A Court of Ice and Wind (War of the Gods Book 3)

by Meg Xuemei X

  “To me, you were born yesterday.” He sent me an amused, self-indulgent smile. “The flame can’t harm a powerful god or goddess, but it’ll stop a lesser being from entering my domain. Don’t you want to see which type you are? You doubted if you were Hades’s daughter. You denied you were one of us. It’s time for you to acknowledge and step into your true role. Come now. Do not stall.”

  “True role my butt!” I said. “I’m not one of you, and I have no urge to prove anything to you or your sorry lot. I won’t step through that fucking door unless you either drop the flame or—”

  Apollo waved a hand and powerful, unseen hands dragged me toward the cascade of the white flame, and then I was inside the foyer, a ribbon of silver fire clinging to my tri-colored hair.

  “See how easy that was, foolish girl?” Apollo asked.

  I decided to change my strategy again. To hell with my former decision of not antagonizing the sun god too much.

  I leapt into the air to kick Apollo, my wet boot aiming at his jaw. The giant god sidestepped faster than a laser beam, and I flew past him.

  I landed in a crouch, turned, and snarled at him.

  “Congratulations, little Cass,” he said mockingly. “You’ve just proven what you refuse to accept. Shall we keep going? You’re quite wet, if you haven’t noticed.”

  I rose to my feet. It was damn uncomfortable to have damp fabric clinging to my body. If I had access to my fire, I could dry it in a second.

  “Whose fault was that?” I hissed.

  The sun god’s green eyes dipped lower, to settle on my nipples, which pricked against the wet clothes. I immediately folded my arms over my chest to block his view.

  He chuckled lightly. “You fell into the waterfall pools, and I pulled you out.”

  Why did I even bother to point out facts and argue with a psycho, especially while I couldn’t even send my fire to make him bald like what I’d done to the fae bitch who bullied Amber?

  “Let’s get you a bath and some dry clothes,” he said, as if he was the nicest guy in the world.

  I ignored him as I surveyed the hall.

  The walls were made of gold, and the windows were framed by blue diamonds. When I left this gilded cage, I planned to stash as many diamonds as I could into my pockets.

  They could be my dowry to my mates.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I didn’t want to be alone with the psychopath in such an enormous place. “You’re the sun god, Apollo. A god like you should have a huge entourage, a horde of servants, and minions, right? Otherwise who is going to help you dry your feet and wipe your ass?”

  He shook his head, obviously deciding to ignore my snide comments.

  “I thought you’d appreciate some privacy, so I ordered everyone to make themselves scarce for your first day here. But don’t you worry, little Cass. You’ll have your lady-in-waiting.”

  He snapped his fingers, and a beautiful, fair-skinned female in a blue flowery dress materialized in front of us.

  The woman curtseyed. “Lord God.”

  She had blond hair, green eyes, and pointed ears. She could be Ambrosias’s twin.

  “What the fuck?” I exclaimed. “She’s a fae.”

  “I have more exotic servants if you want to see them all,” Apollo said carelessly. “I collect all sorts of species, and they’re each bound to my will, serving me in utter obedience and devotion.”

  The asshole god enslaved Reys’s people.

  “Did you abduct her as well?” I asked, fuming.

  “You tire me, Cass,” he sighed, “and I haven’t shown anyone the degree of patience I’ve exhibited for you. Don’t use up all of my grace on your first day.” He waved at the fae woman. “Show Goddess Cassandra Saélihn to her room. And perhaps, after a warm bath, she’ll be more cordial.”

  He strode away.

  And my mind immediately ran wild. Should I attempt my escape now?

  It’d be futile anyway.

  I needed to learn about this place and Apollo’s endgame, then map out my own countermoves.

  “Goddess Cassandra Saélihn, this way,” the fae female said as she glided ahead of me, heading in the opposite direction of the sun god.

  I narrowed my eyes at Apollo’s back, my nostrils flaring and my body trembling from the icy wetness.

