by Nicole Thorn
Burning Willow Press, LLC
3724 Cowpens Pacolet Rd. Spartanburg, South Carolina 29307
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The persons, places, and events of this novel are works of fiction. Any coincidence with the individual’s past or present is merely that, coincidence.
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-947584-57-0
-1st Edition-
This edition published by
Burning Willow Press, Spartanburg, South Carolina in 2019
Copyright © Sarah Hall, author, 2019
Copyright © Nicole Thorn, author, 2019
Edited by Edd Sowder, 2019
Interior Design by Mayhem Designs, 2019
Cover art concept by Sarah Hall, 2019
By Nicole Thorn & Sarah Hall
(Seers & Demigods series)
We Will Gain Our Fury
We Will Change Our Stars
We Will Heal These Wounds
We Will Bleed
They Will Not Be Silenced
We Will Rend
(Way Down Below series)
Way Down Below
Follow Me Down
We All Fall Down
Down We Go
Double Down/Down & Out
Down in Flames
Bitter Dreams
Machete
Jasmine
I glanced down the stairs, planning my next move. He would be coming up at any moment and then I’d be able to prove myself. I wiggled my hips, grinning.
“What are you doing?” my sister said behind me. I whipped around so fast and hard that I nearly gave myself whiplash. My hand went around Juniper’s mouth and I hushed her.
She shoved me, and I stumbled over my feet. “How dare you?” I hissed. “I’m a goddess.”
“I’m a goddess too,” Juniper said, rubbing her face where I had grabbed it. “Ugh, did you wash your hands before grabbing me?”
I stared down at my fingers. “Well, I was out in the pool earlier, so they’re pretty clean.”
Juniper made a harsh sound in the back of her throat and took off for her bedroom. “Why?” she shouted. “There’s probably Nemo juice all over my face now and I have to live with that because of you!”
Verin opened their door just before she plowed him down, screaming about the bathroom. He blinked at her then turned to me. “What did you do to Juniper?”
“Nothing! Now be quiet, I’m trying to plan an ambush.”
Verin quirked an eyebrow. “An ambush?”
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Against?”
“Oh, my gods. Why won’t anyone in this house let me plan an ambush?” I flailed my hands. “I have a point to make!”
“Well, if you’re planning on attacking Zander, he’s right behind you and you might want to rethink your plan,” Verin said, closing his bedroom door and calling out to my sister.
I screamed when Zander’s arms around me from behind and hoisted me over his shoulder. “What are you trying to do?” he asked, keeping me up in the air. I kicked uselessly since he had my arms pinned to my sides. “I hope you weren’t trying to surprise me or anything because that would be silly. You know that I am the best at everything. Wooing, sneaking up on people, wedding planning, cooking…”
“You’re nothing compared to me!” I shouted, trying to break free while Zander walked us toward our room. “And, I’m the best wooer!”
“I’m a son of the goddess of love,” Zander said, still moving me. “You can’t out-woo me.”
“I’m a straight up goddess!” I shouted. “I am the best at everything.”
He walked us into the room and tossed me on the bed. I bounced once, letting out a hard breath when I landed again. My eyes narrowed as I sat up. “You’re the literal worst, though.”
Zander laughed, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Two years ago, if someone had shown up on my doorstep and asked me what I thought the demigod of Aphrodite would look like, I would’ve described Zander. He had slightly curled blond hair, cut to his ears, light blue eyes that seemed to fill with light whenever he talked about something he loved—namely me—and he had the body of a literal god. Tall, hard muscles, and strength that wouldn’t quit.
I huffed, blowing some hair out of my face. “I hope that you fall down the stairs later.”
“You should know better by now,” Zander said, walking around the room.
“Just, like, hard enough to break your arm but not hard enough that you break your neck. You know what I mean?”
He grabbed his sword and my eyes locked on it like lasers. If he started to swing that thing around…
Zander gave it a test swing.
Heat swept through my body while I planned on how to get him naked. It wouldn’t be hard, in all honesty. If I just asked him to get naked…
I bounced off the bed and jumped to the floor. Ever since my siblings and I became gods, I had so much energy, I didn’t know what to do with it. I felt like bouncing around the entire room all the time. The day before, I’d run in circles around the block for an hour, trying to burn some of the energy off, but nothing seemed to work.
I lifted the bed off the floor.
“Whoa, whoa,” Zander said, coming toward me. “Maybe not test out your new abilities with our bedroom furniture.”
I set the bed down with a thump. “I need to do something. Don’t you feel like this? Like standing still isn’t good enough anymore and you just wanna run around like a madman, screaming at the top of your lungs?”
“Well, no…” Zander said. “I’m not mad.”
“Ugh.” I threw my head back and then flopped down on the bed. Despite what I had said, it actually felt pretty good to lay down like that. I hadn’t slept in two days, and I supposed even a goddess needed to rest. Zander laid down next to me, breathing out as if in relief.
