Chapter 4 Gods at My Doorstep
The room felt suddenly too small, too crowded with immortal beings who were all staring at me like I was the answer to prayers I hadn't heard them speak.
"Lysander, Theron," Jeron said, and there was a warning in his voice. "Give her space."
"Space?" The platinum-haired one, Lysander apparently, laughed as he sauntered closer. "We've given her twenty-three years of space. I think we're due for an introduction, don't you?" His eyes settled on me, and I felt like he was seeing through every wall I'd ever built. "I'm Lysander, God of Deceit and Forbidden Knowledge. And before you ask, yes, I can tell when you're lying. It's a gift and a curse."
"Mostly a curse for everyone else," Kael muttered.
Lysander ignored him, moving close enough that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. He was tall, maybe not as tall as Kael, but there was something about the way he carried himself that made him seem larger. His fingers reached out like he was going to touch my face, and I caught his wrist before he could.
"Personal space is still a thing," I said. "Even for gods."
His smile widened, genuine amusement lighting those color-shifting eyes. "Oh, I like you already. She has boundaries. That's refreshing."
"Back off, Lysander," the storm-eyed one said, and there was an edge to his voice that made the air pressure in the room change. He approached more slowly, more carefully, and when he got close enough, I could see the barely restrained emotion in his expression. "My name is Theron. God of Storms and Wild Magic."
Something about his voice tugged at a memory I couldn't quite grasp, like a dream I'd forgotten upon waking. He knelt in front of me so we were eye level, and the gesture felt significant somehow. Reverent.
"You don't remember me," he said softly. "I wouldn't expect you to. You were only a few hours old the last time I held you."
My breath caught. "What?"
"I was there," Theron continued, his voice rough with emotion. "The night your mother hid you. I helped her. I've been watching over you your entire life, making sure you stayed safe, stayed hidden."
The confession hit me like a physical blow. All those times I'd felt like someone was watching. All those moments when danger should have found me but didn't. It hadn't been paranoia or luck. It had been him.
"You've been stalking me for twenty-three years," I said, trying to process this information.
"Protecting you," he corrected. "There's a difference."
"Is there?" I stood abruptly, needing distance from all of them, from the weight of their attention and the impossible pull I felt toward each one. Four gods. Four fated mates. This was insane. I paced across the polished obsidian floor, my reflection following me like a ghost. "So let me get this straight. My mother was a goddess who died protecting me. I'm some kind of prophecy child who's supposed to either save or destroy the world. And the four of you are bound to me by fate, which means what exactly? We're supposed to fall in love and live happily ever after?"
"Love is optional," Lysander said. "The bond isn't."
"That's not helpful," Kael told him.
"I'm not trying to be helpful. I'm trying to be honest."
"How about you try being quiet," Jeron suggested coldly.
I spun to face them, frustration and fear and something else I didn't want to name burning in my chest. "Stop. All of you, just stop talking about me like I'm not here. I'm not a prize to be won or a problem to be solved. I'm a person."
"You're a goddess," Theron said gently.
"I'm a book restorer from Portland who still can't figure out how to keep a houseplant alive," I shot back. "Whatever you think I am, whatever this prophecy says, I'm not it. You've got the wrong person."
"We don't," Jeron said, and he moved toward me with that predatory grace that made my pulse skip. "You felt it when I touched you. The bond. The recognition. You can deny it all you want, Athena, but your soul knows the truth."
He was right, and I hated him for it. I had felt it. I still felt it, pulling at me from four different directions, like invisible threads connecting me to each of them. It should have felt suffocating. Instead, it felt like the first deep breath I'd taken in years.
"This is too much," I whispered.
"I know," Theron said, standing and moving closer. "I know it's overwhelming. But we're not asking you to accept everything right now. We're just asking you to stay alive long enough to figure it out."
"And how do I do that when apparently everyone wants me dead?"
"You learn to fight," Kael said simply. "You learn to use your power. And you let us protect you until you can protect yourself."
"I don't need protection," I said automatically.
Lysander laughed. "Princess, three hours ago you didn't even know gods were real. You absolutely need protection."
I wanted to argue, but he had a point. I was so far out of my depth I couldn't even see the surface anymore. These four men, these gods, they were offering me something I'd never had before: answers, protection, maybe even belonging. But the cost was my freedom, my autonomy, my normal life. Not that my normal life had been particularly great, but at least it had been mine.
"What if I say no?" I asked. "What if I walk out of here right now and go back to Portland?"
"You'd be dead within an hour," Jeron said flatly. "The Void Hunters tracked you to the bookstore. By now, every creature in the dark knows where to find you. The only reason you're alive is because you're here, in my fortress, protected by wards that have held for millennia."
"So I'm a prisoner," I said.
"You're protected," Theron corrected. "There's a difference."
"Seems like a pretty thin line to me."
Kael crossed his arms, and the gesture made his already impressive shoulders look even broader. "Would you rather we left you to die? Because that's the alternative. We can walk away right now if that's what you want. But once we do, you're on your own."
I looked at each of them in turn. Jeron, cold and controlled but with shadows of something deeper in his dark eyes. Kael, fierce and direct, wearing his emotions like weapons. Lysander, charming and dangerous in equal measure, watching me like I was a puzzle he was determined to solve. And Theron, who'd spent my entire life keeping me safe from a distance, whose storm-grey eyes held a longing that made my chest ache.
The smart thing would be to run. To reject all of this and take my chances on my own. But I'd spent twenty-three years running from a destiny I hadn't known existed. Maybe it was time to stop.
"Fine," I said. "I'll stay. I'll learn. But I have conditions."
Lysander's grin was delighted. "Oh, this should be good."
"One," I held up a finger. "No one makes decisions about my life without consulting me first. I don't care if you're gods. This is still my life."
"Agreed," Theron said immediately.
"Two, someone explains exactly what this bond means. All of it. No more cryptic warnings or half-truths."
"I can do that," Lysander offered. "I'm excellent at uncomfortable truths."
"Three," I continued, "if I decide this isn't working, if I want to leave, you let me go. No arguments, no forcing me to stay."
The room went quiet. Jeron's jaw tightened, and Kael looked like he wanted to argue. But it was Theron who spoke.
"You're asking us to promise we'll let you walk away, even if it means your death," he said slowly.
"I'm asking you to respect my choice," I said. "If you can't do that, then this conversation is over."
Another long silence. Then Jeron nodded once, sharp and decisive. "Agreed. On all three conditions."
"Really?" I hadn't expected him to give in so easily.
"Really." Something that might have been respect flickered in his expression. "You're right. It's your life. Your choice. We'll respect that, even if we don't like it."
The tension in my shoulders eased slightly. Maybe this could work. Maybe I could figure out how to be whatever the hell I was supposed to be without losing myself in the process.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
Kael's smile was sharp and anticipating. "Now, little goddess, your training begins."
A tremor ran through the fortress, strong enough that I had to catch myself against the wall. The silver flames guttered and then blazed higher. Jeron's expression went from neutral to deadly in the space between heartbeats.
"They found us," he said.
"That's impossible," Lysander said, but he was already moving toward the door. "Your wards should have held."
"Should have," Jeron agreed grimly. "Someone betrayed us."
Another tremor, stronger this time, and I heard something that sounded like screaming in the distance. The four gods moved as one, forming a protective circle around me.
"Stay close," Theron said, lightning beginning to dance across his fingertips. "Whatever happens, don't leave our side."
"What's out there?" I asked, hating how my voice shook.
Kael's smile was all teeth. "Everything the Council sent to kill you."