Sacrifice for the Gods: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Ruling the Gods Book 1) Read online

  In front of us, huge spires rose into the sky. They looked pointed and sharp, and the stained glass windows along the side of the church managed to catch the light that was just beginning to show. Bright colors sparked out from the church, and I had a very good feeling that the inside of the building would look like it was glowing. Even though it was still early, I could see flowers blooming along the walkway to the church. There was a fountain out front that tinkled and threw water into the sky.

  It was gorgeous. Remind me again why we never came to church?

  Oh, right. The gods and goddess wouldn’t have liked it.

  “I don’t blame you.” Dad’s voice was strong and even, and I looked at him with surprise. He was staring at me, his dark eyes swirling with red and wisps of orange. It had always scared me when I was little, like he had some fire trapped in his body, but I loved his eyes now.

  I couldn’t wait until my eyes changed and swirled, but for that to happen, we were going to have to lose Sara.

  “It’s a stressful day,” he continued, obviously unaware of what I was thinking. “But I think that the thing you have to remember is that this is the agreement, and we have to honor it. Your sister…” He paused, and I reached out to take his hand.

  A spark ran through me at his touch. He was full of energy today, and obviously more than a little on edge if he would let me feel his power. I felt him pull it back until it was like I was touching the hand of a normal human.

  Not of one of the most powerful magical beings in existence.

  “You know that our family has a responsibility for all of the magic beings in the world, right, Emily? And that responsibility is hard sometimes, but we have to do what we promised. Your whole life you’re going to be faced with making decisions, and I just hope that you make the right ones, even when they’re difficult.”

  “I know.” He smiled at me and then turned to get out of the truck, moving so smoothly that it was like watching something in high-speed.

  After a moment, I got out of the truck too, slamming it behind me while he shut his door with a wave of his hand and a silent click. I have to admit, as much as I hated the agreement and what it meant for my family, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that magic was pretty cool.

  If only we didn’t have to pay for it with blood.

  “She’s the first daughter of the third son,” I said to him, walking up next to him. He’s craning his neck up, looking at the church’s steeple. “But what does that make me?”

  “That makes you the lucky one.” My stomach twisted at his words, but he continued without giving me a lot of time to digest what he said. “You see anything strange up there?”

  I followed the line of his finger up to the point of the steeple and shook my head. “Nothing. Why?”

  He sighed. “Well, it’s working then. We can tell your mom that we won’t have to worry about the spells not holding, but I better get it down before it tries to invite itself into the church. We can’t have that, you know. Not without one of the gods here to control it.”

  “Can’t have what? What the hell’s up there?” Shielding my face with my hand, I squinted up into the rising sun. It wasn’t so bright out that I couldn’t see easily, but there looked like there was a shadow up on the steeple.

  That didn’t make sense, not with the sun hitting it from that direction.

  “Dad?” Dropping my hand, I look around for him, but he’d already gone into the church. “Dammit,” I whispered, then started for the church to join him.

  As I got closer, I felt a tugging deep in my stomach, like something was trying to convince me not to enter the building. “Stupid enchantments,” I muttered, gritting my teeth and trying to push past it.

  Each step was harder than the last. I had to lean forward to try to break through the enchantment. Sweat broke out on my brow and I felt like I was trying to swim upstream. It was almost impossible.

  Scratch that. It was impossible.

  I got so close that my fingers actually brushed the door handle to the church, but my skin immediately blistered. “Fuck, that’s hot!” Yanking my hand back, I sucked on my fingertips, trying to ignore the fact that I was steadily being pushed away from the church.

  I slid backwards on the pavement, not lifting my feet, until I was on the sidewalk again. “Really sneaky,” I muttered to myself around my fingers. “I’m sure that the humans won’t notice a damn thing when they burn themselves and can’t even make it through the front door.”