I hadn’t been that bad, really… Well… except for a few moments, which might have gotten on his nerves. But details.
“I think I’m going crazy with worry,” I finally said, shrugging. “It feels like something should have happened by now. Hasn’t it felt quiet in the last couple of weeks?” We hadn’t heard a word from the gods since we had taken care of Argus. Well, except for Persephone coming by for a pool party, but that didn’t feel like it counted. She was stuck topside for another five months or so, and she spent that time with Medusa for the most part. Medusa loved us almost as much as we loved her, so we spent a lot of time together.
“I get where you’re coming from,” Zander said. “But I think we shouldn’t worry just yet. We should enjoy the downtime we’ve gotten. Don’t you want to relax, knowing that there’s nothing we have to worry about?”
I sighed, still staring up at the ceiling. “Maybe. I feel like something is coming.”
Zander frowned at that. “Feeling as in, nervous about the future, or feeling as in, seeing something that you shouldn’t?”
I frowned some more. “I haven’t gotten a vision if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said. “I haven’t even gotten to try out my new powers yet.”
Zande
r cleared his throat, and I glanced at him. He didn’t think I should’ve been in a rush to use my new powers. My brother had traveled through time and my sister could teleport, but I hadn’t done anything with mine. I hadn’t even used them to look into the future, too scared of what I might find on the other side. Or that I’d get stuck in the future, which would create so many issues that I didn’t even know what to do about it. At least Jasper hadn’t done anything in the past that would screw us over now.
I hoped.
Sighing, I rolled over so that I could look at Zander. “I’m not sure what this feeling is. I just know that it’s uncomfortable. I feel uncomfortable and unsure.”
It was his turn to frown. He rubbed his eyes, shifting so that he could put his arm over my stomach. “Maybe you don’t need to test out your new powers.”
I sighed, sitting up. Zander worried too much about me and things that he couldn’t change. Of course, it was hard to keep blaming him for that worry when all of his worst fears had come true less than a month ago. I couldn’t imagine the horror of walking into the house and finding all of us dead. However, being the one who actually died, I felt like I had the right to be more horrified than him.
The gods had brought us back reluctantly, but if not for that, Zander probably would’ve been a zombie right then.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “But at the same time, if I don’t test out my new powers, then what’s going to happen when they manifest themselves?”
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
“Jasper ended up in the past and a primordial being had to go and retrieve him for us.”
Zander sighed.
I sat up, shaking my head. “I need to go feed Nemo.”
“Jasmine,” Zander said, sitting up. “I’m just scared.”
That got me to stop in my tracks. “I know that, sweetie.” I turned to look at him again. “But I’m a goddess now. It would take something massively powerful to kill me. You shouldn’t still be scared.”
His eyes closed. “Well, I am.”
I stepped up to him. His shifted around so that I could stand between his legs and put my hands on either side of his face. He allowed me to tip his face upward so that we could stare at each other. “You know that I love you, right?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said, without hesitation.
“Good,” I said, leaning in to kiss him. Our lips met only briefly before I pulled back. “Consider yourself wooed.”
I jumped back before he could grab me, a smile on his face now. Distraction successful, I thought, while bolting from the room. I got downstairs in time to see Kizzy and Jasper come in from the garage. The two of them were covered in clay, with little fingerprints on their faces, like they had attacked each other. I didn’t want to know.
Kizzy blushed when she saw us. Her pinkish hair fell around her in waves, framing a gorgeous face. Her hazel eyes sparkled, which made me even surer that I didn’t want to know what she and my brother had been doing in that garage.
Jasper looked better than he had in years, even after Kizzy showed up. He’d filled out so that now he was a huge man, almost as big as Zander. Jasper had even wider shoulders than Zander, something that he got from our father. Godhood suited him well.
We all ground to a halt upon seeing each other. Clearing my throat, I shifted around my brother to get to the fridge. Zander also cleared his throat as he started looking through the cabinets for something to eat. We couldn’t have made it more awkward if we tried.
I pulled open the fridge door to stare at the contents inside. Immediately, my eyes drifted to the shelf that used to have my alcohol on it. Beer, for the most part, but I’d also had some tequila and vodka in there, for when I wanted something harder. My mouth watered at the memory, and a pesky thought popped up. You’re a goddess now. You could probably drink and drink and only get tipsy…
A shiver worked its way down my spine and I slammed the fridge door closed harder than I meant to. It rattled against the wall hard enough that my brother, Kizzy, and Zander all turned to look at me. My face heated. “Oops. Guess when you’re as awesome as I am, you forget your own strength.” I beamed to drive the words home.
Jasper laughed at me. “Well, be careful. If we have to replace another fridge, Juniper might actually have a heart attack.”
