I vaguely heard Hunter talking to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, his head leveling with mine, preventing me from looking at the dead body lying in the corridor. The blood pounded in my ears. I felt sick. My gaze slowly dropped to my hands. They looked normal, with no signs of wicked energy enveloping them."How?" I finally choked out, slowly raising my gaze to Hunter's."Nala," he muttered, his hand gently stroking my cheek. "I'm so sorry... I tried to get here sooner."I stared at him, ineptly trying to reboot my brain. "Is… is he dead?" I asked, half-denying the reality.Hunter nodded. "I'm not sure how, but you killed him."I swallowed the thick knot that formed in my throat. My head was spinning. My body trembled. My skin burned. "I killed…"My world turned black.***When my awareness slowly resurfaced, I heard low-speaking voices. My body was relaxed in the softness of familiar sheets, and I debated whether or not I should open my eyes."I wanted to rip Hunter to piece

Hunter's words swirled in my head while we walked to Ash's office. What he said sounded ridiculous and impossible. This legend could have been a made-up story, one merely passed from generation to generation. Someone like that deity could have never even existed, and yet my mind generated more and more what-ifs. Nonetheless, there was one huge problem with my godlike powers, as Hunter called them: I didn't know how to use or control them, and I seriously doubted that any goddess couldn't use her own celestial abilities. "Are you all right?" Hunter asked as he was about to open the door. I nodded, even though I was far from being fine. With everything that had happened recently—with my moment alone with Ash, with the strange powers I possessed, and with the legend Hunter told me about—there was no way I could be fine or calm. I took a deep breath as I entered Ash's office. Several people were already in the room. Ash was sitting at his desk, with Calvel and Nicor standing behind him

The fake relationship was supposed to be about pretending. If so, I had a huge problem already because this kiss seemed too real to me. Everything that Ash poured into that kiss didn't feel fake either. At first, agreeing to this so-called agreement between us appeared partially reasonable, but the more I thought about it, the more terrified I was. The single kiss had turned my brain into a squishy mush. I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen after a bit more of this "pretending." This arrangement felt wrong for so many reasons, but one part of me—a dumb part of me—believed I could handle it, and the other part madly anticipated more aspects of "convincing others." God… It sounded so idiotic and naïve. I ignored all the red flags that popped up around my head. I silenced my instincts and focused on nothing but the sound of my heart, which pounded erratically whenever Ash was around. That damn blood pomp took control, chasing all logic away from me, and before common sense

I had never thought that I had actual muscles in my body, but I did, and they all hurt after a few hours of my first training with Calvel and Hunter. It felt weird because the force I used didn't come from my body but from my inner energy. My untrained body became a vessel to deliver this energy in the form of a punch or kick, but, unfortunately, it didn't turn me into a fighter. Nevertheless, Calvel showed me a few moves I could use to defend myself. I was ecstatic to learn them. It finally made me feel a little less helpless…"Perhaps I should be thankful that you still suck at this, My Lady," Hunter grunted, rising from the ground after I threw him over my shoulder. "If you were any better, I don't think I could practice with you for longer than a few minutes."Calvel chuckled. "Don't act like a weakling and get up already. She needs her punching bag on her feet."Hunter snarled at him, and I rolled my eyes. "Guys, please. This is exhausting enough without you two fighting each oth

I froze. My mouth opened, but I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to explain this situation. I stood before Ash, barefoot and wearing nothing but a silk nightgown. Not to mention that staring at Ash's freshly showered, ideally chiseled body was ferociously distracting. "I found the passage," I started mumbling. "I can see that." He stepped closer, locking her eyes on me. I swallowed. "I didn't know that it leads to your room…" Well, truthfully, I kind of hoped that it led to Ash's room, but I would never admit it. His jaw tensed. "Would you rather someone else was here? Hunter perhaps?" "What?! No!" I exclaimed. "I just…" Within a heartbeat, he closed the passage behind me and pushed me against the door. His hands landed flat on the sides of my head, caging me. "You came to me in the middle of the night with your body covered only in a sheer piece of fabric." He leaned over my ear. "Why don't you tell me what you want, Nala?" "I…" The words didn't seem to form any logical sent