Destiny Descending
Amy Sumida
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
More Books by Amy Sumida
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the Godhunter Series:
Chapter One
Grammar Giggles
Pronunciation Guide
Glossary of Characters
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 Amy Sumida
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781710080827
Legal Notice
This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.
More Books by Amy Sumida
The Godhunter Series (in order)
Godhunter
Of Gods and Wolves
Oathbreaker
Marked by Death
Green Tea and Black Death
A Taste for Blood
The Tainted Web
Series Split:
These books can be read together or separately
Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest
Into the Void & Out of the Darkness
Perchance to Die
Tracing Thunder
Light as a Feather
Rain or Monkeyshine
Blood Bound
Eye of Re
My Soul to Take
As the Crow Flies
Cry Werewolf
Pride Before a Fall
Monsoons and Monsters
Blessed Death
In the Nyx of Time
Let Sleeping Demons Lie
The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf
Hear No Evil
Dark Star
(Destiny Descending)
Beyond the Godhunter
A Darker Element
Out of the Blue
The Twilight Court Series
Fairy-Struck
Pixie-Led
Raven-Mocking
Here there be Dragons
Witchbane
Elf-Shot
Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings
Black-Market Magic
Etched in Stone
—Completed Series—
The Spellsinger Series
The Last Lullaby
A Symphony of Sirens
A Harmony of Hearts
Primeval Prelude
A Ballad of Blood
A Deadly Duet
Macabre Melody
Aria of the Gods
Anthem of Ashes
A Chorus of Cats
Spectra
Spectra: A Cynical Superhero
A Gray Area
A Compression of Colors
Blue Murder
Code Red
Fairy Tales
Happily Harem After Vol 1
Including:
The Four Clever Brothers
Wild Wonderland
Pan's Promise
Beauty and the Beasts
The Little Glass Slipper
Happily Harem After Vol 2
Including:
Awakened Beauty
White as Snow
Codename: Goldilocks
Twisted
Historical Romance
Enchantress
Erotica
An Unseelie Understanding
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And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, Spellsinger, and Spectra at Amy's website:
AmySumida.com
Pronunciation Guide at the back of the book.
Chapter One
A high-pitched shriek echoed out to the veranda where I was having a tea party with Lesya; tiny cups and plates spread out on a Persian rug between us. We were over to the left side of the extended porch, enjoying the slant of sunshine that currently hit that area. Across the moat from us, a miniature castle stood—a playground I'd made for the children, and then beyond that were the grasslands of Pride territory, dotted with lacy-leafed trees and a glassy lake to one side. The golden landscape was reminiscent of Africa and the herds of antelope roaming it added to that imagery. The scent of earth and water and wild things rode the air. It had been a peaceful day until that strident sound sliced through it all.
The scream turned our heads toward the front doors of Pride Palace where an anaconda came slithering out followed by an angry werelion. The snake wasn't actually an anaconda but a pit viper of anaconda size. It slithered to the bottom of the veranda steps, glossy scales undulating, and then transformed into a gorgeous, naked man. He was powerfully built with ebony hair cropped short and eyes the color of the viper's scales—a shocking lime green. As soon as he shifted, he bent over double in laughter, hands on his thighs to support himself. The werelion in pursuit stopped at the top of the steps to furiously shake his fist at Viper, my new boyfriend. Viper's the only one out of my seven lovers who I wasn't married to. Yes, seven; don't judge. My point is; we were still settling into our relationship, and Viper was still settling into his new home. Although I'm not sure “settling” is the right word for it.
“I swear to my goddess, Viper, if you jump out at me like that again, I'm going to shift into a lion and literally bite your head off!” Aidan shouted.
At the doorway, a horde of Intare—the pride of werelions under my care—chortled with glee.
“And the rest of you can stick it up your furry—”
“Aidan!” I shouted before he could finish his sentence.
Aidan glanced over at Lesya and me then grimaced. “Tima, your new boy-toy has taken to scaring me in his snake form!”
