Shadow Kissed (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 4)

Savannah

My mind reeled. I was staring at a goddess. Like, an actual goddess.

She was breathtakingly stunning and bathed in an ethereal soft light that seemed to emanate from within her. With extraordinarily long silver-blonde hair, she was so beautiful that I suddenly felt very, very small.

The Dark God had spoken to me and appeared in the clouds, but this was real. She was right here.

That raised the fairly key question—what the hell was a god or goddess, anyway? An immortal supernatural being?

I shook the thoughts from my mind. There were a lot of questions I’d have to ask later.

The Moon casually strolled up to the meagre offerings before her. Her movements were graceful, like a dancer, but I supposed that’s how one moved when one was a goddess.

I swallowed and found my mouth watering from her signature. For whatever reason, it reminded me of Alma’s cookies.

She frowned at the odd array of offerings but knelt to inspect each of them.

I glanced away for a second, and my jaw slowly dropped as I realized the temple had changed. I’d been so taken by the goddess before us that I missed the fact that we were now standing in a roofed space with walls.

I looked back over my shoulder. The night sky had returned to normal, and stars peeked through the six columns that fronted the temple. Complete columns. I looked up, and a roof rose above our head. The temple had reformed.

“My God,” I whispered, tugging Jaxson’s arm and motioning him to look around us. Directly across from us was another building—the ruins that had littered the ground earlier were gone, and the sanctuary had risen in their place. Jaxson’s hand squeezed mine, and he gestured at the Moon mother behind me.

Right. Steady on, Savy. Remember why we’re here.

The goddess scooped up Sam’s bracelet and tossed it aside before picking up one of my boots. Her lips pursed in what I assumed was disgust, and she dropped it. “Your offerings displease me.”

She stuffed the hundred-dollar bill into a fold in her dress. It had pockets?

The stone that the loremaster brought glinted in the goddess’s light. She picked it up and examined it, and seemingly satisfied, she stuffed it in her dress as well.

The goddess put her hands on her hips. “Clearly, people in your age have forgotten how to properly petition the gods. Whatever happened to sacrifices and grand processions? Or naked dances, even, if that was your thing.”

I bit my lip as my doubts mounted but spoke up anyway. “I’m sorry, great goddess, but we desperately need your help, and there was no time to prepare.”

She looked around and clucked her tongue. “In one of Apollo’s temples, too, of all places. This one is barely a closet. I had extraordinary temples once. Wonders, even.” She sighed and turned back to us. “Well, I’m here. Tell me what you need from me, and I’ll consider your request.”

“The Dark Wolf God is about to break loose. We need your help to stop him,” I blurted.

For a second, she made no movement. Then her fists tightened, and her expression hardened. “Are you certain? How did this happen?”

The magic in the room began to swell, like the moon slowly rising over the horizon. It was cold and warm, soft and harsh.

Utterly intimidating.

I couldn’t help but take a step back, but I knew I had to put it all on the line. “He’s breaking free. He’s spoken to me.”

“To you?” It was more a statement of disbelief than a question.

Terror of her majesty overwhelmed me. I’d just confessed to a god, and not in the slightly removed Catholic way. She was right here.

The Moon waited for my answer.

I swallowed as the horrid words formed in my mouth. “I believe I set him free. I’m a twin-soul. And I killed another twin-soul that was trying to release him. Apparently, that was the sacrifice he required.”

Rage burned in her eyes, and the temple shook around us. Jaxson clasped my arm, and I dug my nails into his hand.

But then her rage faded to embers, and the quaking stones calmed. When she spoke, it was all softness and deep sorrow. “You didn’t release him, child. He stacked the cards of fate against you. He’s always been a puppeteer.”

I hung my head, and Jaxson softly touched my back.

It wasn’t my fault.

That was a good thing, right? But why did I suddenly feel worse? I’d desperately wanted to be acquitted, but somehow, her words made me feel small. Like a pawn. Something foolish, something to be toyed with.

