lost what?” I shook my head in confusion.

He smiled sadly at me. “Our magic—pieces of it, at least. It all ties back to the balance. As we shifted more to chaos over the years, we lost bits of our magic. We still had plenty, but the pure abilities our ancestors first had were long gone.”

“Huh,” I murmured, thinking it over. “I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. If that’s true, I wonder what kind of abilities they had then that we could have had.”

“Maybe we’ll find out,” Calix smirked mischievously at me, and I bumped my shoulder into his, or into his arm at least—I couldn’t reach his shoulder dammit, laughing slightly as I shook my head at him.

The palace loomed before us as we neared the front entrance, and I startled, finding another creature now blocking our path. It appeared out of nowhere—unnervingly silent for something so large. It snorted, leaning forward in a slight crouch and stomping a grey cloven hoof on the green gem-strewn ground it stood upon. The diamond held strong, not bending to its heavy step. I swear, this place didn’t make any sense.

“Minotaur,” Calix whispered, his eyes wide with shock. I looked the beast over, and I could see the resemblance to Titan’s form. The long horns and hooves, for sure. The creature also stood head and shoulders above a normal Fae, much like Titan did in his own Minotaur form. They looked a bit different, but then again, so did Calix and I in our own dragon forms.

“Why are you so shocked?” I whispered, baffled by his reaction. “Titan?—”

Calix shook his head furiously, silvery-white hair flying. It brought my attention to it, and I realized his hair looked somehow brighter in this realm, despite there being no moon in the dark sky to illuminate it.

“Titan is the only Minotaur shifter in our realm. There’s never been another documented. The creature was considered nothing but a myth once,” he explained, eyes cutting to me before going straight back to the dangerous-looking beast snorting at us angrily.

“Titan wasn’t born a Minotaur, but a dragon shifter. I had no idea until he told me the truth of his birth,” he said, and I gasped in shock, my free hand coming up to cover my mouth.

“I didn’t even think of that,” I admitted. “I was too focused on the rest of it.”

“Of course you were,” Calix reassured me softly, squeezing my hand in support. “He told me my great-grandfather brought him to the Oracle for help after he reached Night. The gods apparently accepted his request for aid, and helped hide him by changing his form.”

“Into a Minotaur. A previously thought mythological being,” I stated, trying to wrap my mind around it.

“Minotaur’s are guardians, protectors .” Another voice said, and my neck actually cracked as my head spun too quickly to face whoever spoke.

“We knew Titan would be a great guardian and protector to you both, and thus, granted his request with an appropriate form.”

Calix and I hit our knees at the same time, bowing our heads. Before us, two luminous beings stood. One emanating a glowing white light, and the other a pure black darkness that swallowed the light coming from the being next to him. The brief view I had of them was overwhelming. It was obvious they were something not of my world, something greater, with merely a glance.

“How does one address the kings of the gods?” I whispered to Calix, wishing I’d thought to ask earlier, but a bright laugh rang out around the space.

“No need for all of that right now.” I couldn’t see it, but I could swear the voice held a definite smile in it as it answered my question. “And no need for that any of that either. Please stand, both of you.”

Calix’s eyes met mine beneath the curtains of our hair, and I shrugged, unsure what else to do, before we slowly stood up. Cautious, wary… awed and mystified.

These were the godsdamned gods! The kings of them at that.

While they were taller than normal Fae, and more otherworldly for sure, they had the same pointed ears we did, and even fangs. Though theirs were significantly larger and more prominent. As if our fangs were the baby version of theirs.

“Welcome, daughter. Welcome, son.” They intoned together, smiles on their faces.

“We know it has been quite the journey to arrive here, but we are so pleased to finally meet you both.” The one lit up with white light said. “I am, of course, Earendel, your ancestor, Asteria.”

“And I am Erebus. Your ancestor, Calix.” The one emanating darkness added. His hair was long and black, but the tendrils moved like shadows, whereas Earendel’s was long and white, with strands made of pure light. Both had hair that glowed with their power, just like the rest of them. The very essence of light and dark made into physical form.

“It’s an honor to meet you both, Your Majesties.” Calix bowed his head quickly to them.

“Yes,” I added belatedly, mirroring him. “An honor. Majesties?”

Earendel looked amused, but another voice rang out before he could say or do anything. Thank… them . I couldn’t remember ever being so discombobulated, and that was saying something.

“I know you two aren’t starting without me.” It was a woman’s voice, and as she came into view, I had to stifle my gasp. She was emitting a silvery, starry light, just like my own power. As she came closer, I realized she was curvier and shorter than the two kings, though she still towered over me. She still had pointed ears and sharp fangs the other two sported, a common thread between us all.

