Chapter 32 The Spark #2
“It was pointless, since we both lost her in the end.”
Silence stretched between us—I was totally out of my depth here. This conversation took an unexpected turn toward being far too deep and vulnerable for my liking.
I swallowed the discomfort churning in my mouth, distracting myself by flipping through the pages of The Origins of the Gods.
A particularly interesting section had my back stiffening and attention roaming once again to the king who was staring off into the distance, still looking lost in his memories.
“Why does it say the gods were created? Are they not born like the rest of us?”
His focus snapped to me, a charming smile quickly dancing along his lips.
“Maybe if you kept reading, you would find the answers to the questions you insistently ask.”
There was the Serpent King I loved to hate.
I blew out a puff of air, my lips trilling to fill the unnerving silence of the library.
Fine. If he didn’t want to help me, I’d do it myself . . . I have been my entire life, anyways.
I read on and found my answer after flipping through a few more pages.
“The gods were created by a higher being referred to as the Goddess of Life. This goddess was responsible for creating life and granting slivers of her various powers to different gods.”
As I turned the page, I devoured every gorgeous inch of the Goddess of Life’s portrait.
Her glowing eyes matched her radiating golden skin.
White hair cascaded in soft waves down her slender figure, ending just past the dips of her hips.
I traced her smile with my finger, marveling at how bright and warm it was.
There was nothing hidden behind it, not like when Adalina flashed her brilliant smile or when I wore a fake one every day.
It felt like the goddess of the Emerald Glades was forcing herself to be kind, while, on the other hand, the Goddess of Life radiated true benevolence.
Although I never met this god, there was a nagging feeling inside me that she was different from all the rest.
Suddenly, I felt bad for saying I’d destroy all the gods when my eyes took in the small inscription written below her photo.
The Dawn of Creation—The Dark Day.
There was no further explanation of what that statement could mean, so I pushed the book across the small table to sit before the king. He glanced at it, then turned his attention to me with a raised brow.
“Since I can’t simply ‘read on’ to find this answer, explain.” I crossed my arms over my chest, making the king’s eyes dip to track the way the movement pushed my breasts tightly together.
Quickly averting his gaze, he cleared his throat and studied the line of text.
“Those are the dates of her life.” He pushed the book back at me.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out on my first attempt as I was still wrapping my mind around what the king was insinuating. I took a moment to compose myself, then tried again.
“Are you saying the Goddess of Life, the god who created the very existence of everything surrounding us, is dead?”
“That’s right.” He reached across the table, flipping the page to reveal another picture of a starkly different god. “All thanks to her.”
My mouth was still slightly agape as I glanced away from him and took in the portrait of the god who supposedly slayed the deity that breathed life into everything around us.
Eyes as black as the night sky glared back at me, the god’s onyx hair streaming around her moonlight-pale face.
Naturally, her lips were also painted black and tipped into a smile far crueler than the Ice Goddess’s.
The picture was titled The Goddess of Death and written beneath in similar slanted writing were the following words: 01-The Dark Day.
“The Goddess of Death is dead as well? How do the realms continue on without the very beings who control life and death?” I shot him an incredulous look.
“Just because they cease to exist doesn’t mean everything else does.
The only thing it affects is that no more gods can be created, plus no one really knows where souls go when they pass on.
That was the Goddess of Death’s role, to help souls easily transition into the afterlife, up until she—well, let’s just say she got greedy and didn’t want to help souls pass on anymore .
. .” The king tried, yet failed, to hide the wince that flashed across his face.
In an attempt to change the subject, he reached for a new book from my stack.
“Why did you grab this one?” He tossed the thick tome between his hands, as if it were as light as a feather.
I glanced at the spine, noting he picked up the book titled How to Tap into Your Magical Powers.
“I was hoping to learn more about how the gods control their magic.” I brushed back the sheet of black hair that was falling into my face from being hunched over the texts.
I straightened, looking down my nose at the king.
“Considering someone didn’t teach me anything about how to use my own magic, maybe there is a thing or two I could learn between these pages.
” I snatched the book from his hands, throwing a withering glare at him as I compiled all the tomes into a neat stack.