  “Please, Goddess Cassandra Saélihn.” The fae half turned towards me after she noticed I wasn’t following. “I’ve prepared a warm bath for you. I’ll be punished if you catch a cold.”

  “I never catch a cold,” I said as I jogged toward her. “Call me Cass. And what’s your name, fae chick? You know, two of my mates are fae, too.”

  3

  I followed the fae servant, Aurora, through the winding halls of the Amethyst Palace, trying to store every turn and exit in my memory bank. But whenever I turned a corner, the corridor behind me just vanished. Then, suddenly, I was inside a room. I didn’t even remember walking through the door.

  What kind of fucked up place was this?

  “There’s no point in tracing the path, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said. “The palace shifts at the will of His Lord God. This room is specifically assigned to you. We’re in the west wing right now, but tomorrow this room could be moved to the east wing, depending on how pleased His Lord God is with you.”

  “Do I look like I give a fuck if he’s pleased?”

  I tried to keep my emotions off my face, but my heart sank knowing that I was at his mercy.

  “Any necessity you need—dresses, shoes, toilette—are all in your room,” Aurora continued in a pleasant tone.

  I swept my gaze over an ivory bed, a vanity, puffy chairs, and then the unbarred window. On the other side of the glass panes, a storm brewed over a gray sea. Was that for real? When Apollo dragged me along the slipstream, I hadn’t seen an ocean, only endless clouds.

  “The palace is floating in the sky. Where did the ocean come from?”

  “Isn’t it lovely?” Aurora said admiringly, peeking outside.

  “There’s a storm.” I reminded her.

  “That means His Lord God is brooding. He can make everything happen. If you want a garden view, all you have to do is ask him very nicely. You can even have blossoms hanging over your window and the moon shining on your face. Although, I don’t recommend you ask for a moon since His Lord God is the God of Sun. But still, he might do it for you. I can see he’s very fond of you. In the past, His Lord God was fond of a few others as well, but they didn’t last. I do hope you last longer.”

  “Don’t hope for that,” I said, studying her. Everything about her was like pretty plastic, but she wasn’t a robot. She was a fae. “What did he do to you to make you this way, Aurora?”

  She blinked. “I exist solely to please His Lord God.”

  “Where were you from originally, Aurora?”

  “I was born in the Amethyst Palace, the Wonder of Future Olympus, born to serve. His Lord God wants me to please you, and I’ll please you to please His Lord God.”

  I eyed her wearily. I wouldn’t gain any useful information from her.

  “Are there many others here like you?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She beamed. “I hope you’ll meet them one day if you last long enough.”

  “That asshole must have drugged you to make you this way.”

  She frowned for the first time, fear forming in her green eyes for a heartbeat. Under Apollo’s influence, the fae seemed incapable of feeling any intense emotion.

  “You shall not blaspheme, Goddess Cass. You’ll be sent to the most undesirable place if you don’t behave, even for a goddess.”

  “Who’s going to send me?” I sneered. “This is already the most undesirable place; where else can he send me to?”

  Aurora sighed, then smiled the next second. “Are you ready for your bath?”

  “I can handle my own bath. You’re excused.”

  Instead of leaving, Aurora waved her hand over an unseen sensor, and the wall pulled op
en from the middle, revealing a large bath chamber.

  Steam rose from a gold tub large enough to swim in. On a marble bench was a stack of white towels. On a high counter lay three sets of gowns.

  “His Lord God had us prepare everything for you in anticipation of your arrival, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said. “You’re so lucky.”

  “He’s a fucking stalker.”

  Aurora threw her hand over her mouth to cover a gasp.

  “Go take a coffee break, Aurora.”

  “I don’t drink coffee. I must stay to serve you, or His Lord God will be displeased.”

  I started losing patience, more so since I was cold and wet.

  “Wait outside, or I’ll punch your face and send you back to Apollo and we can see who’s more displeased.”

  She stopped smiling, which rolled the world back towards sanity. But she still didn’t leave, instead loitering outside the bath chamber awkwardly. At least she gave me a little space.

  I peeled off my wet blouse with a sigh and stepped into the steamy gold bathtub.