“Of course not; we were merely welcoming them. They’ve come a long way.” Erebus told her with a raised eyebrow that sent a bolt of amusement through me despite my nerves. His eyes were pitch black and incredibly eerie. Looking at them felt like falling into the depths of the universe, with no landing in sight. Earendel’s weren’t much more comforting, glowing with bright, white light that was somehow more intense than looking into the sun.

But this woman, and there was truly only one woman she could be, had silver eyes full of swirling stars to match her hair, which fell to her waist and glowed with starlight that bounced around as she walked.

Asteria.

My lips parted in shock. Even when I was human, despite being so resentful of the Fae gods, I’d always been so curious about the goddess I was named for. And now, here she was, standing right in front of me.

It was a good thing Calix was so strong; otherwise, I’d have surely broken his fingers by now with how hard I was squeezing them.

“Asteria.” The goddess smiled serenely. “I have waited a great many years for you.” Her voice was almost playful, but I still wasn’t sure how to take that.

“Uh, sorry?” I winced, feeling supremely dumb in the presence of these ethereal beings. “It’s—it’s really great to meet you.” The halting words felt so lacking, but what else was I supposed to say?

She laughed merrily, but when she sobered, she stepped forward until she was standing right in front of me. Was this what my eyes looked like to others when I was emotional, I wondered? If so, I could see why Calix had trouble looking away.

She swatted at Calix’s arm playfully, making him release my hand. He hesitated, his full focus on watching Asteria’s movement toward me. It was sweet—but even he would be unable to stop them if they wanted to hurt me. I was fairly sure they wouldn’t, but the point remained. Our powers had been given to us by them, and I was positive using that power against them was the complete opposite of a good idea. Calix was smart, and he knew this well.

But his worry remained adorable.

Asteria grabbed both of my hands in hers, and I gasped at the feel of them. So Fae, and yet so different. They were smoother than mine, unblemished, and perfect in a way that was unnatural for anyone from our realm, like soft porcelain.

“We knew many years ago that the day would come when you would rise. These two over here,” she nodded toward the two kings, “Foresaw that much. I knew that I would eventually find the soul I would choose to bless with my power. When I did, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait for your parents to have you. Even if it took them forever .”

“It was a thousand years, not forever.” Erebus corrected her with a small smile, as if this was a familiar argument between them. Asteria rolled her eyes, making me snort unexpectedly. She leaned in like Priscilla or Ilta might do to share a secret with me.

“We can find souls when they are crafted by the fates, but we can’t always tell when they’ll be birthed into physical form. You certainly took your time; just ask your mate.” She winked at me, and I was startled into laughter.

“I think he’d definitely agree with that. But if I was born a thousand years ago, then he’d be the one making me wait, and that would just be unacceptable.” I dared to joke back, and was rewarded with a bright peal of laughter that reminded me of shooting stars.

“Oh, I knew we’d get along just fabulously!” She beamed as bright as the starlight surrounding her. “Come, come! Let’s go to the palace so we can explain everything. There’s a lot to cover and not very much time.”

“Why is that?” Calix asked, a tinge of alarm bleeding into his tone and stance. “Is something?—”

“Calm, son,” Erebus said soothingly, putting a hand on his shoulder and making Calix freeze up in astonishment. “Nothing so urgent you need to rush out. These things happen at the time they’re meant to.”

Well, that was ominous.

* * *

Walking into the palace, I couldn’t keep my eyes off my surroundings. I suddenly felt like that small human girl walking into Dusk for the first time once again. All wide-eyed shock and disbelief.

“This palace belongs to Earendel and Erebus. It’s where most of our work gets done, but each of us has our own palace within Tír na nóg,” Asteria informed me as she led us on.

“Tír na nóg?” I asked, having never heard the word before. It certainly sounded like it could have come from the ancient Fae language, but there was something that sounded even older in it.

“Oh yes, that’s the name of our land here. You didn’t think it was just called the city of the gods, did you?” She smiled, making it clear she knew perfectly well we had no idea either way. The gods— they kept it all suitably mysterious.

“The Otherworld is more vast than you might think, as is this city. It’s probably more apt to consider each of our domains within comparable to one of your kingdoms,” she explained, silver eyes sparkling at me.

“I wish you could see mine,” she added, sighing wistfully. “You’d love it. While this place is all darkness and light, mine is, of course, starlight. Much preferred, right?”

Looking between the gods, I felt like it was probably better not to agree either way.

“Ah, here we are!” Asteria said happily, as we reached the point where the two sides of the palace met. Darkness and light bled together at the edges, the two interweaving through one another. They reminded me of the same smoky wisps of inky mist from within the portals. This wasn’t paint or stone or anything like that. This was something… alive .

