PROLOGUE
THANATOS
Protect the girl.
Athena’s command echoed in his mind, inescapable and absolute.
Thanatos flew through the night toward another mortal he’d protect, though he’d guide her to the Underworld eventually. The goddess of war didn’t care about the irony of her demand. Or that Death might have other responsibilities.
Cold air stung his face as his wings sliced through the sky. Each powerful stroke sent the usual ache through his shoulders as wind pressed against his feathers. Below, the mortal world spread out in shifting patches of light, distant and insignificant.
Once, long ago, he would’ve accepted such a duty without question; without resentment. He would’ve carried it out understanding that mortal life was fragile and needed to be protected.
But time had eroded that softness in him. Just like the river he was flying above carved through the soil and stones.
Duties divided his existence, each aspect of himself working in tandem.
His consciousness split—one part keeping the Underworld’s ledgers, another guiding the dying, a third scouring reports from the Fates, planning his next moves.
None of it left room for a mortal girl.
Humans died every day, as they were supposed to. It was the natural order of things. What wasn’t natural was Athena seeking him out when protecting mortals was more suited to heroes, the warriors who were sent to slay monsters or do the Olympians’ bidding. Thanatos wasn’t that.
He’d pressed for answers, but the goddess remained silent. Arguing with Athena was like striking stone with one’s bare fists. The lack of explanation unsettled him.
Athena suspected that this girl and her family were victims of a curse. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Humans had an endless capacity for inviting disaster. Curses. Divine wrath. Their own mortal folly. Such matters were not his concern, but Athena had given him a direct order: keep her alive at all costs.
Thanatos exhaled. The weight of the command settled on him like a chain. His promises to others held more power than any oath to himself. Because of that, he was now on his way to do the one thing he had sworn he would never do again.
His wings carried him faster as the speck of life on the world below grew larger. He approached the city surrounded by the expanse of desert and mountains stretching to the horizon. Down there, mortals carried on with their lives, unaware of the gods influencing their fates.
He’d stayed away from them for centuries, only interacting when necessary. When commitment and responsibility demanded it. He’d learned long ago that involving himself with mortals only brought pain. However, curiosity rooted itself inside him, unwelcome and impossible to ignore.
He flew faster, desperate to outrun his past, already knowing he’d never be fast enough.
Chapter one
ILIANA
“Don’t you dare fall asleep at the wheel,” Iliana muttered to herself, shaking her head and forcing her drooping eyelids open.
The droning voice on the radio did nothing to keep her awake. The tragic news of nearby flash floods only dragged her down further.
She was so damned tired of bad news. The past month had been hell. Every time her life seemed on track, something knocked her flat again. Hope was hazardous. This time, the crash shattered her.
She tried to focus on the road ahead. Yet, no matter how hard she fought, memories clawed their way in.
The phone call had come earlier that month from a stranger with a disconnected, unfeeling voice. There had been an accident on the interstate, and her parents were gone, both declared dead at the scene. She’d laughed in disbelief, thinking they had the wrong number. After all, she’d spoken to her mother that same morning, talking about a new hiking spot they wanted to visit. It couldn’t be true.
Not until a solemn police officer appeared at her workplace did she accept the truth. Her parents had been killed instantly in the collision. The caller hadn’t been mistaken. She had.
Without them, the world was smaller; dimmer. A place she no longer knew how to navigate. Their weekly phone calls could brighten her worst days, and their surprise visits helped her forget her worries, if only for a little while.
Numbness had been her only shield as everything blurred. Paperwork. Funeral arrangements. Kind but empty condolences. The funeral was short, but the trip to follow their last wishes had seemed like it would never end. She poured out her parents’ ashes, sobbing as the dry, desert wind scattered the last traces of her only family. And just like that, they were gone.
Her lungs constricted, loneliness choking her as it pressed in. Her thoughts jumbled as she held onto the wheel, desperate to keep from being swept under the crushing certainty that she was alone.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept for more than an hour at a time. The nightmares came too fast, too vivid. Wars. Monsters. Faces she didn’t recognize and horrors she could never quite recall upon waking.