  4

  My mates’ desperate, enraged roars rang in my ear. I reached for them, only to wake up and find myself alone in an ivory bed.

  Their muscled arms weren’t around me. I didn’t have their hard, warm chests to lean on. I had no one to kiss my lips at first light, calling me “Cass baby” with a teasing smile and sexiness in their voices.

  What had happened wheeled back—the fucking sun god had kidnapped me. He’d torn me away from my mates.

  Angry tears clung to my lashes, but I would not allow myself to cry in the enemy’s lair.

  Sunlight beamed through the silky curtain, taunting my cheeks.

  I turned my head to peek out the window.

  Where an angry ocean rolled yesterday, now stood a bright, lush garden. The sun god could mold and shift everything in his domain with a thought. He was showing me that my thoughts of escaping were futile.

  I’d challenge him. I’d escape when I found an opening. I’d figure out the mechanics of this place first and determine where the slipstream hid.

  I flung the velvet blanket off me and swung my feet off the bed.

  A shadowy figure rose from the ground and popped up in front of me. I yelped and instinctively threw my hands up, but my air magic didn’t even cause a breeze. The torque around my neck flashed a dark, violet light and sent a shockwave of pain through my nerve endings—punishing me for attempting to call my magic.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said, bowing at me and beaming. “Rise and shine.”

  Damn that girl. I ignored her and focused on the torque. I wasn’t giving up. I wouldn’t be bound. I wouldn’t be caged. Not for long, anyway.

  I clenched my teeth, ignoring the intense pain from the torque’s electric shock, and gathered my fires in my belly, commanding them to liquefy the torque. I pictured a stream of white-hot fire sheathing the alien object and burning it, growing hotter and hotter until it melts.

  Fucking melt it!

  But my flames couldn’t rise above my magical well. They swirled around the walls, hissing in frustration before fizzling out.

  All that remained was a spark of ember, buried deep in the ash at the bottom of the well.

  I roared at the ember. You don’t fucking give up! Rise!

  The torque glowed, tightening on my neck, and cutting off my air supply.

  It allowed no defiance.

  Fucker! I didn’t need to breathe air to live. I’d learned that bittersweet secret after Phobos tried to poison me with the Devil’s Love.

  When the last ember failed to arise, I called Earth once more.

  It had aided me on many occasions. It might just give me a hand one more time to help dismantle the alien bind.

  I felt a response, like a glimmer, and my heart leapt. The twinkle winked out in the next instant. Earth was too far away. It had no root here. I couldn’t access its power.

  In my desperation, I clawed at the torque again. It only sank deep into my skin, cutting me, and the shock was like thousands of needles stabbing my neck.

  Breathing out a curse, I loosened my grip on the torque, and the pressure around my neck released. I dropped to the floor and doubled over, panting. At the same time, I darted my gaze around wildly in search of a weapon—anything hard. All I could come up with was to break the chair and wield one of its wooden legs.

  “Good morning, Goddess Cass,” Aurora repeated her greeting. “You look flushed.”

  “What are you doing here, Aurora?” I demanded.

  “I serve you, goddess. How was your sleep? Did you have sweet dreams?”

  This was nuts! But I wouldn’t take out my frustration on her. Pity rose in me instead. The sun god had turned her, and probably many others, into a mindless slave.

  “Have you been here the whole night, watching me sleep?”

  “Yes, I slept on the floor,” she said with a cheerful smile. “You snored at some point, but I won’t report it to His Lord God if you don’t want me to. I know how embarrassing it must be for you. A goddess isn’t supposed to snore.”

  “I don’t give a fuck,” I said. “Report it to the psycho.”

  Her smile thinned and worry lines creased her forehead. “You should not curse, which you do quite a lot, Goddess Cass. As I said before, you don’t want to be sent to the horrible place.”

  I sighed. She was hopeless. It seemed there was nothing I could do for her. I sank onto the edge of the bed, grabbed a pillow, and wiped cold sweat from my forehead with its silky surface.