The double doors Asteria led us to had a white and a black door, with a giant circular handle like a full moon that crossed each door. The white door’s handle held the black half, while the black door contained the white side of the handle. Balanced perfectly.

Silver and gold runes glowed around the edges of the door, so similar to the front door of Tairngire’s palace, while star opal surrounded the circular handle in small dots. It was stunning and served as quite the statement piece for the hall we stood in.

As the doors opened, we entered what appeared to be a grand meeting hall. Front and center were two staggering thrones set up on podiums. There was a black throne that looked like it was made of living shadows. They snaked every which way, as if they were reaching out for you, curling around the armrests and draping to the ground. Over the backrest, the shadows reached for the sky, coming to small points at the edge of each. Star opals were set into the top of each shadow, making them sparkle.

Next to it sat a white throne that had a subtle glow to it. It had rays of white light circling over the back of the chair, and it appeared as if light was shining from the armrests and lighting up the floor underneath them. Onyx gems were set into the rays of light, mirroring how the shadow throne had brighter gems. A more subtle nod toward their balanced nature as dual kings of the gods.

On either side of the kings’ thrones, there were more podiums containing varied thrones that fanned out in a semi-circle beside them. Beyond the circle of thrones was seating for other beings in the rest of the hall. The seats faced the gods’ thrones directly, and there were so many extending out that I couldn’t see where they ended. They had an alternating black and white color pattern, upholstered in a fabric that seemed to be similar to silk, but with a softer hand.

I’d seen other people as we walked through the palace but hadn’t given them much thought. Now though…

“Who are the people who live here?” I dared to ask. “I assume they aren’t all gods?” There had to be others living here if this many seats existed, and there was a limited number of gods in the pantheon, even taking the gods of the other races into account.

“You’d be correct.” Earendel nodded, giving me a slight smile. “Some choose to serve us. They assist us with various tasks and keep this place running smoothly.”

“They give up rest in Elysium?” Calix asked, his brows lifting with surprise.

“Some,” Erebus confirmed. “Those who wish to serve us instead. Others are working off their sins and hoping for redemption. Working for us is much better than facing Tartarus, after all.”

“People can escape their punishment?” I all but mumbled, my heart seeming to freeze within my chest at the thought.

He could escape it.

“Not everyone,” Earendel assured me, taking a seat on his throne, facing us with a regal air that most kings and princes would kill to possess.

“Some are too far gone. Too dangerous,” Erebus agreed as he joined him, taking his own seat.

“And you are here to discuss one who is exactly that,” Asteria added, sitting down in a sparkling silver throne that had a surprising touch of light and dark to it. Silver rays that mimicked the sun rose above the back of it, each coming to a point that was topped with a sparkling star. A splash of darkness for the stars to shine against rose behind the throne in a deep shadow. I suppose it only made sense, as both were so intrinsically linked to her. It was why both Day and Night included her in the Blessed Trinity’s they prayed to.

“Yes, and that's why I asked you to join us here.” A voice said, and I turned to the door, my eyes widening to see more gods streaming in to fill the other seats. “You took your time.”

Arawn, God of the Dead and the Otherworld, stood before me once again. He had long brown hair, luminous pale skin, and bright red eyes. His fangs looked viciously long, and his hands were entirely bone. I flinched a bit at the sight, and the rest of his skin suddenly seemed to evaporate before my eyes, leaving a skeleton standing before me, red eyes glowing bright.

With a blink, he was whole again; only his hands remained bone, with no muscle or skin covering them.

“My apologies,” I croaked out. “Though I appreciate you not taking me into the Otherworld yourself.”

Arawn smirked very slightly, an approving look in his eyes. He gave me a regal nod before moving to sit on a throne made of blood and bone. It had been forged from pure white bones, with blood running in streams down them. But the blood never dripped off it, nor did it seem to bleed onto Arawn when he sat upon it.

The mysteries of the gods, I supposed.

“Asteria, fated Star Queen,” Earendel said, once all the gods were seated, leaving Calix and I surrounded by them. “We have waited many years for this time to come.”

The weight of every god’s gaze on me was immense. I shifted from foot to foot, anxiety creeping up, until Calix put his hand on my lower back, supporting me, reminding me that he was here with me.

“Why?” I forced out, my brows creasing. I still didn’t understand why I was so important.

“Chaos has been rising for many years,” Asteria chimed in, her voice reminding me of the beauty of a night sky streaked with stars. “We managed to suppress it once before, with the pact signed by the six Fae kings.”

I stood up straighter at that. I’d always wondered what had happened back then, when they signed the treaty to forge the kingdoms together, but since we learned of the prophecy in Sunset, I’d been even more ravenous for information.

