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His movement was slow as he raised a finger to the large shelf that reached the ceiling of the space without a second floor.

The shelf was behind the desk in an area that resembled a schoolroom, where numerous tables were set with a few other people reading.

Its only difference was the large cushioned chairs and couches placed along the glass walls.

I set out in search of anything with promising titles, luckily finding three thick leather-wrapped books that smelled musty and showed signs of aging. Both their looks and names gave me hope of finding something worthwhile, or at least new to me.

The first one, The Golden Age of the Gods , was a book describing five of the gods and goddesses. On the inside of the front cover had an hand painting depicting most of them together, each in their own throne and dressed in various amounts and colors of sheets.

At the far left in green was Tolios, God of Nature. His skin was dark, but his eyes were strikingly light, which drew away the attention from the rest of his decently attractive face. Although he had a stern expression in the picture, something told me that he was anything but stern.

Beside Tolios was Nyhena, Goddess of Beauty, who held hands with the former.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, with pink flowers that matched her sheet, decorating her shiny blond hair that draped around the soft features of her peachy face.

It was clear that the image of her was done patiently, as her features were so vivid that I could sense the kindness coming from her through the page.

The feeling I got was what I’d always imagined I would feel if I had a mother.

Next to her was Madite, Goddess of Strength.

Although still feminine, she had large muscles persistent throughout her legs and arms that were mostly uncovered through her dark blue sheets.

Paired with her voluminous black hair, they contrasted against her pale skin.

The black ink of a large snake wrapping around her exposed leg caught my eye, but didn’t stand out when compared to the man beside her.

Xaros, the God of War, had loads of inked images coating his tan skin beside the black drapes upon him.

His stern look was not a ploy to hide any caring or kindness underneath like Tolios.

No, this was the look of a man who wanted evil and pain—he thrived on it.

His features, while absolutely stunning, sent a shiver down my spine as if he were truly staring at me.

At last, my gaze shifted to the final painted God, Aaldir, the God of Death.

His drapes were gray, an emotionless color to match his emotionless expression.

It was haunting to look at. The dark features that intensified the look, and had my stomach twisting into knots, for some unexplainable reason also seemed comforting.

His eyes looked so devoid of life and spirit—like the one usually staring back at me in the mirror—setting him apart from the others.

The rest of the book described their rule over the world, accompanied by other gods who were unable to be pictured. Their names, at any rate, sounded more familiar: Phythys—Goddess of the Moon; Vyros—God of Fortune; and Irbris—God of Health.

It wasn’t until I got to the next book, The Dawn of Sedonia , that the creation and revolution was described.

The book depicted a time, hundreds of years ago, where nothing existed.

Not even the physical forms of the gods.

It was said that they created Sedonia, seeking a place to be worshiped.

Then they created the humans, in hopes that the mortal beings would be eternally grateful and loyal to them.

But that eternity was ‘short-lived’. After nearly six hundred years, the humans rebelled against the gods.

There wasn’t anything explaining how the gods were bested, only that they were for a short time before they regained enough strength to wipe out the city they ruled from.

After that, they all went into hiding. But they did not do so without leaving a punishment for the humans—the fae and mythical monsters.

With the army of fae being stronger and more godlike, the entire human race soon after became enslaved by them.

That was until some of the fae began falling in love with the humans, which eventually led to a second uprising approximately three hundred years after the first. Leaving those who did not choose to mix their races each on their own islands.

All while the rest stayed on the continent, splitting into three territories so there could be five separate kingdoms in total.

The third book, The History of the Battles and Bloodbaths , provided nearly the same exact information.

The only difference was that it further explained how each of the gods and goddesses ruled and executed their enemies.

Most of the methods were sickening and had me wanting to close the book until something caught my eye.

The breath of the chosen does not falter,

Although the Sparrow’s vitality may crack,

Let it be seen that their path does not alter,

For they are the one bloomed from black.

My brows knit in confusion as I tried to decipher what it could mean. I’d never been one to understand riddles or puzzles, and this one for sure stumped me. Could it be about the last revolution? Maybe there was someone that led to the end of it.

I looked up when my stomach began to growl to find that the large windows were filled with reds and pinks of the setting sun. Deciding to take Nessy up on her offer to have dinner, I got up and tucked the last book under my arm, before walking to the dining room where I hoped Nickolai was far from.