Page 44 of Spellbound
He purred up against my thigh, calming me as I gruelled over the forgotten ages. It wasn’t until I reached the chapter about the gods when I perked up. Something interesting.
A millennium before our nineteenth century, Lucius and Estia ruled the only realm where souls of the dead were welcomed to spend their eternities exploring a realm so vastly bigger than ours, where disease, death, and hatred did not wander or threaten; the otherworld.
I skimmed several paragraphs about blissful afterlife until I got to the good stuff.
Vengeful spirits of the dead created demons who lurked our world, preying on weak souls to haunt and possess, wreaking havoc on families, and unleashing more plagues and despair. Some practitioners of magic grew darker as gambling, lustfulness, and deadly sins plagued our world, feeding the demons. The gods, the children of Estia and Lucius, were sent to cleanse it. They were Leda, the Goddess of the Hunt, Thalia, the Goddess of the Afterlife and Protector of the Dead, Aziel, the God of Thunder, and Raiden, the God of Creatures. Unlike their parents, their children were given physical forms and therefore could mate with mortals and enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. They were granted with eternal youth and a lifespan that could stretch over millennia.
Benji jumped up, his ears perking as he did. Something rustled the bushes outside. “It’s just the wind, silly cat.” I stroked him down as he fixated on the window, until he calmed, settling again. “Hush, it’s getting good.” I ran my finger down to where I had left off and devoured the words.Who knew history could be so fascinating?This part of it anyway.
The gods lavished in their new lives with mortals, partaking in sins and having children with humans, mostly Thalia, who created four demigod children. Estia and Lucius’s children cut themselves off from their parents, refusing to return to the otherworld.
The number of demons grew, more witches and warlocks turned to darker magics, and the once-pure world turned to one of sin. Lucius, God of Justice and father to Leda, Thalia, Aziel and Raiden, created the underworld, a place separated from the otherworld where demons could be trapped and those with sinful souls would be sent, once the darkness in their hearts was weighed upon death.
The gods, who spoke in their native tongue, Lor, taught the language to Istinia. Eventually, they were individually locked in their own prison realms, after Leda was killed and another took her place.
“What are you reading?”
I looked over the top of my book. Viktor held my stare. “You.”
He smirked. “There’s a book about me?”
“Hilarious.” I gritted my teeth. “Go be funny somewhere else, because I don’t want to even see you right now.”
“I knew you’d be mad.” He leaned against the doorway. “I came to explain.”
I put my hand up to stop him. “No explanation needed. You owe me nothing. I know your type. You’re out for yourself and don’t care who you hurt to get what you want. Trust me, it’s noted. You can go now.”
“Despite what you think, I do care that I hurt you.”
Huffing, I closed the book, dropping it on my lap. “That’s worse, considering you did it anyway.”
“It’s not like that.” He sighed. “It’s a long story.”
I clasped my hands atop the cover. “I have all night.”
Benji meowed, looking around, jumped off the sofa, and hightailed it out of there. I couldn’t blame him. Things were about to get ugly.
“You don’t need to be a keeper to get your sister back. I’ve thought about it, and—”
“No.” I was seething. “Don’t you dare go there. I trusted you telling you that, and you promised you wouldn’t put your name in at the call.”
“I didn’t promise anything.” He crossed his arms over his barrel chest. “I said, ‘Okay, doll. Let’s get you to bed.’ I knew I couldn’t promise you anything, so I didn’t. You said you felt sick.”
Apology swam in his eyes, but I didn’t care. My blood boiled just from looking at him. “You’re a liar.”
He winced, only for a flash of a second. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”
I shook my head. “No you’re not. Stay out of my way, and don’t talk to me.”
“It’s going to be hard, since Maddox wants us to train together for this.”
“He must be mad.” I pushed the book next to me and stood. “I won’t train with you. Why would I? So you can see my weaknesses?”
His blue eyes glittered with amusement. “It’s not a competition where we fight against each other, doll. It’s a test.”
“Don’t call me doll!” I balled my fists at my side. “You won’t win this. You don’t have a clue what you’re doing. You can’t even speak Lor.”
“Look, I know you’re upset, but—”
