Chapter Ten
The In Between was a magical island that existed in between the six realms. The island hovered between night and day, outside the normal scope of time and space.
Since the island’s only resident was War, one of the Four Horsemen, they had to be careful not to trespass into his personal domain. Even though he was officially missing, he had numerous safeguards in place to discourage trespassers from sneaking around.
Killian teleported the four of them directly to the secret realm, and they arrived right outside the hidden doorway leading into the mountain where the Tree of Life was located.
The secret entrance was concealed by powerful magic, but Killian was able to help them pass through it since he had been there before.
Naomi felt her heart pounding in her chest as they made their way down the dark passageway that led into the heart of the mountain.
The tunnel seemed endless, twisting and winding into different paths that seemed to go nowhere.
If she had been walking through it on her own, she would have been hopelessly lost.
She quickly realized that was exactly the point.
The passage had been deliberately designed to confuse anyone who managed to breach the mountain’s outer defenses.
An intruder might be fortunate enough to discover the hidden entrance, but that didn’t mean they would ever find what they were looking for.
Without knowing the correct path to take, they could wander through the maze of tunnels for days before ultimately getting booted out.
As they continued to venture deeper into the mountain, she barely noticed when they passed through the magical wards protecting the hidden chambers.
She felt only the faintest ripple of energy each time they crossed another barrier.
Without her new god powers, it probably would have felt a whole lot worse. But as it was, she barely felt it.
When they finally reached their destination, she glanced around and forgot how to breathe.
It was a vast, mysterious cave that seemed completely untouched by time.
High above them was an opening in the ceiling that allowed the brilliant starlight to spill into the darkness below.
Pale shafts of silver light streamed downward, illuminating the breathtaking sight at the center of the cavern.
The Tree of Life grew on a small island in the center of a perfectly still lake.
It was surrounded by an ethereal glow, and its soft radiance created a dreamlike haze around the entire island.
The tree itself was enormous. It was a towering marvel with an expansive canopy of branches and a massive trunk that shimmered in shades of bronze and gold.
The leaves were a rich, vibrant green, each one carrying a faint silvery gleam that made them appear almost metallic in the starlight.
Small pear-shaped fruit hung from the branches.
The pink fruit dangled like beautiful teardrops amongst the shimmering leaves.
Even the simple idea of taking fruit from the sacred tree felt downright sinful.
The tree radiated a quiet, ancient energy that seemed to fill every corner of the cavern. Its presence was soothing in a way she couldn’t possibly begin to describe, as though merely standing in the cavern allowed the tension within her to slowly unravel and drain right out of her.
Flowers in every imaginable color covered most of the island, spreading outward from the base of the tree like a vibrant sea. The air inside the cavern was thick with the rich scent of damp soil, fragrant blooms, and pure, ancient magic.
Thick vines hung from the ceiling in long curtains of vibrant green.
They swayed gently whenever a faint breeze moved through the cavern, creating the strange illusion that the cave itself was alive.
That impression only grew stronger when she noticed the dark stone walls pulsing with light.
The walls were covered in symbols etched deep into the rock.
Those ancient runes glowed softly, pulsing with light as though they were watching, waiting.
Ready to react the instant someone made the wrong move.
Naomi’s attention shifted toward the lake surrounding the island. The water was so still that it looked like it was made out of glass. It shimmered beneath the starlight, the smooth surface glossy and perfect. Anyone standing nearby would be tempted to peer into its dark depths.
As if sensing her desire for a closer look, Viktor took her hand in his and led her toward the edge of the lake.
“The air feels heavy in here,” he said. “But it doesn’t feel threatening or dangerous.”
“I’ve died in less threatening places,” she reminded dryly.
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It is going to be my full-time job keeping you safe. Luckily, I’m up for the task since I never plan on leaving your side.”
She shot him a side-eyed look. “I draw the line at going to the bathroom together.”
That surprised a laugh out of him. “Your mind is a wondrous thing.”
Arson groaned. “Can you two stop flirting long enough to—”
“Quiet,” Viktor ordered softly. “Someone is here.”
He pointed toward the far corner of the cavern where two small tents had been erected. One was dark silver, while the other was dark blue. Loud voices suddenly rang out, echoing through the silence.
