(Un)Masked by Anyta Sunday & Andy Gallo

Author:Anyta Sunday & Andy Gallo [Sunday, Anyta & Gallo, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Lethe looked down as he told me the story behind his curse, cheeks flames of red. “Tania. She was the love of his life. Two weeks before their wedding, my great-great-great-great-grandmother murdered her.”

He glanced up and continued. “Bethany—she was Tania’s cousin—wanted Thoth for herself. She was convinced he really loved her but only settled for Tania because her father was the lordship of Orkney Shire.

“For months, he watched Tania. Sitting in the trees around her— supplying her with words to songs and poems as she crafted tunes in the forest. It was against his people’s codes to be with a human. Thoth was warned to stay away, but the pull to see her was so strong he couldn’t stop visiting. Watching. Yearning. He believed—believes his soul needs her.”

I thought I could understand the power of that pull. Strong. Demanding. I nodded. “Keep talking,” I said, “but let’s move to the bed. You’re shivering.” I shuffled over and brought my arms around him, but Lethe jerked back.

“No. I can’t have you hold me right now, Jay.”

“Lethe….”

“I don’t want to feel you push me away.”

“I’m not going to—”

“Please. Just not now.”

A moment of silence. “I’m listening.”

Lethe sucked in a loud breath. “One night, he watched her as she slept. He hated that she had no idea of his existence, so he gifted her back a memory he’d once taken—as a dream. It was of him helping her with the lines of a song in the woods.

“After that night, it was clear to Thoth he had to be with her. First, though, he had to leave his family. Being with the humans meant banishment. No longer could he return to them. They’d cried and begged him not to follow this part of his heart—but rather the part that loved his brothers and sisters.

“He chose Tania. It wasn’t long before he became involved in the town, got to know people—became well-liked by the locals and her family. Bethany, Tania’s cousin, got on especially well with Thoth. They were friends. Well, that’s what Thoth thought. Then Thoth and Tania’s engagement was announced.” Lethe sighed. “Bethany believed that if Tania weren’t there and the temptation of her father’s position weren’t an issue, Thoth would be with her. So she forged a letter from Thoth to Tania for them to meet in the gardens at midnight of the annual masquerade ball. Bethany dressed as a male and wearing a mask it wasn’t a problem to get close. Tania didn’t notice it wasn’t Thoth until too late when Bethany plunged a hairpin into her heart. Thoth was left with nothing but grief. And in it, he made a promise to Tania that was the beginning of our family’s curse.”

“The mask,” I finished, leaning toward him again. He held up his hand to stop me.

“Yes, the mask.” Lethe’s voice cracked. “He tracked her down as she fled. Pushed the mask she wore until it melted into her face. Then he placed the curse.”

Standing three feet from him was too far.

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