She smiles faintly, and I love the way her lips curve. She tilts her head to expose more of her skin, inviting me. “I don’t know what life will bring, but you’ll always hold the most important part of me,” she breathes, looking down.
“I don’t want a part of you, Sienna. I want all of you, and I will.”
She looks up and smiles at me and nods, but she doesn’t say anything, as if worried her words would betray her. If they were going to be a lie… that they would betray her.
The unease after that flash from moments earlier remains. The only thing that’s keeping me sane is her in my arms.
I lean in, capturing her mouth again, this time with more hunger and fire. Our lips move together, fuelled by fierce passion and desperation. The cold water around us forgotten, leaving only the heat between our bodies.
My hands explore the lines of her hips, the gentle swell beneath my palms. She arches into me, a quiet moan slipping past her lips. Every touch, every glance, feels like a promise we’re both desperate to keep.
I break away just long enough to meet her eyes, searching for the truth in their depths. “I love you, Jayce, so, so much.” Her fingers trail down my chest, warm against the cold bite of the lake.
I pull her impossibly closer, her nipples grazing against me. “And I love you, Darling,” I reply, sliding my hands beneath her ass, and claim her lips once more, drawing a soft moan from her lips.
The night holds us in its quiet embrace as we lose ourselves in each other, two bodies, two hearts, desperate to hold on to this connection forever.
“Jayce…” she whimpers when I throb against her.
“Sienna…” I whisper huskily between kisses that become more frantic.
Every kiss, every touch, every whispered name builds until it’s a roaring flame, scorching away the doubts and fears that are building inside of me. Right now, here in this lake with her, I find the flicker of hope that maybe just maybe, despite my every intuition telling me something bad is coming, there can still be hope.
Written in the Tomes
Jayce
Afew days have gone by, and we’ve pored over these tomes for hours on end. Sienna had to return to the Academy, and I’m stuck here as we have to get this done. I miss her and I’m worried about her, but there’s little I can do as I try to get this stuff wrapped up.
The team Leo put together is here at ours, and we’ve all been working late daily.
We have a lot of work to do, and Mom and Grandma have been helping as well. Right now, Dad is working with Uncle Damon and Jax. Grandad has been working with Enrique and Uncle Alejandro, and I’m working with Raihana and Royce.
These groups were set out by Dad, and no one got a say in it.
Royce is proofreading right now and making sure it makes sense. Raihana is typing up everything I say, which helps me avoid repeating myself and ensures we don’t misinterpret anything. Then, Royce reviews it to make sure it makes sense.They’ve been switching between typing up and proofing, so the other gets a break.
Raihana now crosses her legs as she puts down the laptop she had in her lap. I’ve been working on the tome titledThe Archway Between Worlds. “Skotos and Nur form an arch across the world. One that once stood as a gateway for immortals to venture through at will. Yet no humans could go through it?” She looks up at me, and I nod.
“Correct. It says here… Any human whose spirit was not strong enough could not last the crossing. I ventured through only a handful of times, my final time being when Ra challenged me.” I read aloud. “It costs me my strength for days, despite how powerful my aura is. Our aura’s intensity depends on our soul energy, which is what our strength is measured by – our spirits.”
Everyone is silent as they listen. After all, Dante has been trying to find the pillars for a while, and we’re all wondering if the answers are here. “Zeus and Selene created Skotos from the power of the moon and the storm. They resurrected half of the bridge that formed the archway to our world. And Ra and Anubis created Nur from light and protection and erected the second pillar. They created these pillars with power and blood at the exact moment when the planets aligned, and the power of the universe was at its strongest.”
I look up. “Anubis, that’s a new one.”
“He’s mentioned in theBook of the Gods. He’s the one who guides the souls of the dead to Hades, or as he was once known, Osiris. Anubis is also known as a protector and a leader,” Enrique explains.
“And I think…” Grandma begins as she enters the room with a tray of drinks. “He might also be the one to favour the Volkov line. That’s if we assume each of you rulers is favoured by one ofthe four creators of the pillars.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Dad says with a nod.
I continue reading, “This was at a time when the gods still looked upon each other with unease, so the four came together and created this archway. The pillared arch stood between the two lands, a bridge between divided people. Its purpose was clear: to unite worshippers across boundaries, to share in power, and to silence the growing rivalries that had begun to rot the divine order. It is understood that a god’s strength is not their own. It is drawn from the breath and belief of mortals. Where some gods were praised more in one land, others were exalted in another. The archway was meant to balance this, to bind all worship under one structure, one vision.” I take a breath as everyone listens quietly. Only Raihana is typing away slowly.
“But peace among gods is a delicate thing. What began in unity soon bent under ambition. Some gods twisted the veil to their advantage, reaching across the archway not in friendship, but in conquest. They stirred fear among mortals, reestablished long-forgotten temples, and demanded loyalty through threat rather than faith. Others enslaved, deceived, or manipulated their way back into relevance, claiming power not through reverence, but through control. Ra was one of these, and he became a threat to Zeus. His name – Helios, which was once forgotten, soon became popular in Olympia.”
“Helios is a fucking nutcase,” Alejandro drawls. “That fucker seems to always be causing issues. I’ve got my eyes on you.” He points at Royce with the hand that’s holding his glass of vodka.
Royce simply grins. “Hey, I’m not him,” he says in defence, raising his hands in surrender.
