A God of Wrath & Lies (Pine Hollow Series Book 1) by K. M. Moronova

Author:K. M. Moronova [Moronova, K. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-02T16:00:00+00:00

12

Arulius flies with the grace of a god of wind and sky. My cheeks warm as he flies above the clouds so the sun can reach me. How he knew I was cold is a mystery to me, but I bathe in it. I haven’t felt the rays of sunshine in days, and being cooped up in the small cottage has made me rather restless. The light stimulates my skin and I allow myself to soak up the bliss. Even though I know what I have to tell Arulius isn’t going to be warm and pleasant, I still feel a weight lift from me, as though the sky is washing the sorrows from my shallow shores.

I’m not even sure where to start, so I just begin where it makes sense.

“Aunt Maggie died… then Margo did too.”

He raises a brow.

“Margo was my dog. She is why we are heading to the Hollow Keeper. She was… well, she was everything to me. I thought I remembered every detail of Margo’s death but I don’t, or maybe I don’t want to. I just know that she is dead and apparently so am I. I wandered the forest as if I was still alive for months. I was… searching for something. I knew Margo was gone but I still searched for something. I don’t know what, though. Maybe I was hoping that she would find me again if I stayed a while. Each day, endlessly searching.”

He’s silent. I don’t blame him—what’s there to say?

“My aunt wore a long frown in death… and the vision of it has washed away the smile of hers that I remember, the smile that made her real. I’ve been so… different since then. And I don’t even know how I died, and that is—it’s pretty hard to accept. I don’t feel dead.” I raise my hand into the sky, the air rushing through my fingers. “But at the same time, I don’t feel real either. So that’s why I asked, because I desperately need someone to confirm that I’m real. If I’m not, then what’s the point of anything?”

He frowns. It’s an interesting sight—I’ve only ever seen him smirk or laugh, the cheeky bastard. He radiates a somber light off his sharp features. His sun-kissed skin glows with the oranges and yellows that prance in the clouds surrounding us.

My hand is still extended into the sky, desperately reaching for the strings of life that I pray will reach back out to me. Arulius dips his wings to the side and my hand plunges into the puffiness of the clouds beneath us. My fingers trickle with wet drops of rain that welcome my skin, the sensation of being caught in a rainstorm. Goosebumps shiver down my neck.

“Being real isn’t determined by others saying so,” he whispers, reaching his hand out to mine. His warmth and soft touch are as kind as the clouds. His tan skin presses against the back of my elbow. My hand is so small against his.

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