  Sometimes witches tended to go a bit overboard when trying to keep people away from things, but what they tended to forget is that people are dumb by nature. No normal human was going to fight against that weird feeling in their stomach to try to get into the church.

  “Do you need help?” A smooth voice behind me made me whip around. I hadn’t heard anyone walk up, but then again, I’d been a bit distracted by my blistered fingers.

  The man behind me was dressed in a light blue suit. He had on a silver tie that sparkled and shone like sun on fresh snow, but it wasn’t his clothes that really distracted me. It was his face.

  Bright blue eyes bored into me, making me shift uncomfortably on the pavement. He had pale skin and white hair that he kept short enough for me to see his ears.

  Oh, shit. His ears. They were pointed at the top, just a bit, and he had multiple silver earrings punched through them. Humans don’t have pointy ears, unless they go to a professional who can tip them for them. Even then, the process is messy and leaves a scar.

  This guy didn’t have a scar. So, not human, then, but definitely not a fairy. There was something about him that wasn’t quite right, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I stared at him, trying to ignore the feeling in my stomach. In the span of about thirty seconds I’d gone from feeling ill thanks to fighting against the enchantments at the church to feeling more longing than I’d felt before.

  Even though a chill ran through me, I felt heat twist and coil itself around my core. The man tilted his head a little and looked at me, like he couldn’t quite figure out what to make of me, and I had to physically stop myself from walking up to him.

  It was a little creepy for him to sneak up on me like that, but I’d be lying if I said that he wasn’t hot. Like, hotter than any guy I’d ever seen before. I was pretty sure that I’d see him in a movie or magazine or something, but that didn’t make sense. Guys like him don’t live in our shitty little town, and they sure as hell don’t visit it on vacation.

  I still wasn’t sure who or what I was dealing with, but I knew he wasn’t a human, and at least I hadn’t just put on a show for a human my dad would have to charm later. No human would think that they hadn’t gone crazy watching me be forced away from the church when I wasn’t even touching it.

  Charming humans was messy and it made my dad angry. Better to leave him out of it. Before answering the stranger I looked back over my shoulder at the steeple. The dark shape was still there, but I could see that it was being surrounded by a glowing light.

  Looked like my dad was going to try to get it down without hurting it, whatever it was. That was good.

  “I’m fine. Just a little burn.” Shoving my fingers in my pocket, I immediately winced as the raw skin wass dragged across the fabric of my jeans. “Who are you?”

  He laughed, the sound making me shiver. Not that he was evil, exactly, but there was something cold about him and I found myself wishing that I’d worn a sweater, even though it was warm out.

  Well, it had been warm out, until this guy showed up. Still, even though I was breaking out with goosebumps, I felt the same longing and tugging in my stomach. My nipples hardened thanks to the chill and I crossed my arms over my chest to hide them.

  His eyes dipped down and he smirked, but he didn’t comment on the fact that I was blazing like two headlights.

  “You don’t know who I am? Silly human. Come here.” He crooked his finger at me and I felt a deep strange tugging in my stomach pulling me to him. My feet wanted to walk u
p to him, but I dug in my heels and stayed where I was. Every cell of my being screamed for me to walk closer to him. I felt like if I would just get closer to where he was that everything would be okay.

  All of this, the crap with Sara, whatever was on the steeple, the way my dad’s eyes were sparking like mad, it would all go away if only I would get closer to this sexy ass man. Yeah, I wanted to get close to him, but I had a sinking feel that it was a bad damn idea.

  So I dug my heels in more. It took all of my energy and I felt my muscles trembling with the effort to keep from getting closer to him. Whatever the hell this guy was, he was strong, I’d give him that.

  “I don’t think I want to be anywhere near you and your tipped little ears.” Raising my eyebrows at him, I pointed. “You get those done to impress a chick? Because I guarantee you, it’s not working.”

  He frowned at me but didn’t answer. Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and I gasped when another man walked up to him. This one was dressed in brown and green. His bright red hair flowed down his back and he smelled delicious.

