by Brey Willows
He disappeared, and Selene was left alone in the hallway. She slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. She let the tears fall, not caring about her makeup anymore. Esh’s energy had been malignant, and she felt dirty just from being near him.
Alec bounded into the hallway. “Selene, I’m so sorry. I got waylaid by about a hundred people—” She stopped and looked closely. “Selene?” She squatted in front of her and brushed the hair from her eyes. “What happened?”
Selene choked back a sob. “This man…he said things. About why I’m here with you, and something about my mother.” She looked at Alec, desperate for her to say none of it was true, that it was just another ego-driven god with a grudge of some kind. “Alec, what the hell is going on? Is it…any of it…true?”
Alec rested her hands on Selene’s shoulders and slid her hands down Selene’s arms to her hands. She held them in her own and took a deep breath.
“Yes. It’s all true.”
Chapter Eighteen
Alec looked at Selene, who sat stonily silent beside her, still as one of Medusa’s statues. She hadn’t said a word since she’d gotten to her feet in the hallway and made her way out to the Hummer, silently pushing through the crowd as though she didn’t see them. More than one sympathetic glance was thrown Alec’s way as she left, which made her feel even worse. Many of them were likely resigned to their fates, unable to believe in Alec’s ability to win Selene to their side. Now, with Selene radiating anger and confusion beside her, she wondered if they were right to doubt.
“Selene? Please say something?” Alec parked the Hummer at the far end of the Venice Strand. It wasn’t the greatest area at night, but there wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Until now.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Selene said softly, her head resting against the passenger window, her eyes unfocused.
“Should I just start talking, then? And you can interrupt with questions?”
Selene nodded, and Alec took a deep breath. She hadn’t wanted it to be this way, but the truth was, she’d been taking her time, reluctant to jump in. The choice had been taken from her, and that was probably a good thing.
“You asked what happens when people stop believing. The truth is, we fade. We get weaker and weaker, until we just…disappear. Sometimes you can watch people fading, people you’ve known for centuries, until one day you can practically see through them, and the next, they’re gone. When people stop believing in us, we stop existing.” She paused to see if Selene was listening. Selene flicked a glance at her before looking away, so Alec continued. “We have one option open to us, though. If we know we’re fading, we can leave. We can renounce our godhood, and go live in the real world. We get real world jobs, real world apartments, and live among humans as though we’re one of them.”
“And are you? Does it make you human in some way?”
“Not exactly. We age, but far more slowly than humans do. We can still live for centuries. We’re not immortal once we leave, because we can die. But unless some situation puts a stop to our life, we’ll keep going. That means moving around a lot, of course, because that’s the kind of thing people notice if you stay in one place for any length of time.”
Selene stayed quiet for so long Alec didn’t know if she should keep talking or just shut up. Then she turned and looked at Alec, and her eyes were cold.
“Why should it matter if you all fade? Or get jobs as accountants? If people stop praying to you and your horde, maybe they’ll take responsibility for their actions. I’ve always believed the world would be a better place if only humanity took a stand and stopped waiting for some deity to take care of things. Why should knowing you make any difference at all?” She straightened and lifted her chin. “In fact, maybe knowing you all exist only because of belief means I should try harder to get people to stop believing, because it really is ruining the planet.”
Alec winced, the words piercing her like a hot needle. It was the exact opposite of what she needed Selene to think. “Would you damn an entire group of people because of your personal beliefs?”
“Personal beliefs? Alec, what I believe is based on fact, on history and proof. From small scale to large scale confrontations, there’s often a religious component, one that’s been twisted by the people who believe. And as far as I can tell, your colleagues aren’t about to do anything to stop that.” She pushed open the door of the Hummer. “I need air.”
Alec followed Selene as she stormed down to the water’s edge. She didn’t know what to say. She could see Selene’s point, and it was hard to argue with.
The waves crashed at Selene’s feet, and she spun to face Alec. “Why me? That…god? Esh, he said his name was—”
“Eshnu. He wore an absurd looking hat? He’s an African god of mischief. He’s constantly stirring the pot. I think I need to have a discussion with him.”
“Whatever. He said something about me being important, about me being the one to keep you from fading. What the hell is that about? Is that why everyone stares at me? And why Bacchus found my presence so upsetting?” Selene pointed at her, nearly poking her in the chest. “And you’d better tell me the truth. All of it. Now.”
Alec swallowed against the rising fear. She knew exactly how what she was about to say would sound. “An oracle. We’ve had an oracle in place for a few centuries, warning us about what was going to happen, and who could help us stop it.”
“Convenient. And for some reason, you decided that was me?”
“We didn’t decide, no. You were named, Selene. The Fates aren’t wrong, ever. We don’t always understand what the hell they’re talking about when they pass an oracle down to us, but they’re never, ever wrong. And apparently, an atheist philosopher is our ticket to continued existence.” Listening to the explanation she was giving, resentment began to fill her. It did sound absurd. What kind of system did they have going that made their only hope someone who was least likely to help them? She threw a pebble at the ocean, unable to see where it landed. Hopefully, on Zed’s head.
