Chapter 199: Chapter Seventeen

Kyra

I wasn’t hiding my emotions very well, something that the guys commented on for the next hour as we traveled to the land of my apparent father. I wondered what he looked like.

I wondered if he would give me the same look of disappointment and sadness my father back in my world did, every time I wasn’t able to find what they were looking for.

Every time I failed.

I pressed a hand to my chest and gasped when I encountered it. “My necklace! I have my necklace!”

“Interesting that it would travel back with you—meaning it has already been given, possibly for protection,” Alex said in a silky voice that immediately calmed my nerves, especially since I started to hear cheers as we moved our horses over the sandy hill.

The minute I reached the top, my jaw dropped.

Grecian style white pillars surrounded at least thirty square miles of jungle, right in the middle of the desert!

A huge menacing white castle stood in the middle of the city, its walls so high it seemed impossible to penetrate. Ivy had wrapped itself around the structure, giving it a fairy tale look.

I tried to wipe the smile off my face—and failed.

This wasn’t exactly the adventure I had signed up for when I started working at Soul—I had this immediate need to show Timber, to tease him, get a rise out of the grumpy sarcastic demon whose kisses felt like a drug.

Mason grunted. “You’re blushing.”

I scowled in his direction. “I was just thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts,” Tarek mused. “Oh wait, I think I know exactly what you were thinking about. Odd that a demon bite would feel so satisfying, am I right?”

I wanted to crawl under my horse and hide. All three of them snickered like they knew every gory detail. I held my head high. “It was fine.”

“She’s blushing harder,” Tarek quipped. “Didn’t know Timber had it in him. Isn’t he missing his heart?”

“You’d think he would have asked for that instead of a used soul.” Tarek sighed in amusement. “But no, now we have to do the heavy lifting.”

I frowned. “Is he… I mean, he’s going to be okay, right?”

“As long as you don’t fail,” Tarek said cheerfully then added, “No pressure. And you’re going to find out very soon, because it looks like the solstice is starting, which means you’re about an hour away from visiting the temples of Osiris and Set.”

I frowned as we neared a creek that ran down the path leading into the city. Orange trees in full bloom surrounded us; it smelled like heaven!

“What do I do when I get there?”

Tarek stiffened. “Just be yourself.”

“Anything else?”

Mason reached over and patted my hand. “Try not to faint.”

That wasn’t helpful.

“What about my father? And mother? Here in this time? Will they know?”

“Doubtful.” Alex sounded confident. “You’ve been reborn, so you’re still you replacing you in the past, the same way you’ve been doing it in the future. Timber, however, will not be the same as he’s currently trapped in the present probably battling his own inner demons, if he’s even awake.”

Or still alive. He didn’t say what we were all thinking.

He couldn’t die.

I refused it.

The thought of it had me feeling so sick to my stomach I wanted to cry. It was weird how attached I suddenly felt.

The gates to the city opened, and we trotted the horses through. I tried to stay in between Tarek and Mason while Alex went ahead of us, looking every inch the god he was.

People cheered.

I could get used to this.

I smiled.

“Wave,” Mason coughed under his breath.

I lifted my right arm and waved, and noticed that I had jewels covering every single finger, black rubies to be exact.

Was that why my hand felt heavy?

I suddenly wondered what I looked like.

Back home my hair was cropped and I had blue streaks, call it my version of rebellion, I liked cowboy boots and jean shorts and preferred tank tops and sweatshirts to anything fancy.

I looked down.

I was in a white dress that wrapped tightly around my body, I was wearing thin gold sandals that wrapped all the way up to my thighs, I could tell because my dress has a slit on each side.

I stopped waving when the massive castle gates opened to us.

Why were we going to the castle?

Both men were silent as Alex gave a two-finger salute and led his horse ahead of us into the inner gates.

A trail of yellow and pink roses led up the stairs and toward a massive throne made of black stone.

And sitting there was a carbon copy of my father, only this man looked a lot more like Alex.

He had golden flaxen hair, his eyes were glowing gold, and his armor was swirled in red and silver.

He stood and spread his arms wide in a way my dad had never done before, in a way that made me feel like I belonged in the past more than I belonged in my present.

Tears pricked my eyes as someone—maybe Tarek? Mason? It could have been anyone, really—helped me from my horse. I didn’t walk up the stairs.

I didn’t even register that this man was anything other than what I’d wanted my entire life—the way I’d wanted my dad to look at me. I’d never realized what I’d been missing.

This—Was—Love.

Despite wearing sandals, I sprinted up those stairs, and then I launched myself into his arms, hoping, praying they would wrap around me the way I dreamed.

And when they did.

I let a tear slip.

“Kyra,” he whispered in a way so reverent, so deep and true that I kept my arms wrapped around his neck even though his skin felt hot like the sun.

He said my name like he knew me.

He said my name like I was his.

Slowly, this god, my father, pulled back and cupped my face, his hands covered in jewels of green and silver. “I missed you.”

I opened my mouth to speak. His accent was slight, mine would be nonexistent. I couldn’t cover up my American heritage, so I said, “I missed you too.”