  Even from feet away, I could smell him. Unabashedly, I sniffed the air. Campfire? That didn’t make any sense – nobody would go camping and then get dressed like that in the morning, right?

  “Brother, what do you want?” The first man sounded a bit frustrated, like this second man was interrupting him. But if they were brothers, then that would explain why they both looked the way they did. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but they both felt different.

  Not of this world.

  Druids? Witches? I didn’t know, but they definitely weren’t human. The heat coiling between my thighs, the failed mind control, the pointed ears? Even the way the one in white made me want to walk closer to him without saying anything gave it away. Yeah, definitely not human, and if my dad caught me talking to them then I knew that he was going to be pissed.

  The last thing that he wanted was for anything to ruin this evening. Nobody wants to sacrifice their daughter to the gods, but when that’s what they demand, then you better bloody well do it.

  “I was just making sure that you weren’t harassing this human.” The second brother turned to me and I felt a wind whip up around me. It even lifted my hair, so I knew that I wasn’t crazy.

  “You two are brothers? Makes sense, since you’re both assholes.” I kept my arms crossed in front of my chest. Insulting creatures from other realms was dangerous, but sometimes it was the best way to get them to leave. If they knew that they weren’t wanted then they might just leave me alone.

  Or it could backfire.

  “Not really brothers, my dear.” The first one murmured, walking over to me. “But we work closely together, so we might as well be.” He reached out like he was going to run his hand through my hair, but the other one spoke up.

  “Wydar, what are you doing?” The wind swirled around me again, this time lifting my hair out of reach of the man trying to touch me. Wydar.

  Definitely from another realm.

  “It’s just that she seems to be different than most of the humans here, Aruer,” Wydar said. He stepped back from me and locked his gaze on mine. “Come here, human.”

  My body wanted to go to him, but I gritted my teeth and shook my head. I didn’t know what type of creature would try to enthrall me like that, but I wanted no part in it.

  Wydar sighed. “Human. Now.” This time, it felt like someone had reached inside of me and gripped my organs. I was freezing from the inside out, the tugging feeling so insistent and powerful that I actually took a step forward towards him.

  But that was it. I wasn’t going any farther.

  “Wydar, you have fun with your little human,” Aruer spat, turning around. I noticed for the first time that he had on a long cloak. It was made from fall leaves, the colors all bright and rich, gorgeous oak and maple leaves held together by magic.

  Magic. Even a fool could tell that his clothing was made from magic, and the realization made my stomach drop.

  “I’m planning on it. You don’t want a taste, Aruer? I know how long it’s been for all of us.” Wydar jerked his finger at me and I took another step towards him. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, it looked like he was going to get his way.

  “Please, no,” I said.

  “Oh, she begs.” Wydar frowned at me and I gasped, my whole body trembling with the desire to go closer to him. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to hold out. Suddenly, a loud thud to our side caught our attention.

  I gasped as he released me, and the three of us turned to see what was sitting on the ground next to me.

  The gargoyle regarded me with little interest before turning to Wydar. “You need to know that there’s a powerful witch here, and he’s coming. He didn’t like me sitting up there.” My jaw dropped open when it spoke. It had a voice that was low and rough, like gravel under a car’s tires, and it hurt my ears. Instinctively, I lifted my hands up to cover them so that I wouldn’t have to hear him speak again. The gargoyle jerked his head up to the spire. When I turned to look, I wasn’t surprised to see that the shadow up there was gone.

  Aruer sighed. “Thank you. We’re coming.”

  The gargoyle grunted, another deep gravel sound that felt totally out of place coming from its mouth. It had huge muscles that bunched and twisted when it moved, and although it sat bent over on the sidewalk, I could easily tell that it was huge if it would stretch out. Its eyes were the same stony color as the rest of its body, which made it difficult for me to tell where it was looking.

