I followed Melea’s gaze around the square. If those were the priestesses, not the mini-boss as I expected, I definitely was going to need way more levels to take on Nyx. She was, apparently, an enraged goddess out of control and working for the Necromancer. And I didn’t need to beat her only. I couldn’t take a hit. And I was already taking a beating.

  Brianna sneaked closer to the wall, peeking around the corner to the alley the priestess came from. “Come on, we have to run to the temple to avoid these bitches.”

  “I see your point,” I neared her from behind, touching her waist. “But I have to level up some more. I’m not sure I can take on Nyx like this…”

  Melea, who still paced among the corpses, snapped her head to a side corridor, calling “Master!”

  I swirled around, raising my sword and already expecting to be attacked. But from the corner came a priestess dressed in white, tripping as she advanced with a hand on the wall. She gasped for air as she rose her head to us.

  “Who are you?” Her voice was weak, broken.

  From the lack of active attack, I took it she was the victim in here. The dark priestesses seemed to be rallying against the white ones. I put my sword away, lifting a hand in a pacifying motion. “We came to check what’s going on. There has been no sunlight in the past three days.”

  The newcomer breathed out, her knees giving out under her weight as she covered her mouth with a hand. “Are you here to fight the lady Nyx?”

  “Yeah,” I stepped closer to her, watching to see if she was hurt. “Can you tell us what’s going on?”

  She nodded, pulling her hood away and letting it drop. Once more, I was impressed by those priestesses’ beauty. Her angelic face was pale as she looked up at me, wide, big eyes brimming with tears.

  “The ladies Nyx and Lux always had this sort of competition… But there has been a balance for thousands of years.” She touched a hand to her chest, lowering her gaze. “Everything changed with the arrival of this Necromancer… Messengers came from the capital, first with gifts, then with threats… But we never expected…” Quivering breaths escaped her mouth as she closed her eyes, a lone tear running down her cheek. “We never though lady Nyx would really take the Necromancer’s side. We don’t know what happened to lady Lux, but she definitely is unable to make daylight come through… We fear the worst,” her voice dropped to a murmur. “And now we, priestesses of light, are being hunted down.”

  I took a step forward, kneeling in front of her. Her pale face was framed by hair so fair it could pass as white. Begging eyes rose up to stare at me, and I puffed my chest, a surge of heroism running through my veins. “I’ll definitely stop her and we’ll have daylight again in no time at all.” I smiled and, even among tears, she smiled back at me, truly angelical. “But you see, I do have a problem. I don’t know the way.”

  She giggled under her breath, covering her mouth with a small hand. She swiped at her tears then, nodding fiercely. “With this much I can help. I’ll take you to the Temple.”

  * * *

  We followed the white priestess through narrow, marble-paved streets. Melea went in the front with her, sniffing around to be sure all was right. Here and there we were confronted by dark priestesses, surprised with our presence being led by a white one, but with Melea sensing them before they arrived, it was not all that bad. Besides, all those kills were leveling me up, and I got stronger with every follower of the night I killed.

  Brianna walked behind me, sometimes too far for comfort. She still watched her back and hadn’t uttered a single word ever since we encountered our guide.

  I slowed my pace down to walk beside her. “Are you alright?”

  She snapped her head at me, her brows furrowed. “Yeah. I’m just being careful so we’re not taken by surprise.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” I slid a smile in her direction. “Melea’s got us covered.”

  Brianna tutted, eying the Lycan in front of us with a raised brow. “Yeah, she’s not all that bad… But I’d rather keep an eye for myself.”

  “Of course,” I rose a hand to put a stray of red hair behind her ear. She gave me a sidelong glance, watching my moves. “But you don’t need to get all that jumpy. We’re in this together.”

  “We’re here,” the priestess that guided us called, turning a last street so we were on the back of a tall, white building. High, Greek columns drew our gaze upwards.

  I slid the menu open to check on my level. Twisting my mouth, I decided it was not good enough. I felt like the strategy I had been using these past bosses had been good - I’d put on more levels than were necessary so the fight would be a breeze and I’d get the 100% on the first try. It sucked to defeat the boss taking damage then having to grind levels to do the fight all over again.

  The white priestess had gone up the set of steps to a small door and twirled her fingers in the air, white rays of light left behind as if burnt on the wood. I could only imagine it was some kind of seal.

  “I still need some more levels,” I told my girls, who looked up at me with completely different kinds of expression. Melea nodded once, pausing her hands over her hips as she waited for orders.

  Brianna furrowed her brows further, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’re in danger this exposed, Aaron. Let’s get this over with. You get in there, kill Nyx, and that’s it.”

  She was definitely acting weird ever since we entered the city. I approached her to touch her arm but she took a step back.

  I had been used to this kind of shit on my relationship with Amy and that simple step back hurt like hell.