“She’s a goddess too,” I said, grinning even though I didn’t feel like it. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about!”
Kizzy and Jasper left, and Zander came over to wrap his arms around me from behind. I breathed a sigh of relief that none of them seemed to notice my lies. I leaned back against Zander, enjoying the feel of his arms around me, trying to use them as a stabilizer so that I’d stop thinking about tequila.
I couldn’t get drunk now, so I shouldn’t have been worried about it. I shouldn’t have worried about anything.
“You wanted to feed Nemo?” Zander asked.
“Right,” I said, pulling away from him. “We shouldn’t keep a hungry hydra waiting!”
Zander
I t would have been irresponsible of me to not find some way to put Jasmine in her place. If I let her keep thinking that she was better at wooing than me, it would have only broken her heart later when she found out how wrong she was. So, there I crouched, behind the hall corner so I could get her when she decided she needed food.
“Um, what the hell are you up to?” my sister asked me after a half hour of waiting. I hadn’t noticed her sneaking up on me, but she bent down at my side.
“Wooing,” I whispered. “Hush.”
She smirked, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. “Jasper is in the shower, so I have nothing to do for the next ten minutes. Entertain me.”
“Since when do you need me for entertainment?”
“Since you and I haven’t been spending that much time together, just the two of us.”
To say that had been by design would have felt… weird. Kizzy and Jasper had only been married for a couple of weeks, and I thought they should get some bonding time since they had been screwed out of a honeymoon. They should have been able to fly off somewhere pretty and expensive, but with all the shit the gods threw at us, it wasn’t possible. Jasmine thought something bad was coming, but I would have been more than happy for enough quiet that I could send my sister off for a week.
“Just stay quiet,” I said. “If I don’t attack Jasmine, then she’ll think she won.”
“But she’s already won,” Kizzy whispered. “She’s got you huddled up like a little weirdo.”
“That’s how she likes me.”
I listened out for a heartbeat when I heard steps on the stairs. I could pick Jasmine out of a lineup, matching her aura to that heartbeat. Auras felt different for everyone I knew personally, and to me, Jasmine shined like a bright pink beacon of peace.
I let out a battle cry when I threw my body into the air. Jasmine didn’t see me coming when I crashed into her legs. We both toppled to the floor, her shouting something indignant.
Two things came to mind at once when we tumbled around, both trying to get on top, so we could be called the victor. Three things, since I heard Juniper scream at us when we crashed into the wall and made it shake. The first thing was glee that I could do this and not break Jasmine’s body. The second was pure fear that I would indeed, break her body. It seemed stupid, but I couldn’t shake it. It made me pause, giving Jasmine what she needed.
Jasmine shoved me down by the shoulders, straddling me before she thrust her arms into the air. “Victory!” she screamed, wiggling pleasantly on me.
“Dammit,” I heard Jasper sigh as he walked down the stairs, hair still damp from his shower. I watched his wife happily skip over to him, taking his hand before they headed into the kitchen.
“It wasn’t even sexual!” Jasmine shouted to her brother. “I just had to defeat him. True loves do this!”
While she was having a good time, my eyes raked over her body to make sure I hadn’t done any dama
ge. Her aura didn’t suggest she had been hurt, but that wasn’t good enough for me. Surely something had to be wrong. It didn’t matter that her goddess body would heal her faster than even I would heal or that she could take a hit from a car and feel like she got brushed by a feather.
Jasmine popped off of me, getting on her feet and brushing off her brightly colored dress. “Come along, darling. Let me make you a consolation mug of cocoa.”
She didn’t warn me before taking my hand and effortlessly yanking me to my feet. It threw me off like nothing else. I tried to let it go, following her into the kitchen.
Kizzy and Jasper already sat at the table, sharing a little plate of cheese and crackers. They discussed plans to go to a movie later. I thought it would have been nice if they could go out and not have to worry about anything, but I wanted to lock my sister in the house. Jasper too, the person who I’d mostly known as a fragile human. We had a war coming; anything could have happened to them if they left the house.
The moment Jasmine handed me the cocoa, the doorbell rang. She started walking to answer it, and I had that mug on the table so fast that it could have made a head spin. I cut her off, getting in front of her so I could answer the door. I opened it to a little redhead and her two bodyguards.
“Children,” I greeted with a bow. “And to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m older than you,” Micha griped, his expression stern as everyone ignored him. My policy was that anyone shorter than me was younger. Them’s the rules.
Jasmine pushed me out of the way to give Callie a hug. “How’re you?”
“Great!” Callie answered. “Micha stocked the fridge, and he didn’t even eat it all in a day.”
As they walked in the house, Micha threw her a glare. “Excuse me, but I’m a Hunter of Artemis. I need all the food I can get. How else am I supposed to stay strong enough to protect our immortal Oracle?”
Aster gave him a look. “I can protect her too.”