  As I stared, the gargoyle turned its head to me and opened its mouth in a roar. Huge fangs cut from stone looked sharp enough to rip through my skin, and I took an involuntary step back at the amount of air that it released. “Stop staring,” the gargoyle growled.

  Gasping, I dropped my eyes from the creature. From what I’d been taught, they wouldn’t attack if they weren’t told to or if they weren’t threatened, but I wasn’t sure how much eye contact they would allow before getting angry at a human.

  Aruer didn’t look at me before turning away, the smell of a campfire washing over me once more as he strode down the street. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling the smoke fill my lungs. It made me want to cough, but more than that, it made me feel warm. Actually, I felt like I was on fire from the inside. The chill from Wydar was gone and I was floating like hot ash on a breeze.

  Wydar and I were left alone, standing just a few feet apart. He reached out and stroked my cheek, cold pain instantly shooting through me at his touch.

  “I am so sorry that our stay here is not very long, human, because I would love to play with you.” I stood still and afraid as he slid his eyes down my body. His mouth quirked into a smile and he looked back up into my eyes.

  “I hope you go to hell,” I managed, finally getting my tongue unstuck from the roof of my mouth. “You and your little gargoyle here. I hope you and your fae friends go to hell and may the gods curse you.”

  At this, he threw back his head and laughed. The sound was like splintering ice on a pond, deep and rumbling, and it shocked me. I thought that he would have a high laugh that made my skin crawl, but the sound only throbbed through my body.

  “I’ll never go to hell, my dear human,” he told me, reaching out once more to brush hair back from my face. I stilled at his touch, willing my heart to stop pounding in my chest. “But I’ll think of you when I get back to my realm.”

  Back to his realm?

  Oh, fuck.

  He turned and walked away, the gargoyle at his side, just before my dad burst out of the church door. His hair was messed up and his eyes were shooting red sparks as he looked in my direction.

  “Who in the gods’ names were you talking to?” His voice was tight and I noticed that there were trails of smoke coming from his fingertips. I wanted to show him mine, to show him how I was burned by his spell, but I just shook my head.

  “I didn’t know them. Just two fae and their gargoyle. Is tha
t what was up there?” I pointed at the steeple, but when I looked back at my dad, he had a dark look on his face.

  “What were their names?”

  I swallowed hard. There was something about the way that he looked at me that told me that I screwed up, even though all I did was wait outside the church for him while he ran off a gargoyle. I’d fucked up enough in my life to know when my dad was mad at me, but this was something different.

  The air around him shimmered and I stepped back involuntarily, wanting to put some distance between the two of us.

  “Um, Wydar and Ar-something. They must be fae that aren’t from around here, because I didn’t recognize them or their names. Don’t worry, dad, they were probably just checking out the church because they could sense the enchantments.”

  His face tightened and his eyes sparked more. “Was it Aruer?”

  “That sounds right.” I paused, trying to remember. “Yeah, I think. Aruer. Where do you think that they’re from?”

  In response, my dad gritted his teeth and frowned at me. “They aren’t from around here.”

  “Yeah, I got that. And the gargoyle just walked off with Wydar like it was a pet or something.” There was something in the back of my mind that I couldn’t quite pay attention to, like maybe something that I remembered from school or from hearing it around the house.

  Only one person in the realm has a gargoyle for a pet.

  “Dad. Who were they?” Even though I tried to keep the fear from my voice, I could hear that I was trembling a little. They weren’t fae, that was for sure. There was no way that those two guys were just regular creatures here from another realm.

  Instead of answering, he ran his hand through his hair. “Get in the truck, Emily. But first, did you do anything to anger them? Did you say anything upsetting?”

  I mean, I told Wydar to go to hell. That may have been a bit upsetting, telling him that right then wasn’t the best idea.

  I shook my head. “No, I think that Aruer was nicer than Wydar, though.”

  Then it hit me. Sometimes, when you can’t quite think of something, your subconscious works on it without you knowing that it is.