15
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.