  I cleared my throat. “I don’t think I can be all that effective as I am now, Brianna. Bare with me a moment longer.” I started to smile but noticed I was being a sucker in a group I was supposed to lead. Locking my jaw, I turned around, saying. “Or just stay behind and wait. I have to get some more levels before fighting her. Melea?”

  “Yes, Master?” The other sprang up to my side, a smile on her lips. She surely was satisfied with me shrugging Brianna off.

  “Are you coming with me?”

  “Of course, Master!” She clutched my arm, pressing her tits against me. I looked over my shoulder to Brianna, whose annoyed expression seemed to have melted. The tip of her lip twisted up now, as if she was thinking, though not insulted.

  She sighed, “Alright, alright… I’m coming too.”

  Pride swelled in my stomach. Fuck yeah to assertiveness.

  We left the priestess opening the door as we tiptoed around the corner, looking for enemies. Melea still kept her attention on the priestess, just to be sure we wouldn’t leave her to be killed.

  Though we fought together a while longer and a tingle ran up my spine with another two levels up, the number of priestesses didn’t dwindle. They were a freaking army. And I couldn’t wipe out of my mind the way Brianna had been acting.

  But I was glad about how well it worked out to tell her what I was going to do. With every slash of my sword, I felt stronger and closer to my goal of stopping the Necromancer.

  Even if I hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that I was about to fight a freaking goddess.

  5

  We tracked back to the Temple as soon as I decided my level was good enough. The Priestess, with her hood back up her face, waited for us by the door. She hugged herself and pressed her back against the wall, doing her best to blend with the marble. I approached, meeting her eyes.

  “We’re ready,” my voice grave as I let her know. My girls escorted me, and I slid my menu open to check on my status and level. All my skills were ready. I had health potions to spare.

  The priestess nodded and reached for the symbols graved in the wood. The white neon lines glowed even brighter when she touched the tips of her fingers against the center of the drawing. With a rustle, as if leaves fell on the inside of the room, the door unlocked and opened. Dark stared straight at us.

  She shivered, shouldering the wall again. “The Temple is large and this is but a back door. Be careful.”

  I took a step and halted, looking at Brianna’s hand. “Where’s the lantern?”

  She cocked a brow. “I left it in the road when I blew it out. Why would I carry a lantern if there was light in here?”

  Strange, but true. I had completely forgotten about it. Frustrated, I sighed. “We’ll need another one. It’s dark as night in there.”

  “We can use Melea’s nose again. It worked well last time.” Brianna took the lead and entered the temple.

  “Why do you think I would know how goddesses smell like?” Melea frowned, crossing her arms. She leaned closer to me. “I think she’s trying to get us killed, Master. Send her away.”

  Brianna turned back, staring at the Lycan with both her brows up. “Oh, please. If I wanted to kill you, I had plenty of chances in the shacks by the road.”

  “She had, indeed,” I chimed in, taking a step between the two. “But this doesn’t change the fact it’s too dangerous. It’s easy to fall in a trap in the dark.”

  The warrior crossed her arms, her amazing tits jumping up. “You don’t want to walk all the way back after the lantern, do you?” There was so much disbelief in her voice I was surprised for a moment. She was definitely still upset about me not moving on earlier.

  “If I may…” The priestess, whom I had almost forgotten about, took a step closer. She lifted a pale hand, palm up. “I can conjure some light for you.”

  I grinned. “That’d be neat!”

  She twirled her fingers around until gossamer threads appeared mid-air, sprawling one over the other, over and over, until a bright white orb floated above her hand. She smiled shyly from under the hood, passing the orb to my hand.

  “It’s not much, but I hope it helps.”

  “It does, thank you.” I smiled and she took a step back, looking away. I turned to my companions. Brianna’s face a blank slate. “Alright, now that we can see. Let’s do it!”

  As soon as I stepped in, the game prompted me to save. I did, anxious to not need this saving point.

  * * *

  The priestess was right. The Temple was huge! The fact none of us had ever been there didn’t help. We entered empty hallways, backtracked, found dead-ends and backtracked some more. Entering the place through a back door didn’t help either and we lost time trying to find our way to the main corridors.

  Apart from the orb bathing our faces in cold light, everything else was pitch black. The size was comprehensible. All those priestesses out there - they lived here before it all went down. They ate in these dining halls and studied in those libraries we passed. Even if now the books were dusty and the broken shelves, the benches flipped over and the vases destroyed, I could imagine them living their daily lives in that place.

  The Temple looked as if out of a legend. Abandoned in time. Forgotten.

  We strode in silence, only our footsteps marking our way. Here and there, Melea would mutter a complaint about the path being so winding. Brianna would tell her to try and smell something that could help. Melea would go on and mutter even longer because the whole place smelt of decay.

  It took us some time but we reached what had to be the main corridor. Wide, with a grand number of columns, it took us to a dimly lit hall. Two lanterns held the same orbs we had. It was not near enough to see the place clearly, so I still held my light high above our heads.

  “It looks like we’re almost there, Master!” Melea whispered, her voice carrying out easily in the empty space.

