The Kiss Of Draven

Chapter One: Mount Olympus

THE NIGHT HAD FELT cold and heavy. For a second, I thought I heard someone scream. I was hoping that if I kept my eyes closed it would somehow become a dream. I wanted so desperately for it to be a dream. 

Another high pitched scream pierced through the night's cold air. My eyes sprung open, and I sat up quickly looking at the large golden door.  The orange glow of the fire from the candles danced along the walls as a woman screamed from outside my bed chambers. For another dreadful second it was quiet but then I heard her again. And again.

I slid out of bed quietly not to make a sound while creeping towards my door. Gently opening it, I could see a woman being dragged down the hall by her hair with a gloved hand over her mouth. A sadness consumed me as she struggled against the guards who I knew in my heart would do sinful things to her.

She had gotten caught trying to escape Mount Olympus. The Kingdom of Enslaved Gods. Or at least that's what it was called in my head.

Her eyes were so scared and filled with tears collided with my own. I knew her but somehow her face slowly blurs from my memories. Her name. What was her name? I felt frozen as if my feet were planted to the ground, a heavy fog brewing behind my eyes. I closed the door behind me.

I opened my eyes, unaware that I had even closed them. When did I get out of bed? The small thought felt weak, my head pounding against my skull. I ran my fingers down my damp white gown hopeful to push away the weird feeling I suddenly had.

I snapped my fingers brightening the dim candles, illuminating the walls almost instantly. My room was painted green with white and gold pops of color. My floating gold encrusted canopy bed was a mess of big fluffy white covers that looked so inviting but I felt sleep would not find its way to me tonight.

A breeze came through the large white pillars opening my view to all Mount Olympus. The sky was dark, filled with swirls of different galaxies beyond my reach. Hughes of greens and pinks pulling me in deeper, my head calming to a silent stop.

I looked around sighing, my mind reeling. Such a beautiful place filled with complete darkness.

My room was large, more space than I needed yet somehow, I always felt claustrophobic. My eyes wandered, connecting with the light flickering off my crystal ball.

A magical ball that was given to me in the sixteenth millennia, a gift from my mother. It sat upon a golden jeweled dome, very similar to my crown. With intricate swirls pattering it, red rubies and diamonds dotting every swirl with grace and power. Only I could touch it, melting the flesh from fingers that weren't my own.

The crystal ball was surrounded by herbs and potions that I had secretly kept hidden behind an invisible ward. Only my eye could see past it fearing the horrors that would become me if anyone was to find out.

I felt the invisible ward go through my body feeling like slime being split in half. When I had first created the ward, I became very nauseous every time I would walk through it, now it felt dull and bearable.

Ancient books filled with powerful spells dotted the shelves along every corner. Potted plants and draping leaves dotted the ceilings, vines stretching along the shelves. This was home. Surrounded by my own nature.

My finger traced the book next to the crystal ball, the words Mating written in a bold cursive font along the beautifully bumpy hard cover. It was midnight black and gold leather with numerous snake hearts sewn into it. It held names of mated souls that I was forced to choose since the day I had become of age.

Getting my gift was like signing my life away. All Gods had purposes, gifts we chose to say. Powerful gifts that made us who we are, framing our entire personalities. Mine just so happened to be the giver of Mates. The Goddess of The Moon, technically. I also had possession of nature, but my power was strongest when I used my lightning energy. The same genetic gift as my father. The only child of my fathers to receive his only gift.