Viper's newly-discovered shifting abilities came in handy for torturing the Intare; specifically Aidan, who had previously held the title of the Most Annoying Male in the
palace. Aidan had tried his tricks on Viper, in the way that men do when they're bonding, and Viper—the still-laughing Viper—had turned the tables on Aidan and stolen his coveted title.
Much to the delight of the rest of the Intare.
“Viper, please stop scaring Aidan,” I admonished my star god boyfriend. “You know he has a snake phobia.”
“Which is precisely why I do it.” Viper came striding up the steps and plopped down onto a chair beside me.
Shifters; they have no shame. Thankfully, my daughter is a shifter too, and she has seen plenty of naked people in her short life. This was normal for her. I hope that Lesya marries a shifter someday because otherwise, her husband (or husbands, most likely, she's inherited my lioness magic after all) will be in for a big surprise.
“You're exploiting my weakness!” Aidan growled at Viper.
“You shouldn't have told me about it if you didn't want it exploited,” Viper said reasonably.
“I didn't! You shifted and saw my reaction.”
“As I said; you shouldn't have told me about it.”
“Well done, Viper!” Aaron, our resident Fabio-look-alike, smacked Viper's shoulder. “You got him to scream like a girl; that's a rare and beautiful thing that we'll all treasure.”
“The funniest sound I've heard in ages,” Kevin agreed.
“That was you, Uncle Aidan?” Lesya asked innocently.
“No, Lesya,” Aidan said adamantly, “that was a bird. I don't scream; I'm Intare.”
“I'm Intare, and I scream,” she said with a child's frown.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing but little amused sounds were puffing out of my nose.
“But you're a girl,” Aidan argued. “It's okay for you to scream like a girl if you are a girl.”
“That sounds sexist.” Lesya crossed her arms and glared at Aidan.
“Where did you even hear that word?” Aidan asked Lesya in bafflement.
“Mommy.”
“Of course.” Aidan grimaced and rolled his eyes. “It wasn't sexist, Lesya. The Intare are led by a goddess; your mother. We obey a woman so we can't be sexist. It's impossible.”
“I'm not sure that's right.” Lesya frowned deeper in thought.
“That's my girl!” I stroked Lesya's long, raven curls affectionately. “So smart.”
Lesya beamed at me.
“I'd flee before Lesya remembers you're here,” Viper whispered to Aidan.
“This isn't over, Snake,” Aidan vowed as he pushed through the crowd of laughing lions and disappeared into the palace.
“I'm a viper; get it right!” Viper called after Aidan.
“Slithering snake!” Aidan shouted back. “Belly-crawler! Ankle-biter!”
“Aren't ankle-biters dogs?” Kevin asked conversationally.
The lions started another round of laughter.
After congratulating Viper on his latest victory, the werelions went back into the palace, and Viper leaned forward to check out the plates of tiny sandwiches and little teacups of juice that Lesya and I had arranged between us.
“Can Uncle Viper have some tea too?” He asked Lesya.
“Yes!” Lesya cried excitedly and quickly gathered a new place setting from the wooden box that held the coveted tea set she'd gotten as a birthday present.
Lesya set a teacup down on its saucer then filled it from the pitcher of apple juice nearby. A tiny plate painted in delicate roses joined it then a miniature sandwich and one cookie went onto the plate; everything set precisely.
“Here's your tea, Uncle Viper. You can have more when you're finished, but Mommy says you can't put too much on your plate at one time. It's not proper eti-cake.”
“Etiquette,” I whispered to her.
“Thank you, pretty girl.” Viper slid off the chair and sat on the rug between Lesya and me. “And Mommy is right; she knows all about having too much on her plate.”
I lifted a brow at Viper as he got settled into a cross-legged position. He grinned back innocently and lifted his little teacup to his sensual lips. I shook my head and chuckled but as I looked away, my glance landed in Viper's lap... on the tempting display of silky, flushed flesh nestled in dark curls.
“Here, honey, have a napkin.” I laid a linen napkin over Viper's lap.
“Why, thank you.” He winked at me. “I wouldn't want to get crumbs all over myself.”
“No, that would be bad.” I rolled my eyes.
Viper popped the sandwich into his mouth and quickly followed it with the cookie.