“Oh? And tell me again who wrote this oracle of yours? Who is it that decides who saves your asses?”
“They go by various names. You’ll know them by the Fates, or maybe the Moirai Sisters.”
“And do they work in your building?”
“Level five. But no one has access to it. We rarely even see them because they have their own elevator and they don’t socialize with the rest of us. A conflict of interest, and all that.”
Selene fell to her knees in the sand, her shoulders slumped. “And what does your oracle say I’m supposed to do?”
Alec thought back to the wording of the oracle. “It says the daughter born of the dark and the night’s light will be the one to save our world. That without her, we’ll soon become those for whom belief is no longer enough. We’ll cease to be, if we can’t get her to be the bridge. And the human world will descend into chaos and misery. The dark fury is the only one who can help the night’s child become the bridge.”
Selene looked at Alec incredulously. “Seriously? That doesn’t seem the least bit self-serving to you?”
Alec shrugged and sat beside Selene. She pulled her legs to her chest and rested on her wings. “That’s what it says.”
They stayed silent for a long time, the crashing of the waves in front of them the only sound to break the night’s silence. A path of moonlight lit the ocean, making either side of the light seem that much darker. Alec waited for the next obvious question.
“And what he said about my mother? You said the oracle says the daughter born of the dark and night’s light. What does that mean?” She turned pleading eyes toward Alec. “I’ve been an orphan all my life, Alec. In one night, you tell me I’m supposed to save a world I didn’t know exists, and that my real mother is out there somewhere.” Tears slid down Selene’s face, and she let them. “I don’t understand.”
Alec took Selene’s hand in her own and was heartened when, instead of pulling awa
y, Selene leaned into her. Alec shifted so she was sitting with her legs on either side of Selene. She pulled her back gently and wrapped her arms around her. The night air was cold, and when she felt the goose bumps covering Selene’s arms, she cursed herself for forgetting her human nature. Slowly, she opened her wings and wrapped them around Selene. Alec felt her stiffen, then relax and begin to absently, slowly stroke her feathers.
“I can’t imagine what you’re feeling. But you’re not alone. I’m right here with you.” Alec rested her cheek against Selene’s for a moment, gathering her thoughts. There was no reason to hold back now. “Your mom is Chandra, the moon goddess. She actually represents the moon itself, and so, like me, she doesn’t need belief to exist. The problem is, she’s not—”
“Not what?”
“She’s an air goddess. Hard to pin down, not solid. Strong, beautiful. But…free.”
“Is that why she gave me up? And why didn’t my father take me?”
The pure sadness in Selene’s voice was heartbreaking, and in it Alec could hear the child who had always felt rootless and less-than. “I don’t know, to be honest. We knew Chandra had a child, but that’s all we ever knew. She never talked about it, and no one was ever brave enough to ask who the father was, or where her child had disappeared to.”
“No one cared what a goddess did with a child? And you’re telling me I’m the child of a goddess? A representative of the moon, and someone or something else. Who the hell represents the dark?” Selene’s laugh was nearly hysterical. “If I weren’t wrapped in gigantic wings attached to a humanoid body right now, I’d think you were insane. But then, maybe I’m insane. Maybe I really am going crazy, and this is all one elaborate hallucination.”
Alec trailed her hands up Selene’s arms, letting her fingertips trace delicate lines along her skin. “Does this feel like a hallucination?”
Selene jerked to her knees and turned to face Alec. Placing her hands on Alec’s cheeks, she whispered, “No, it doesn’t.” She leaned forward and kissed her softly.
“Selene, we probably shouldn’t—”
“Please. Please don’t say it. My entire life has become something out of a twisted fairy tale. For just this moment, keep me from thinking about it.”
Selene’s warm lips set Alec’s blood on fire. She struggled to stay in her human form, but when Selene’s tongue pushed into her mouth, she felt herself losing the battle. Her fangs extended and she shifted to keep them out of the way. She pulled Selene against her, wrapping her in both her arms and her wings as she fell back onto the sand with Selene’s weight on top of her. She could feel the heat emanating from between Selene’s legs, and her kisses were driving Alec mad. Selene’s hands were everywhere, caressing her feathers, then her arms, sliding over her sides and up to her neck. She slid her hands under Selene’s flimsy top and lightly raked her nails over her back, and when Selene moaned, she lost all sense of place.
She flipped Selene onto her back, still cradling her with her wings. She kissed her, deep and hard, and moaned when Selene’s tongue slid over one of her fangs. She pinned Selene’s hands to the sand above her head and kissed her way over Selene’s collarbone to the swell of her breasts, which suddenly had far too much material over them. With a snarl, she ripped the material away with her teeth before resuming her exploration of Selene’s perfect body. She released her hands and slowly dragged her fingertips over Selene’s arms, over her shoulders and chest, to her breasts, which she palmed before leaning down to suck a hard, dusky pink nipple into her mouth. Selene’s back arched and she pressed herself into Alec, who willingly sucked harder.
When Selene was thrashing with pleasure and begging quietly, Alec quickly undid her jeans and slipped her hand inside soft, silky panties to find the core of Selene’s need. The moment her fingers pushed into Selene’s welcoming wetness, she let her full change happen. If Selene wanted sex with a fury, then she’d get it.
