It was… impossible, a miracle. And yet, as she watched, she noticed a stiffness to their movements.
So maybe they still have more healing to do.
Her body ached as she pulled back the covers and slipped from the bed.
The Goddesses of Winter and Spring glanced up at her from where they crowded near the fire.
“The angel’s awake,” The Goddess of Winter said.
Her words had an immediate effect on the room. All eyes turned to her, with a mixture of relief and unease.
Adan, the God of the Earth, left the kitchen and came to stand in front of her. “My wife?”
Her heart lurched, and she shook her head.
For a minute, a look of pure pain came over his face, and then it disappeared. “Humans always go too fast.”
The Goddess of Winter moved closer, and Surcy felt an immediate chill. “I wish to speak with you. In private.”
Surcy almost groaned. What could this be about now?
Wincing, she followed the goddess outside. To her shock, the God of Sin followed too. The other Immortals stared at them as they passed, and there was an unspoken tension she didn’t understand.
On the porch, they sat around a little table, no one speaking for a time.
At last, the God leaned back, exhaling loudly. “We fucked up.”
She raised a brow in confusion.
“Caine, the bastard. The monster who tortured all of us for so many lifetimes. The man who screwed up every fucking realm. He’s our son.”
Her brain stopped. She looked between the two of them.
The Goddess of Winter stared out at the sky, her gaze troubled. “It was one night of pleasure. We convinced ourselves when I got pregnant that he couldn’t possibly be the father." She gestured to the God of Sin as she spoke. "We’d had many other partners, and the coupling of Gods had never before resulted in a pregnancy.”
“But we were wrong,” he said. “We didn’t know it until it was too late. We kept him in the fortress. We watched him carefully. He showed more power than our demi-god children, but not much. We didn’t know until he attacked what he was capable of.”
Okay… that was unexpected.
“Why are you telling me all of this? I know he’s your son, but you know we still have to kill him, right?”
He laughed. “Of course you have to kill him. He’s a monstrous mistake that we both regret terribly.”
The Goddess of Winter spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I thought if I was kind to him. If I was patient with him. That even if he was… our child, he wouldn’t be the wretched creature that the Fates warned about.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “But there was always evil within him, I just didn’t see it.”
He sneered. “It wasn’t entirely our fault. It was about the balance. If she hadn’t have been so pure and good—“
“There is no one to blame for this but us,” the goddess interrupted, her words like a slap.
Tension sliced between the two Immortals. Zagan looked as he really wanted to say more, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I’m sorry,” Surcy said, not knowing what else to say.
The Goddess seemed not to hear her. “We just wanted you to know that he’s more dangerous than you ever imagined. When the time comes, we have to kill him without hesitation.”
Surcy opened her mouth to offer some reassurance.
“Go,” the goddess whispered, but it wasn’t a command, more like a plea.
Surcy turned back to the door, but looked at them one last time. The God of Sin had moved to stand behind her, even though they didn’t touch. A single tear slid down the goddess’s face, but froze midway on her cheek.
What must it be like to know your child is evil? And to know he’ll be killed? Her heart twisted, and she slipped back inside.
The cabin was strangely quiet, as if the Immortals were lying about preparing for war in some unseen way. She went to the kitchen, ate and drank, then showered.
When she finished her shower, the Goddess of Winter and the God of Sin had returned to the room, each on different sides. All eyes turned to Surcy.
Uh oh.
“So what now?” The God of Night, a vampire with a hell of an attitude, asked. Something in his dark expression told her he was angry.
Surcy decided to just be direct. “We heal as quickly as possible, and we go back to fight.”
The vampire leaned back in his oversized chair and crossed his legs. “Are you fucking kidding me? We were all nearly burnt to a damned crisp. Now we’re supposed to go back and fight against an army of those assholes?”
Surcy tried to hide her surprise. “We don’t have another choice. Without the sanctuary, it won’t be hard for Caine and his angels to find us. We need to act quickly.”
“You mean it won’t be hard for them to find us with a spy in our midst.”
Her gaze swept to the God of Autumn. “What do you mean?”
The god looked older than the rest, with tangled long auburn hair that fell loosely around his narrow face. His skin was a deep tan, almost the color of the leaves just before they changed shades in the fall. Although he was far shorter than the massive Immortals, he didn’t seem to notice or care.
“You might have been able to trick those demons who all have hard-ons for you, but you don’t fool us, angel,” he sneered. “Caine has been pulling whatever he wants from that mind of yours. That’s why the angels found us. That’s why we’re in danger.”
“No—“ she denied.
“Yes,” he hissed. “And at any point, he can ring his little bell and call you back. And then what? You’re his to command.”
Was Frink right? The thought sent something aching through her. She’d suspected he was telling the truth… Truth be told, she'd known, but it was too much to consider. If she had to