“Are you awake? I’m hungry. It’s your turn to cook.”
“Leave me alone. Just use your magic.”
“But barbecue tastes better when it’s made over real coals.”
“Then, you do it. It’s my turn to beg the tree again.”
Two males exited the tents, yawning and stretching as if they had just woken up.
One had black hair and glowing gold eyes, while the other had shimmering bronze hair and glowing green eyes.
They were both dressed in dark flowing robes, and as soon as they saw each other, they immediately started bickering about what they were going to eat.
“I know the dark-haired reaper,” Killian said. “That is Emrys, a short-tempered hermit who rarely ventures out. I haven’t seen him in ages. I wonder what he is doing here.”
A few seconds later, the two males realized they had an audience. The male with glowing green eyes let out a shout of joy and started running toward them.
“Daughter! I thought you were dead! How are you here? I’m so happy to see you!”
It took several seconds of stunned silence for Naomi to process what the male was shouting. When she finally realized what he was saying, she physically recoiled so fast, she almost fell on her ass. Viktor wrapped an arm around her, holding her up.
“Hold up a fucking minute,” she sputtered. “What did you call me? And how the hell did you know I died?”
The male paused a few feet away from them and smiled sheepishly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “About that…what happened to you is kind of, sort of, might have been a little bit of my fault.”
The other male stopped beside him and snorted. “A little bit?”
“Who in hellfire are you?” Viktor growled.
“I’m sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zeno, the God of Mishaps, and I am Naomi’s father.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Now, it all makes sense,” she muttered. Shaking that off, she glared at him. “I don’t have a father.”
Zeno let out an exaggerated gasp, and he clutched his hands over his heart. “That hurts, Naomi.”
“Fuck off, psycho.”
He sighed. “It is understandable that you are angry. I only recently found out about you. In order to make up for the years I missed, I wanted to surprise you on your first day at the magical academy, but things went terribly wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Naomi gasped. “It was you? You cursed me?”
Zeno waved his hands in the air. “No! Of course, not! I just wanted to unlock your god powers. You are a demi-goddess, after all. Something was blocking your abilities, and I simply wanted to release them. What I didn’t know was Emrys had hexed me to get back at me for a misunderstanding we had.
Because of that, everything went sideways. ”
“Don’t blame this on me. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t destroyed my manor,” Emrys growled.
“That was an accident!”
“So was this!” Emrys insisted. “Besides, I said I was sorry! I wouldn’t be here trying to beg the Tree of Life to bless us with fruit so you can marinate your daughter’s soul in the juice otherwise.”
“What the fuck?” Naomi bit out. “What are you doing with my soul?”
Zeno hunched his shoulders in shame. “When the lightning struck you, I captured your soul instead of letting it float away. I was determined to find a way to bring you back. We’ve tried a myriad of ways, but so far, nothing we’ve tried has worked.”
“This is unbelievable,” Killian whispered, shaking his head in disgust.
Naomi rubbed at her temples, trying to ease the pounding ache there, but it did no good. “Let me get this straight. You killed me—”
“That was an accident,” Zeno interjected.
“—in order to try to force my demi-goddess powers to awaken,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Then, instead of letting me die peacefully, you trapped my soul in a fucking jar like some sort of psychotic keepsake—”
“Until I could figure out how to bring you back!”
“You experimented on me like some sort of twisted science project!” she raged. “How many spells did you use on me trying to bring me back?”
His shoulders hunched even more. “Only a few…hundred.”
“You son of a bitch,” Viktor growled, low and vicious.
“By the gods,” Arson groaned. “It just keeps getting worse.”
Naomi glared at her father. “Whatever you did ended up cursing me—”
“I was wrong! There, I admit I was wrong! I’m sorry. I knew I had messed up once your pretty soul started changing colors—”
“Give me my mate’s soul,” Viktor demanded, holding out a hand.
Zeno smiled brightly. “You are mated! How wonderful!”
“Now!” Viktor roared.
Suddenly a crystal jar appeared in his hand. Inside of it was a glowing purple orb that flickered the same way her eyes occasionally did. It would have been pretty if they didn’t know exactly what it was.