“This one is my favorite,” Lesya said as she refilled Viper's plate. “But try to eat slower. Mommy says that you eat slowly when you have tea. You nibble.”
“Oh?” Viper looked from Lesya to me. “You eat slowly with tea, eh? Nibble?”
“I don't know where you're intending on taking that sentence, but don't go there.” I narrowed my eyes at Viper.
“Whatever do you mean?” Viper blinked his long lashes at me and grinned like a devil.
“You're silly, Uncle Viper!” Lesya declared.
“Thank you,” Viper nodded to Lesya as if she'd just given him the most prestigious compliment.
“When you drink tea, you're supposed to lift your pinky finger like this.” Lesya showed Viper the proper pinky position as she took a sip.
“Vervain, we...” Trevor stepped out onto the veranda, his words trailing away as he took in the tea party and its guests.
“Yes?” I lifted my brows at Trevor as if having a tea party with my daughter and a naked star god was perfectly normal.
“Would you care for some tea?” Viper asked in a British accent and then lifted his tiny cup with his pinky extended.
“Would you care for a top hat done in the style of 10/6?” Trevor shot back.
I giggled, but Viper stared at Trevor blankly.
“It's a book reference.” I patted Viper's knee. “Alice in Wonderland.”
“It's my favorite story,” Lesya announced. “A girl follows a rabbit down a hole where there are giant, talking flowers and people who drink tea all day! Don't worry, Uncle Viper, Mommy will read it to you at bedtime.”
“Will she now?” Viper smirked from Lesya to me. “Well, I'm looking forward to that.”
“Sorry to break up the party, but we need you in here, Minn Elska,” Trevor interrupted before Viper got carried away. “You have a guest.”
“Go ahead,” Viper said to me. “I'll stay with Lesya.”
“Thanks, honey.” I kissed Viper's cheek and then my daughter's. “I'll be right back. Don't let Uncle Viper eat all the food, Lesya. Protect it with tooth and claw like a proper lioness.”
“Okay, Mommy!” Lesya held up her hand and tiny claws sprouted from her fingertips.
“How rude! I come for tea and get threatened by a lioness!” Viper exclaimed and set Lesya to laughing again.
I went inside with Trevor and then through the doorway to the left, into the dining hall. Pride Palace's dining hall is enormous but only has one table in it. One ridiculously-long table that extends the entire length of the ridiculously-long room. It's gigantic enough to sit all of my eighty-plus werelions with seats to spare. Sideboards stretch along the left wall—a place for all the food that's needed to feed our leonine household—leaving the right side bare except for a sitting area in the center of the room. That was where my guest waited, in an armchair beside the fireplace, but I stopped short before I reached him.
“Qaus?” I asked in surprise.
The Arabian weather god got to his feet and gave me a somber look. “Vervain, we need to talk.”
I closed the distance and automatically held my hand out to him. “It's good to see you. Uh, how have you been?”
“How have I been?” Qaus raised his brows and then promptly lowered them over his narrowed eyes. “You think I don't remember,” he whispered in amazement. “Why would you think that?”
“Do
n't remember what?” I asked innocently as I lowered my hand.
“Vervain, you may have wiped the humans' memories clean, but you didn't touch us Gods. I remember. We all remember what happened. Vividly.”
“Great Scott,” I whispered in horror. “I thought I just left the memories of my loved ones alone.”
“You missed a bit more than that,” Qaus said grimly. “And there will be hell to pay for the oversight.”
“I was evil,” I growled. “I fought myself and won, and then I put everything back to the way it was. I fixed as much of my mistakes as I could. What more do they want from me?”
It had been a few months since evil had consumed me, and I had turned into the Dark Star—a psychotic version of myself. Months since I'd tried to take over the world and rule the Gods. I had caused a lot of damage and killed a lot of people, but the Trinity Star had nearly drained itself dry to fix everything. It had even raised the dead and now, it lay dim and dormant inside me. Recovering, hopefully. If not, I had lost a significant amount of power to make things right. I would have been fine with that, but now it looked as if I might need that power.
“You showed your hand, Godhunter, both with the doing and the undoing. The other gods know what you're capable of now, and they're not happy about it.”