Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Chapter Fifteen
It's the first Saturday of October. The festival has ended, and just as the Goddess of the Night promised her faithful, not a single trace of their perversions has been allowed to see the light of day.
The sun has started to rise, but even its golden rays feel somber. Much has happened in the past few hours, and I know it's only a matter of time before my mortal body gives out. But for now, sleep remains unobtainable, and the memories plaguing my mind unshakable.
Gelar is in the infirmary under Keia's care.
Isabella is nearly catatonic in her shock.
And Georgia is dead.
Eros and his brothers were right when they described the nymph as petty and vengeful. But she was also exceptionally patient and cunning, and Isabella's mother had not minded playing the long game in her desire to make my god pay for being the one to end their affair.
First, she had married Gelar, for she knew that it would hurt Eros to see one of his most trusted faithful trapped in a loveless marriage. And after giving birth to Isabella, she had then proceeded to ignore her daughter, which she knew would also cause my god pain.
And finally, there was me.
Having come across rumors about the Moirai's prophecy, Georgia had done everything she could to kill the girl who was destined to be Eros' goddess. She had been the one to help Cen murder all of those people back home, and she had been the one to deactivate Rosethorne's security shields to allow Cen another opportunity to kill me.
When it was Cen who had ended up dead instead of me, Georgia had decided to take matters into her own hands. And just as Erma had guessed, she had purchased blood samples from the Mares of Thrace and sacrificed countless horses in her experiments until she was able to create a formula that would turn ordinary horses into assassins.
As for the sick and deadly "thing" I had sensed crawling underneath Coriander House, that turned out to be Georgia herself, for it was in its secret dungeons that she had cold-bloodedly murdered innocent creatures in her bid for revenge.
'Evil stinks' is how Keia had put it, and there were apparently people like me who were more 'sensitive' to its odor. If the nymph had not been so evil, the stink of her misdeeds would not have been as noticeable, and we would never have found her in Rosethorne's underground tunnel, which we believe the nymph had used to come and go undetected.
As for Isabella's father...
Georgia had held her own husband captive when he refused to take action and have Lucious and me tried on the grounds of infidelity. Afterwards, she had gone on to call for an emergency meeting on his behalf, and it was there Georgia had planned to expose the photos to the Order and present it as proof of my motives for kidnapping her husband.
I know she's not perfect, Gelar had said heavily as he was freed from his chains. But she is my wife, and I love her.
He had sobbed the words over and over as he cradled the nymph's lifeless body in his arms, and his grief had been a heartbreaking sight.
Love made fools out of all of us, some more so than others.
****
It's six p.m. on a Sunday, and against my better judgment, I've agreed to introduce my god to my parents.
He looks even more gorgeous than usual when he shows up on our front door, and he smells amazingly good, too.
"Is that perfume?" I can't help asking.
"What if it is?" my god asks defensively even as a flush darkens his cheeks, and it's just too adorable that I almost end up squealing.
Almost, but not quite.
Thank God.
My parents beam when they see me walk inside my god.
"Dad, Pops, you remember—-"
"Professor with Benefits," Hugh exclaims.
"I prefer Team Jacob," Leslie says.
Dear Almighty, why do my parents have to embarrass me all the time?
"Anyway..." I gesture to my god. "Long story short—-"
"Is it really a long story?" Leslie questions.
"It is."
Leslie glances at Hugh. "Do you believe her?"
"Well..."
"Can you guys please just let me finish first?" I growl.
"A cockatiel would never be this rude," Hugh whispers to Leslie.
Oh. My. God.
I glance at Eros, but my god is actually smiling.
Wow.
He notices me staring at him, and my god takes my hand in his.
"Wow." But this one is from Hugh, and I see my parents grinning at Eros and me.
I glance back at my parents, and both of them are grinning and elbowing each other like crazy.
"Does that mean..."
I finally have a chance to speak, and I get everything out before their short attention span kicks back in.
"His real name is Eros, and he's not actually mortal like us but a primordial god, and the only reason I'm telling you that is because he wants me to, but after this you must still call him Professor Lucious and never Eros."