 by Ruby Vincent.jpg)
Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
When the border watchers catch me trying to flee Olympia, they give me two choices: I can either report for training at Deucalion Academy, or swing from the coward’s noose.
I chose the noose. My captors chose the most brutal institution in all five dominions.
In the academy, power and ferocity are held above all. So you can imagine how popular it made me when, on my first day, I got our strongest demigod warrior killed.
The entire school, from the students to the headmaster, hates me. It’s nothing but their pleasure to destroy the stupid fool who lost our only advantage in a war we’re not winning.
Good.
They should destroy me for their own sake and mine.
Something was done to me. A god’s curse is warping my powers and turning me into a creature deadlier than we’ve ever faced. Unless the divine betrayer holding my chains is stopped, all the monsters of Olympia mean nothing.
The one who’ll lay waste to our land and wipe the demigods from existence… is me.
Pawn Of The Gods is the first in a paranormal M/F romance series. Buckle up for wickedly handsome demigods, ancient plots, the worst monsters of legend, and the one girl in the middle of it all.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Shouts invaded the small space, ripping through the log walls. Our home was so tiny, whispers traveled from end to end without trouble—the reason my dolls and I had to stop sharing secrets.
A thud sounded from outside, rattling the cabin. Mama tucked the blankets tighter around me. I reached for Daria, but Mother was already there—picking her off the rickety bedside table and tucking my doll under my arm.
“Do you remember the story of Olympia, my darling?” Mama perched on the end of my bed, smiling softly. No matter how much gray snuck in her golden-brown curls or how much bigger the dark circles under her eyes grew, she would always be the prettiest, most beautiful mommy in all five dominions. She would smile when I told her that too.
“No,” I replied, though I did.
Mom tsked under her breath. “Well, we can’t have that. Should I tell you the story?”
I nodded, relaxing onto my pillow as swords clanged beyond my window.
Mother waved her hand and swirling light painted my ceiling—spinning, moving, darkening, brightening, and coming together. I gasped at the starry, celestial sky.
Mama said her power was useless. It provided us with neither food, medicine, shelter, nor income. But I loved it. In a world full of ugly, scary things, my mother made it pretty with just a wave of her hand.
“Long ago,” she began, “the gods of Olympia ruled the heavens, Hades, and everything above, below, and in between. But they were not like other gods, and do you know why?”
My answer spilled off the tip of my lips. “They liked humans.”
“They were fascinated by humans,” Mom whispered. She tickled my nose with hers until I giggled. “The way they lived, worked, and died. How they loved, toiled, and strove for more. Instead of staying high above them on Mount Olympus, the gods couldn’t resist interacting with the mortals who shared their shape, but not their power.”
My eyes widened at the changing figures. Glowing, beautiful beings threw lightning, raced chariots across the heavens, and rose from sea foam.
“The gods bestowed great gifts on the mortals they favored—from wealth and riches to children born of god and man. Entire cities flourished under their patron god’s indulgence, while the enemies of those people suffered under their god’s wrath.
“The Grecian people believed in the Olympians so fiercely and with such devotion, their faith became an unstoppable force that fed the gods and made them unstoppable in turn. With the gods on their side, the Greek empire stretched wide—conquering many civilizations. Then—”
“—away! Lead it away!” a voice shouted, tightening Mama’s brow. “Back toward the fields!”
“Then the Roman empire claimed Greece and all in its path,” Mama said, a touch louder. “But the Romans were wise, my love. They may have changed their names, but still, they too worshiped the gods of Olympus. They hoped the gods would favor them too, and grant them a vast kingdom and the power to defend it. Everything was perfect until... it wasn’t.”
I clutched Daria tighter. This was the best part of the story. “What happened, Mama?”
“Oh, my dear. Zeus, Hera, Athena, and the gods granted the mortals much, but they asked for much more in return. Women bore Zeus’s children only to suffer terrible curses and messy ends at Hera’s hands. The townspeople gave poor offerings in Poseidon’s temple one day, and the next, their home was washed off the map. Maybe all of that could’ve been endured if not for—”
“—the monsters,” I whispered.
Lips pursed, she nodded. “With the gods’ great capacity for blessings, came their great capacity for evil. They birthed humans, fire, the seasons, and drove the sun across the sky. They also birthed sirens, cerberi, harpies, and hydras,” she said. “Monsters hated the gods. Some used to be mortals. Some were gods or the children of gods that were banished from Mount Olympus. They weren’t worthy enough to sit on a throne beside Zeus and Hera.”
“That made them angry.”
“Very angry,” Mama agreed. “But, of course, they couldn’t take their anger out on the mighty, immortal gods of Olympus, so instead, they went after the next best thing—their favorite pets: the humans.
“Endless attacks. Constant battles. Legions lost. Families wiped out. Villages burned down. The people were fighting a war from within and without. They were at the end of their rope when whispers spread of the Christian god.” Mama gestured again and my small room filled with huddled people in sandals and tunics—whispering and sharing texts. “At first, those in power did their duty to drive out this new god and all talk of him, but it was all too late.
“Here was a god that asked nothing of them but their faith. He wouldn’t strike them down for having no temple offerings. He wouldn’t seduce and then abandon them to the punishment of his jealous wife. He wouldn’t turn a blind eye while monsters of his own creation destroyed everything they built.