  “Yes, keep talking to attract her. Why don’t you just call her name already?” Brianna hissed, her voice a bit louder than Melea’s. I stared at her, ready to ask what her problem was.

  The light orbs blew out, including the one in my hand. We were immersed in solid darkness.

  Before I could take a breath to say what the hell, the whole room was lit again, in stark white. I blinked, adjusting my eyes.

  For a moment, I thought it was the effect of blinking rapidly. But two silhouettes were surely forming in front of me.

  “Congratulations, mutt,” Brianna roared from my side.

  “It isn’t my fault! You were the last one talking!”

  “Now, now, girls…” One of the silhouettes drawn in shadow took form, delineating the curves of a woman. “There is no point in fighting if you are all dying together.”

  I pulled my sword first then analyzed the voice’s owner later.

  She had short, dark hair that reached her jaw in a perfect line. Speaking of perfect, her features were unnatural. Each of the lines of her face seemed drawn to perfection. Violet eyes stared at me from under thick lashes. Delicious red lips. Her dress reminded me of a Greek tunic, though black and diaphanous. The V-neck hugged small, perky breasts and though the cloth was loose, I could see her tight stomach, small waist and long legs, one of them, smooth white skin, escaping from the slit of the dress. She held a tall staff in a hand, cocking her brow to smile at us.

  Pointing a forefinger at me, she smiled like a cat about to eat a bird. “You must be Aaron. I’ve heard so much about you.” She leaned against the staff, and I had to swallow to focus my attention on the task at hand. She was so fucking gorgeous it was hard to focus. Her eyes dropped to Brianna, then Melea. “That’s the girl that gave all those problems to the Lycans back in Firesse. I see. You’re taking the Necromancer allies to your side.” She chuckled. “Smart. A fight is always easier if you have allies. But we have a problem here, you see…” She waved her fingers around and pale purple smoke was left behind in the air. “Allies or no, you’re still a human, and I’m a goddess.”

  I clutched my sword, unlocking my jaw. I wasn’t taking that shit. My enemy was out-of-this-world gorgeous, alright. But that shouldn’t distract me. It should inspire and embolden me. The mental image of her lips around my cock ignited me.

  “Lift the night, Nyx,” I roared. “Release your sister.”

  She still wavered the fingers in the air, and the smoke weighted down, gathering in the marble floor. “Oh, I will release my sister.” She grinned, wickedly. The smoke turned solid and in a moment, it took form as Nyx’s silhouette did minutes before. “I shall release her upon you.”

  With a snap of her fingers, the smoke evaporated. In its place, there stood another unearthly gorgeous woman. Her face was identical to Nyx’s but everything that was black in the night goddess was white in the light one. Her dress, her hair, her lashes.

  Her pupils were red and dull. Lux’s expression was blank, and I knew she was being controlled. She lifted both hands slowly, traces of white scraping the air.

  “Fuck,” Melea clicked her tongue, dropping in a fighting stance. Brianna frowned, pulling her sword out of its sheath.

  Nyx laughed, a loud, high-pitched, half-maniac laughter that filled the space. “Have fun with my boring sister.” She stepped back, turning around and leaving through a door I just now noticed.

  I turned to Lux in time to see her first attack plunging in my way. A curved blade of light, I had a second to jump out of the way before it made a clean cut in the marble floor. My brows shot up.

  “Master!” Melea called as she stepped in front of me. “Go to Nyx! If you stop her, then Lux will be stopped too!”

  “No!” Brianna growled from where she stood. “We can’t take on Lux by ourselves, we’ll be dead before he defeats Nyx!”

  I was inclined to stay, of course. But Melea’s idea made so much more sense I was surprised it didn’t come from Brianna.

  Melea clicked her tongue, lifting a side of her lip as she dodged an attack. “Are you afraid, Brianna?” Poison was clear in her tone.

  Brianna merely frowned back.

  I had to make a decision and it had to be quick.

  “Melea.” My voice was grave in command. “Hold Lux off. You don’t need to beat her, just hold her off.” I looked over my shoulder to Brianna. “You’re welcome to come with me or stay and help Melea.”

  Brianna bared her teeth, glaring at Lux. “I will stay.”

  “Alright. Be careful!” I jumped away from an attack and sprinted to the side door Nyx had just left through.

  On the back of my mind, I was unquiet with Brianna. I couldn’t understand what have I done for her to treat me like that. My assertiveness surely was helping, but it seemed like she was fighting me on purpose.

  I crossed the threshold, ordering myself to not think about any of that. I couldn’t afford the distraction. I couldn’t let the weird behavior of a girl fuck my goals.

  And my goal, at this moment, was to defeat Nyx without taking damage.

  The hall was even larger in here, but already brightly lit. Nyx catwalked to the end of it, where a marble throne stood. She stopped on her tracks and turned to face me as I skidded to a halt. She furrowed her brows, her lips tilting up in rage.

 

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