Page 3

Odessa

“ T heo, you’re not listening. I don’t have a choice.

” My fiancé of two years sat across from me looking angrier than I’d ever seen him, and I’d known him my whole life.

His dark brown eyes were rimmed red with tears and there was a new hole in the wall of my parent’s living room that left its mark on his knuckle.

“I can’t just run away. They would track me down and kill me for deserting.

Then they’d slaughter my family. That’s how it works.

I’m not risking my family for a miniscule chance at freedom. ”

“Better them than you. You won’t survive this, Dessy.

You’re too mild mannered and timid. Which I love about you, but it doesn’t serve your best interests when trying to survive in Nocturne.

You know the stories as well as I do about what goes on down there.

Do you really think you could kill another person? ”

His words were all ones I’d thought myself but hearing him doubt me like this felt wrong.

Like a slap across the face, making my stomach sour and my anger rise.

I could never do something to put my own family in danger, even if there were a way out and I could escape.

Their lives meant more to me than my own.

He should know that about me by now. Deserting was a sure way to have the gods condemn us all.

Even Theo. They’d go for anyone close to me.

“I think people never know what they’re capable of until they’re faced with no other option.”

“Don’t be naive, Odessa. That sounds like a lie you’re telling yourself to make yourself feel better. To play in Nocturne is to sign your death to the gods, and you know it.”

I swallowed hard as he jumped up to pace the length of my family’s living room.

He’d been here plenty of times before, but I felt as if I were seeing him clearly for the first time.

Our parents had pushed us together, and we were on track to get married after graduation.

They’d arranged our union early on in my life, and I’d always known we would end up together.

While my feelings for Theo were true, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more that I was missing.

Some vital experience that a carefully planned life wouldn’t offer.

My fingers twisted the simple ring with a small diamond that he’d given me two years ago when he’d asked for my hand. It felt tight around my skin.

“Theo, there’s nothing that can be done. You know that. I don’t wish to leave on bad terms, please.”

His face looked crestfallen. “You’re right. Why don’t I take you to the gods’ temple? We could pray for your safe return from the gods.”

Internally, I felt annoyed by his suggestion.

Theo knew that I adamantly avoided that place at all costs.

The knowledge of how the gods played with our lives like we were nothing more than their playthings irked me.

I’d never been one to give my loyalty to the gods, but my family and his were staunch believers.

I knew it upset Theo that I didn’t hold the same beliefs, and he was praying that one day I would.

I didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

He sat next to me then. He was so close that I could feel the body heat and anger wafting up from him. But it was the look on his earnest face swayed me to agree.

“Fine. We can go.”

He grabbed me by my hand, his fingers fitting awkwardly against mine, as we set out down the road with the sun quickly setting behind us.

My legs were burning from climbing up all the stairs to the highest point in all of Paris.

It was said that before the gods took over our world, us mere mortals created false gods to whom these buildings once belonged to.

All evidence of them had been long wiped clean and the buildings were rebuilt with respect to the real gods that now ruled over us.

The legend was that the gods had come down from the heavens after witnessing our strife amongst each other, in order to bring peace to our lands.

They’d managed to set up a perimeter around our city, closing the gates off to any outsiders.

To get into our borders, their approval must be given, and it wasn’t given easily.

Personally, I didn’t like the idea of being cut off from the rest of the world.

But the gods had most people believing that it was for our own good.

Many who lived in my city had become fearful of the outsiders because of their beliefs.

We were constantly being told news of another war, another attack, another close call that the gods had saved us from.

Our newspapers were littered with such headlines.

Though, the more I paid attention to the gods actions, the more I wondered about the validity of their statements.

Especially once I found a few books that told a completely different story.

I’d once discovered an atlas hidden in the school’s library where it showed images of what the world used to look like.

My city was practically untouched from the photos it showed, but seeing the places outside of here was like peeking into the forbidden.

There was so much beauty and wonder that had existed in far off lands.

I wondered if it was still true. If there really was such a thing as a Grand Canyon, or Cliffs of Moher, the Taj Mahal.

I’d never told anyone what I had found and tucked the book back right where I’d found it.

When I came back to look again a week later, it was gone.

Then there were the journals of a monk that had jotted down what he called an invasion that had been printed and plastered all over our school’s walls.

I’d only read a few paragraphs before they were ripped down and Jenson Hellips was escorted off the premises, never to be seen or heard from again.

We knew that to question anything, would result in our same fate.

So, I kept my reservations mostly to myself.

Theo, however, had picked up on my lack of enthusiasm when it came to discussing the gods.

He said he pitied my lack of faith, but was willing to commit to me anyways, certain that with time and prayer that I would change.

We had an obligation to our parent’s wishes after all.

The Sacré-C?ur, or the gods’ temple, looked over all of Paris.

It was a steadfast reminder of the gods’ control, and the way that it leered over the city made us feel how insignificant we were in comparison.

But I had to admit that climbing the steps to the temple granted us a breathtaking view of the city below.

Theo barely glanced over at me as we walked together, which was fine by me. His attitude over the summonings had pissed me off. It’s not like I chose to be summoned. It was out of my control, and if I did have a choice, obviously, I wouldn’t be going.

The temple was cold and nearly empty by the time we arrived— I assumed due to preparation of tomorrow’s celebrations.

It was an imposing structure with a large dome cutting into the quickly darkening sky above, and two smaller domes cast on each side.

Inside was lined with lifelike carvings of all the gods, all made to be twice the height of a mortal.

Dia, The Goddess of Spring, Axis, The God of War, Symph, The Goddess of Music, and so on were all placed in succession along the walls, looking down at their doting subjects.

All exquisitely made with care and exceptional detail.

The statues were depicted with a golden mask that represented their power.

The same kind of masks we’d be forced to choose between come tomorrow.

My stomach twisted anxiously as I contemplated which I would be saddled with as I passed them all.

Would it be the power to grow flowers, or the power of strength?

The power of invisibility, or even necromancy to move the millions of bones buried in the catacombs?

I took a long breath in to calm my quickly spiraling thoughts.

As I walked by silently, I noticed there were some statues that had been left offerings at their base.

Flowers, jewelry, meaningless trinkets to beg for their favor.

The largest of all the statues was of course Reaper, The God of Death, who was said to be the most powerful of all the gods.

His statue was featured prominently in the middle of a dais with a ray of light illuminating the stone.

It looked as if he had been frozen in time for how lifelike the carving was.

Like any moment he might blink and break free.

The chiseled abs were on full display with nothing but a scrap of fabric covering his lower front.

There was one notable difference with his statue. Where the other deities were left tokens and offerings, some with so many that they were spilling onto the floor, his base where offerings should be, was bare.

I don’t know what made me do it other than it felt wrong to see his left out in such a way, but I found myself kneeling at the bottom of his statue, head bowed and uttering the words of respect.

“Oh God of Death, the mighty, powerful, and revered, please grant me the desires of my heart.” I slipped off the bracelet on my left hand that I’d always worn.

It was made with small round beads of moonstone that were held together by a black string.

The stones clinked loudly in the empty church as they dropped onto the statue’s empty offering bowl.

“It’s bad luck to invoke the God of Death, Dessa. Gods, you should know that,” Theo chided me, gripping me hard by my elbow.

“For someone so concerned about the gods, you sure don’t seem too concerned to be cursing in their temple,” I spat back, my irritation at an all-time high. “I didn’t even want to come here in the first place, and now you’re mad at how I chose to show my devotion?”