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I ground my teeth together, canines lengthening.
My love for my people was unending. Arcadia had once been a paradise with thriving cities and happy shifters. That had changed over time as one catastrophe after another ravaged our world. I didn’t want them to suffer any more than they already had, and even in my attempt to protect everyone, I’d continued to harm them.
“And you are no guardian, priestess.”
Her eyes narrowed. “This is your fault, Pan. You have failed to uphold your duty, and Arcadia suffers the consequences of your actions.Youhave done this to your people. You have turned them into perverted versions of themselves. Not us.”
My gut twisted. “Give me Flora and Fauna. They’re a part of my soul. You trapped them, and I want them back.” And they were aging. Their fur ... the flecks of white. If they died, I would dive straight into madness. A part of me knew I was already headed there.
The corner of the woman’s lips twitched. “The terms are the same as they’ve always been, since the very first day you walked yourself to this tomb. You’re welcome to retrieve them anytime you like. . .” She let it trail away, the meaning flashing in the dark depths of her eyes.
“So long as I bring you Kali,” I finished.
She nodded.
My hands clenched and unclenched.
I knew the bargain, but for the first time in my incredibly long existence, I’d chosen to go against it. My soul had paid the price, and I could live with that. But the faun boy ... my people? Arcadia had fallen. To see what would become of them ... that I couldn’t bear.
“Bring her back to us, Pan. We’re her guardians, and she belongs here.”
“Guardians?” I scoffed, seething at the notion this woman was maternal in any way. “You’re fanatics. Nothing more.”
“You have no say in her destiny, god of shifters,” she countered with equal derision, the pitch of her voice rising with each word. “Get back in your place, and do what is expected of you,” she looked at the faun boy and pointed, “or your people will descend into madness with you.”
I hated it.
Hated the priestesses.
Hated the choices I was given.
Pressing my lips together, I dipped my chin once.
The priestess smirked. “The sand falls in the hourglass, my king.”
I watched her walk away, wanting nothing more than to stab my dagger into her spine. But it would do no good.
The young child stayed by my side, looking up at me.
I dropped to one knee, meeting him at eye level. “Say nothing of this, do you understand?” I said quietly, and he nodded. “Good. Go home to your family.” I ruffled his hair and sent him on his way.
I was three steps away from leaving my tomb. A prison of my own making. If I left, there would be no going back. All of Arcadia would know I had returned. And all of Arcadia would assume why.
The priestesses' words echoed in my mind.
It is time.
I felt a change in the forest the moment I stepped over the threshold. My people. A current sizzled in the air, the powers of all shifters connecting and reuniting with their god. They felt me, just as I felt them.
I could hear their laughter. Their prayers. Their hope.
I felt their love, their desire, and their thirst ... just as I could feel their bitterness, their sorrow, and their rage.
Animals shrieked in the distance. A wild call to our inner beasts. Their king had emerged.
It was time.
Chapter2