“The kingdoms being constantly at one another’s throats had caused chaos to rise faster and further than was safe, so we had the Oracle intervene on our behalf. We ensured the kings of that time understood what was happening,” Erebus explained, sprawling back into his throne. “The prophecy foretold the destruction of the realms due to chaos, and they assumed it was about them. The vanity of men.” He shook his head slowly, as though exasperated.

“So it wasn’t about them?” A heavy feeling pressed down on my chest.

“No.” He smiled slyly. “It was always about you . That ceasefire bought us time, but the truth is: it was never going to last.” He finished, and I looked between the three gods directly before me.

“Why not?” I asked as evenly as I could manage, shaking my head in confusion. “And why me? Why now?”

“This is when the balance is the most critical, the closest we have come to falling into true chaos in a very long time,” Earendel elucidated. “This is more than the kingdoms feuding; this is a targeted plot. One only you can see us through now. You see, many years ago, there was another member of our pantheon.”

“What?” Calix exclaimed in shock. I turned to him and found his eyes wide and locked on the gods. Through the bond, it felt as if his whole world had been shaken with those words. Sympathy rose within me— I knew the feeling all too well.

“Yes,” Erebus confirmed, nodding grimly. “Cruach. He was the god of blood, and he was the patron god of the Vampyre race.”

“Wait—” I blurted, shock coursing through me. “Are you telling me that Vampyres were real ? I thought they were a myth!”

I looked to Calix to gauge his reaction, and he looked back at me, shaking his head slowly. He didn’t know they were real either, then. What the fuck?

“Yes, they were indeed,” Earendel confirmed with a nod and a sad smile. “When we first began to create, we all were… experimenting , let’s say.”

“The Elves, Dryads, Pixies, and Vampyres were all created then. All with different aspects of our own selves added to them. Eventually, we ended up creating a race in an entirely different way. One that was exactly what we’d been trying for and failing to accomplish with the others,” Erebus said in a heavy tone infused with regret.

“We had no problem with the other races continuing on despite perfecting what we were aiming for,” Earendel continued, and I felt vaguely insulted on behalf of the other races. “But the Vampyres were out of control. Their bloodlust was a scourge on the realms.”

“We were forced to banish them, for the safety of all. Cruach had grown just as bloodthirsty as his favorite creatures. He wanted to use the other races to continue feeding his Vampyres, making them the dominant race. And thus himself, the dominant god,” Erebus sneered, contempt flowing out of him just as his darkness did.

“We were forced to lock him away,” Asteria said, saddened but resolute. “Should he ever escape his prison, the realms would bleed, and chaos would reign forevermore.”

Fuck .

And here I thought Cyrus was the problem. Now, there’s a deranged and bloodthirsty god to deal with.

I felt a weird spike in the bond, and looked to Calix with a questioning look. His eyebrows were furrowed in thought, thoroughly distracted, so I grabbed his hand to bring his focus to me. His head turned to me, our eyes meeting, and the heavy look in his made my own brows crease.

“You’re talking about the Fae, aren’t you? The race you perfected. So if we have those same aspects you mentioned giving to the others…” Calix began, shifting his eyes to Erebus, but with a firm grip on my hand. “Does that mean the bloodlust…”

He trailed off, swallowing heavily as his eyes skittered away. The strangest feeling of… shame , ran through the bond.

“Ah.” Erebus smiled knowingly. “You’re worried your bloodlust in battle, and the different kind of bloodlust you feel in bed with your mate are part of this same corruption that took the Vampyres.”

Knowing how Calix battled with this part of himself, I gripped his hand back hard for support as I realized what was bothering him. I wished I could soothe his mind myself. I knew without a doubt he was nothing like them.

“Do not fear, Calix,” Asteria said soothingly. “While you may get parts of it from Cruach, as all Fae do in this way, it is not corrupted, not like it was in the Vampyres. In fact,” she smirked, raising a brow, “The blood sharing between mates used to be a sacred act. It went out of favor after Cruach tried breaking free, as we were forced to starve him of his strength. But now, it is too important to hold off. The blood sharing between the two of you will strengthen the bond you share.”

“Strengthen us?” I asked, extremely curious at that little fact. I remembered quite fondly the drive to drink his blood that had seemed so natural during sex. Even if it was utterly bizarre in the aftermath, I had never felt anything so right either.

“Yes,” The goddess nodded in confirmation. “The two of you must share blood and complete the bond in this way to unlock your full potential.”

“What does that mean?” Calix jumped in, the crease in his brow betraying his concern. “I’ve never heard of mates sharing blood to complete the bond. Most mated couples?—”

“Are not you,” Erebus interrupted. “You two must complete the bond. It will be vital for what is to come.”