Alec pushed deeper, faster, harder. She fucked Selene furiously, letting out all the frustration she’d felt as she’d grown to enjoy Selene’s company, only to think she could never have her. And beneath Selene’s need, she felt a desperation to be wanted. I want you. I want you so fucking bad.
“Alec…please…God, Alec. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
Alec had no intention of stopping. She wanted to make Selene come as many times as humanly possible, all while wrapped in her wings, comforted and sated by a creature she didn’t know existed, but one who needed her more than she knew. More, even, than Alec wanted to admit.
Selene tightened around Alec’s fingers, her body stiffened, and she bit down on Alec’s shoulder to muffle her cries.
“No one can hear you,” Alec whispered against her hair, loving the feel of Selene’s orgasm crashing through her. As Selene rode through one orgasm and into another, Alec felt her own building in response. By Selene’s third orgasm, Alec couldn’t hold out any longer. She pulled her fingers from Selene and sat up, her wings open wide and her face to the sky as she let go.
When she opened her eyes, Selene was staring at her, but she couldn’t make out with what emotion. When tears slid from Selene’s eyes to fall in the sand beside her head, Alec pulled back, putting her human guise back in place. She lay beside Selene and brushed at the tears. Selene turned on her side to face Alec, seeming to search Alec’s face for something.
“Selene? Are you okay? Was I too rough?”
Selene cupped Alec’s face in her hand. “No. It was perfect. I’ve always wanted to have sex on a beach. Little did I know I’d be lying on a literal bed of feathers my first time.”
She smiled slightly and Alec relaxed. “The tears?”
“Have you ever been told how beautiful you are in the moonlight?”
Alec froze, unsure what to say. There had been a moment in history when furies had been called Erinyes, and they’d sometimes been described as beautiful. But no one who had seen her true form had ever used the word beautiful. She felt tears threaten and cursed herself. Furies don’t cry, you idiot. “No, I don’t believe so. But trust me when I say no one could ever compare to you.”
Selene snuggled into Alec’s embrace. “I have so many questions, so many things I need to know. But right now all I can think about is falling asleep in your arms and dealing with all this when I can think again.”
Alec pulled her tight, wrapping her wings around Selene like a blanket. “Then sleep, sweet one. And when you wake up, we’ll face it all, together.”
Within minutes, she felt Selene’s breathing change and knew she’d fallen asleep. She must be so emotionally exhausted. She wished she could take some of the pressure from Selene’s shoulders, but the truth was, there was far more to come, and nothing Alec could do to stop it, not if she wanted her existence to continue the way it currently did. Selene murmured and snuggled even closer, and Alec sighed.
Selene is right. Tomorrow. I can wait until tomorrow. For the moment, she could sink into the feeling of rightness, of not being alone anymore, that Selene’s presence brought her. For now. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Selene woke warmer than she’d ever been. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d slept so well, without dreams fraught with confusion and stress. So often she felt as though she was being chased, or chasing someone, but nothing ever came of it. Now, she felt…safe. She shifted and went to stretch, but found herself encased to the point of barely being able to move. Her face was pillowed on Alec’s chest, her hands buried in the feathers of her wings. She looked up at Alec’s face and found her smiling down at her.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You must have been really exhausted.”
“I’m so sorry. Have I kept you from anything? What time is it?”
“Nothing could have been more important than waking up with you this way. And my time is yours.” She shifted slightly and laughed. “I’ll admit, however, that the sand is making my wings itch.”
Selene
let go and went to sit up. When Alec’s wings moved away to allow her to move, the morning air was cold and she immediately missed them. She looked down the beach and saw a few surfers coming back in from their morning rides. “Already coming back in. So it must be around nine?”
Alec looked at her quizzically. “You know what time the surfers go in and out?”
Selene tilted her head and stared at the ocean thoughtfully. “No. I’ve just always been really aware of the tides, when they’re in and when they’re out.” She looked at Alec, the previous night rushing back at her. “I guess that makes more sense now, doesn’t it?”
Alec stood and moved a few feet away to shake the sand from her wings. Selene watched, fascinated. The morning light glinted off the black feathers like flame on obsidian. Deep hues of blues and purples caught the light, making her wings more beautiful than anything Selene had ever seen. She tore her gaze from Alec’s wings, only to be arrested by the sight of her beautifully muscled, taut body. She could see a six-pack under the tight T-shirt, and her biceps bulged, pulling the material tight. Selene swallowed, seriously trying not to drool.
Alec cleared her throat and grinned salaciously when Selene met her eyes. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll take you somewhere to do more of what we did last night. For days.”
Selene flushed and looked away, embarrassed by the way she’d jumped Alec last night, practically begging her to have sex. And what did it mean? Where did they go from here? Was it just a one-time thing? Do five-thousand-year-old beings have relationships? Panic started to turn her stomach.
“Hey.” Alec knelt in front of her, her wings tucked away from sight. “Let’s go get some coffee and figure out what you want to do next, okay?” She gently caressed Selene’s cheek.