“Seera . . .” The tenderness in that one word stilled my fingers and made my gaze snap back to his.
Something flickered in his mesmerizing eyes, prompting me to discreetly inhale to decipher what the king was feeling.
The most pungent burst of smoke barreled into me, causing me to flinch and press myself hard into the chair.
I braced my hands against the velvet armrests as I took a few sharp breaths to clear the smoke out of my lungs, but it was no use.
The Serpent King’s regret was so strong I was choking on it.
A cough escaped me, and I quickly pushed my chair back to flee. The stacks behind me rattled, and I winced at my rash reaction resulting in the disturbance of such precious tomes.
Luckily, none tumbled to the floor, so I raced to gather my materials. Unluckily, the king also shot to his feet, a look of concern blanketing his perfect features.
I couldn’t bite back the coughs racking through my chest, the smoke of his regret still lingering in the air and suffocating my lungs.
“Seera, are you okay?” He reached for me as I cradled the books to my chest, but I sidestepped out of his reach and hurried out of the library.
I refused to let the Serpent King confuse me with his overwhelming feelings of repentance. I had far more important matters to focus on, like destroying the gods and finally ensuring my people bowed at my feet.
Footsteps pounded behind me, and I did my best to quicken my steps in order to put more distance between the king and I. But, my plan horribly failed as my heel snatched on the train of my gown, causing me to stumble backward.
The world flipped upside down, and I protectively gripped the precious books cradled against my chest as I fell. However, before my head could collide with the plush green carpets, strong hands gripped underneath my arms.
Then, he was there.
Suspended in the air, I stared into the piercing green eyes that haunted my dreams.
“We really need to work on your coordination skills,” The Serpent King said all the while smirking down at me.
“My coordination is perfectly fine. I wouldn’t have tripped if you weren’t stalking my every move.”
He chuckled, but it was nothing like his typical dark timber. Instead, his laugh was light and airy, almost high-pitched. I marveled at the sight of him so freely laughing, which only prompted him to swallow the beautiful sound upon seeing my dumbfounded expression.
The ground righted below my feet once more as the king gently lifted me up. The motion brought us far too close, considering his chest was now snuggly pressed against my back.
Then, his warm breath caressed my ear, sending small shivers to pass along my spine.
“I can’t make up for the wrongs I’ve done in the past, Seera, but I’d like to try. Train with me today?” he whispered, his hands dropping from underneath my arms to lightly press against the curve of my waist.
I sucked in a sharp breath, confused that I didn’t feel the urge to kick him in the groin when his hands wrapped around my body. Instead, warmth fluttered low in my core as I remembered a very similar moment when our bodies were pressed together like this many decades ago.
“Where do you want to train?” My voice was far too breathy, far too vulnerable.
I didn’t need to smell the air to sense the Serpent King’s surprise, because his fingers dug deeper into the velvet of my gown. I hated that the warmth budding between my thighs now sparked into a blazing fire from the glorious pressure of his fingers against my waist.
Suddenly, I couldn’t stand how thick the material of my dress was.
“Meet me in the front grounds in an hour.” His voice was husky, and I swore I felt more than his hard chest pressing into my backside.
So fucking dangerous, Seera.
“Fine. See you in one hour,” I said, forcing myself to break away from his intoxicating grip.
I sped straight for the exit and back to my rooms.
My heels furiously clicked against the white and gold marble floors of the halls, walking so fast I nearly felt as if I was floating.
How could I be so stupid letting him that close to me, letting him hold me like that?
I swore to make the Serpent King’s life a living hell before coming on this journey, just as he did to my life the moment he uttered such a brutal parting after our bargain. Instead, I shared something I’d never told to a single soul, and I even let him reveal one of his own secrets to me.
Then, there was the fact he saved me from falling—again. And the feeling of his fingers digging into my waist, his breath caressing against my ear, the hardness of his . . .
“For Serpent’s Sake.” I hissed.
As I rounded the corner leading back to my chambers, I forced myself to forget the king and the moment we had in the library.
But as I entered my rooms, I couldn’t deny the floral scent permeating through the space.
The one emotion I hated more than anything radiated from deep within my core . . .
Hope.