The stone lions flashed in my mind, pulled and jerked about like marionettes. They were puppets.

But I was not.

My heart hardened. I’d played a role in all of this, and I had a role still to play.

I looked up and met her soft and consoling eyes. “The fates might be stacked against me, but I’m going to stop him. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

The pitying look on her face wavered, then melted into something far harder. Calculating. Appraising. “Are you?”

“I know what he’ll do if I don’t. I’ve seen it in visions. He’ll destroy my city, my pack, my family.”

She pursed her lips. “All cities. All families. And every pack that does not submit.”

“Why?” Jaxson growled.

Rather than answer, the goddess walked to the pillars and stared out at the night sky. “We loved the same things, once. Each other. Nature. We both fought so hard to protect it. But he no longer believes you have any place in it. He’d rather start anew than try to fix the world.”

I approached as close as I dared. “Please, tell us how to stop him. The legends say you tricked him and trapped him before. How do we do it again?”

When she spoke, her voice was very far away. “And what do your legends say I did?”

I motioned the loremaster over.

She shuffled up and licked her lips. “That to stop the Dark God’s war on the two-legged people, you secretly gathered waters from the river of dreams and then called him to your side. You spent the night dancing and drinking and, uh…” The loremaster glanced nervously at me, then Jaxson, before continuing. “You danced as lovers do. Amidst the merry-making, you slipped the magic waters into his wine, and when he fell asleep in your arms, he did not wake. He has been trapped in dreams ever since.”

Normally articulate and captivating, the loremaster was holding back, and with fair reason. The story was not one that in retrospect, I’d want told around a campfire.

Her version was so vivid, I’d seen it in my mind like a movie as she’d recounted it, images leaping from the fire and filling my senses. I’d seen the Moon let her dress slip, and how she moved ever so perfectly to arouse and seduce the Dark God.

Just the memory of it had me hot in the pants and thinking of Jaxson. I wasn’t sure if the Moon had werewolf senses, but I tamped my wandering thoughts down fast.

But it didn’t seem she was paying any attention to me and my problems. The Moon just gave an exasperated sigh and paced across the temple. “Does everyone believe that seduction is a woman’s only power? I’m a huntress, for fates’ sake.”

The loremaster bowed low. “I’m sorry, great goddess. The legends were passed down many times, and I am sure some were elaborated in false ways.”

The Moon scowled at us and worked her jaw in frustration. “No. It’s pretty close to what happened—we’d been lovers before, and I knew it would work. It just pisses me off that people only remember the spicy bits. Yes, I seduced him and got him drunk. But he’s a god, and I knew that the river of dreams wouldn’t hold him forever. While he slept, I created a prison in the Dreamlands—a spell woven among three pylons of power. I sacrificed much of my magic to do it. He should not have been able to break free.”

I crossed my arms. “So what can we do? I’m assuming he won’t fall for potions in his wine again.”

She laughed, though it was a little hollow. “He’s a man, but not a total fool. Anyway, you’re not his type.” She traced her fingers through her long sliver hair, though her eyes flicked at Sam for just a second. “Maybe that one might have some luck, but I doubt it.”

I blushed on my friend’s behalf. Apparently, the Dark Wolf God had a thing for blondes.

Thank God I’m a natural redhead.

Shaking off the horrid thought of having to seduce the Dark God, I asked, “What can we do? How do I stop him?”

The goddess huffed with amusement. “You will not be able to overcome the Dark Wolf God, young twin-soul. He draws his magic and strength from the presence of wolves. If you get close, you’ll just make him more powerful—and he’s more than all five of us could handle.” She turned and began to pace, twisting her hair as she spoke. “No, you can’t confront him directly. You must enter the Dreamlands and restore my spells. I suspect they must be weakening, because the incantations were flawless.”

She turned and wove an image of three large moonlike orbs. Columns of glowing light rose from each of them—the magical pylons that trapped the Dark God in the realm of dreams.

“How do we get there?” Jaxson asked.

“I will show you the way,” the goddess said.