His eyes flickered and then narrowed, he looked behind me at the three massive figures then back to me. “It seems…” He hesitated. “…that we have a lot to discuss.”

Shit, did he know?

How?

“All right.” I ducked my head but didn’t miss how he wrapped a protective arm around me and led me away, snapping his fingers behind him as Alex, Mason, and Tarek followed.

We didn’t have to go far before I saw my mom, she was walking toward us, her arms outstretched, and then something odd flickered in her gaze with my dad.

Massive doors swung closed, leaving us in a large room filled with a feast fit for a king. A long wooden table stood in the center, with several soft purple chase lounges scattered around it.

“Leave us,” Dad barked.

Every single guard left.

At least my guard stayed. I recognized the annoyance in my dad’s gaze, though it was weird seeing him actually express anything other than disappointment.

“I think…” My dad sat at the head of the table. “You should start at the beginning…” His eyes fell to Alex as his voice lowered. “Or perhaps… the end.”

I stiffened. Where had I gone wrong? He’d seen me a total of five minutes. Tarek reached for my hand and squeezed it then helped me sit down while Mason sat on the other side.

Both of them pulled off their helmets at the same time earning a gasp of horror from both my parents.

Well that didn’t bode well for us.

“Watcher,” Dad whispered his eyes locked on Mason. “How are you not chained to the Abyss!”

“Funny story.” Alex flashed him a grin then pulled off his own golden helmet. His orange hair fell past his shoulders as his eyes blazed the same color in my dad’s direction. “Okay I lied, maybe not funny… as much as, surprise?”

My mom covered her mouth with her hands and whispered with trembling fingers, “We have failed. That is what you’re telling us?”

I forgot how frail my mother looked. She was very human in appearance, with long jet-black hair, pale blue eyes, and golden-brown skin that made her even more flawless.

She was wearing a white, floor-length dress that wrapped around one shoulder and draped down to the floor. From the way it glinted in the light, I thought maybe it was dusted in diamonds.

“Not necessarily,” Mason answered from my right. “We’ve been sent back to correct a wrong. One of our own—one of ~your~ own is dying and the only direction the archangel gave us was something even we can’t warn you about.”

My dad was quiet and then his eyes flashed blue. “How many years?”

I shifted in my seat while Alex answered.

“You really don’t want to know that.”

“Tell me!” Dad’s voice boomed like thunder in that room.

I clutched Tarek’s hand tighter. He wrapped a muscled arm around me, his eyes flashing a bright brown as a low growl rumbled in his chest.

Mom gave him a weary look. “They walk with the Kings of the earth.”

“The King,” Mason corrected, standing to his full height. “You’re lucky I don’t require a bow.”

Oh, hell. My dad looked pissed but did nothing.

Mason joined Alex. “As far as how many years from this present date, it isn’t for you to know. It changes nothing, it helps nobody. Just know that the gods of old are either imprisoned for intervening or they are…” He eyed Alex. “…diminished in their powers so that they don’t hurt the human race—or themselves for that matter. The Creator has given us all free will, and we choose to live amongst the mortals, meaning we choose to live with a diminished power.”

“And the rest of the Watchers?” My father asked.

“The Creator—” Mason’s voice caught and he swallowed hard. “Has set us all free.”

My dad looked ready to pass out. “Impossible! What they did was unforgivable! They were given one job, to wa—”

“Blah blah blah, yes we know.” Alex waved him off. “And they fell in love with humans and started a war, blah bloody blah. We’ve lived through these wars, no need to repeat a history lesson.”

My dad’s eyes met mine. “You would sacrifice the life you live now in order to change the course of your own history?”

I swallowed slowly. “No, I would sacrifice the life I have now in order to change the course of history.”

“Who?” Dad leaned forward. “King Set? Is that who we are talking about? Your betrothed?”

I gaped. “B-betrothed?”

I was immediately transported to the dream of riding into the temple, seeing the massive castle and King Set on his throne.

“You are the Princess of Apollo, and you agreed to sign the betrothal covenant to align our two divided countries days ago. We ride in an hour.” He stood. “I don’t know how things are done in your time, but in ours we honor our promises to the death.”

This was bad. So bad.

“But—”

“She’s just nervous,” Tarek interjected smoothly. “She of course has traveled back in time to save the one her soul craves. After all, isn’t love worth the sacrifice?”

My dad visibly relaxed. “Yes, yes it is. I’m glad to hear it.” He walked around the table and held out his hands to me.

I took them. They were warm, loving, and finally he cracked a smile. “I may be a god of this time, but I am still a father, I am still blood.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Regardless of the timeline you are from, I have loved you for an eternity and will continue to do so. Promise me you will not fail, because I don’t think I can bear it.”

Pressure weighed against my chest as I nodded with confidence I didn’t feel. “I will not fail.”

“My little princess.” He pulled me in for a hug just as my mom joined us, the three of us stood there, hugging, and warmth spread across my skin.

This was what I had been missing my entire life.

It was unfortunate that I most likely sacrificed that very thing—to have it.