  Aurora lunged at me. Just before I shoved her away, I realized that she was only trying to help me dab the beads of sweat. She’d fight me to do what she considered her job.

  So, I sat stiffly and let her swab my skin with her silken handkerchief until she was satisfied and stepped back, peering down at me with a proud smile.

  “You did well, Aurora,” I said. “You can leave now. You don’t need to serve me. Find a bed to sleep. You shouldn’t sleep on the floor.”

  “I’m also here to escort you,” she said. “His Lord God expects you to join him for breakfast. It’s a great honor to be invited to dine with His Lord God, Goddess Cass.”

  I gave her a sour look.

  If I refused to go, Apollo might punish Aurora. I was hungry anyway, and I needed to find out what the no-good jerk Apollo was up to. I might need to change my strategies again and appear meek if I ever wanted to get the fuck out of here.

  When Aurora helped me put on a pale pink gown with more than enough skin exposed, I didn’t give her grief. The material was light and soft against my skin like none I’d ever worn.

  Apollo was trying to force me to step into a role as a goddess, or at least look like one.

  ~

  As soon as I stalked out of my suite, Aurora scrambled after me. Five armored sentinels positioned outside the door moved into formation around me. They were here to escort me to see their master and to prevent me from escaping.

  The sentinels were minor gods. The torque confined my power, but I hadn’t lost my hyper senses. I could smell the power grade of each one of them. I was getting better at detecting different species as well. Somehow the ability just awoke naturally.

  If I’d had this prickly sense when I first met Apollo, disguised as the head of mages, I would have known he was a major god.

  Actually, I’d had my suspicions, but I had lacked experience.

  I wouldn’t beat myself up too hard for being green, considering I hadn’t been out of the cage for too long.

  “Hey dudes, isn’t it overkill to have five of you big guys guarding me?” I asked the sentinels. “You should complain about it to your boss, or I could on your behalf.” I spread my arms. “I’m just me, right? Totally harmless. I’m not going to kick your big, fat asses.”

  None of them were fat. Gods were all fit and good looking, whether minor or major.

  The sentinels didn’t respond, but Aurora sent me a nervous glanc
e. I shrugged. It was fine with me that they played mute. The day would just get more boring.

  We trod along the corridor of gold until we came to a grand dining hall.

  Aurora stepped aside at the entrance.

  “Goddess Cass, His Lord God is waiting,” she said, then merged into the background, becoming invisible.

  The sentinels didn’t follow either, as I strode into the hall with my chin held high, as if I owned the land.

  Badass attitude was important when dealing with a psychopathic god, but then my long, elegant gown got in the way. It was meant for me to glide toward the sun god like a high lady. The diamond-studded hem of the gown wasn’t exactly designed for me to march on. The high heels also added some degree of difficulty as I stomped across the golden floor.

  Oh, how I hated the gown exposing my full bare back. But it was either that or wore nothing.

  I was ready to give Apollo hell, especially when I spotted him sitting alone at a table for two in the center of the splendid hall, waiting for me with a supercilious smile painted on his perfect, stupid face.

  He thought he was so irresistibly sexy. I’d seen how his smile made everyone’s knees weak in the Academy. But I was Cass Saélihn. My knees didn’t go weak for anyone except my mates.

  Apollo believed if he took me away from my mates, I’d change my mind and fall for him. It made no difference, though. His high-voltage charm brushed off me and fell into deep, murky water without a ripple.

  This god dude was destined for disappointment.

  Over fifty servers, all young and beautiful, plucked from many races and species, lined up on the left side of the wall, eagerly waiting to serve Apollo. Some of them had exotic looks and otherworldly scents. They weren’t from my Earth.

  All the servers carried trays with a variety of drinks and food atop them. My gaze wandered to those dozens of different cakes, and I tried not to lick my lips.

  Upon my entry, a team of musicians on the low stage set at the right side of the hall laid their long fingers on the fingerboard, pulled their bows, and ran them across the strings. And just like that a lovely melody flowed out, waltzing in the air like light magic.