divinity

she fell from the stars

C H A P T E R   O N E

SHE FELL FROM THE STARS

(LUNA'S POV)

                 I was falling. The wind made the fabric of my gown whip wildly around my body as it rushed past me. I felt panic as I saw the ground getting closer and closer. My arms were flailing around me as my body did summersaults through the air; my hands were clenching and unclenching as if they were trying to find something—anything—to grab onto. But who was I kidding? There was nothing to hold onto!

                There was nothing I could do. I was powerless.

                Panic swelled in my chest, hysteria flowed through my veins and terror etched itself in my bones. This was not going to end well. I let out one shrill scream before impact came.

                The pain only lasted a few short minutes before it subsided into a dull throb in my back. My mind was a reeling, jumbled mess. I was confused and I didn’t know where I was. I opened my eyes and forced my eyes to focus. I was looking at the stars and the moon. An overwhelming sense of longing and emptiness filled me. I wasn’t in the Realm of the Gods anymore.

                I was lost.

                I turned my head to the side and took in my surroundings. I was in a forest, surrounded by the night and trees. I could sense no one there. Not even the damned wolf that had dragged me here.

                “μητέρα*,” If only I had just went to my mother when I saw that figure walking through our pantheon, then I wouldn’t have been in this situation. Apolinar was right, I am an ilthia.

                After what seemed like a lifetime, I was finally able to move my body around. I sat up—quite slowly, might I add—to assess the damage on my body. My dress was torn and dirty, my hair held tons of debris in it; such as leaves and small twigs. My body held a little damage though, from where my gown was torn, there was a deep gash, but no blood poured from the wound.

                 Have you ever heard of the saying that “gods don’t bleed”? Well, they don’t.  Unless the wound was inflicted by another god and last time I checked trees weren’t gods.  

                My hands drifted up to my neck where the wolf’s jaws clamped around my throat. I felt the angry edges of torn flesh, but I also felt them healing. Again: no blood.  My finger tips hovered over the wound on my neck until it was closed. I glanced down at my leg and found the wound there was also healed. The only evidence of my fall was the mangled dress I wore.

                “Well, well, well… What do we have here?” a masculine voice, deep and laced with power that almost made my blood run cold, said.

                My head whipped around to see five shirtless men step out from the darkness of the trees. They were all tall—not quite as tall as the gods I spend my time with daily, though—so they were in the 6’”-6’3” range. Quite tall, for mortals, I observed. Their bodies were like the statues that the ancient people made for the gods. Lean, muscled…beautiful. I had only seen gods with bodies that perfect, and me being a goddess saying they were beautiful meant something.

                 I gulped as I felt their intense stares scouring every inch of my body and by doing that they made me feel quite self conscious. Heat rose up in my cheeks.

                One of them, he looked like a jokester, erupted in laughter “Look at that, the dame is blushing!”

                “Cody, silence!” the tallest of the group’s voice thundered over the laughing guy—whose name was apparently Cody. He focused his intense gaze on Cody for a second, before letting them settle on me. His sky blue eyes were cold, calculated, and stony. He looked me over and sneered, “State your name and species, Trespasser.”