Page 132 of A Clash of Stars

I tilted my head and smiled as he glanced over my body. Taking in the bright golden flecks throughout my skin, and he knew it. I had become a goddess.

His voice boomed in my ears, “Well. That’s new, Clara.”

I looked up at him through hooded eyes and smirked. I had nothing to say to him, but I wanted to know what he had to say to me.

“I hear that King Aster is dead. What a shame. He was a great pawn for me…but not as good as you.”

I looked away from him, evaluating the space we were in. I knew he could use his power at any given time, but I also had mine.

“Madok. Or should I use your real name…Theo. I am no pawn.”

I took a step toward him, and his eyes widened.

That answers my question. He now knows that I know who he truly is. He smiled at me and looked towards his hands.

“If you know who I am, I should slip into something…more comfortable.” With a wave of his hand, he exposed who he really was.

God Theo.

His skin glowed, his eyes dark green with flecks of gold, and his hair shaved close to his head. He stood close to seven feet tall, but he resembled Evander with the same jaw structure, and even I could tell that if his hair were grown out, it would be slightly curly.

He rolled his neck around as if adjusting to his new form. “Now. Where were we, Clara?”

My eyes darkened, and I knew he could sense the essence pulsating off of me. He took a few steps towards me, closing the space between us.

“What a beautiful goddess you make.”

He started to circle me like a vulture.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked me where Madok is yet.”

He said ‘is’, which leads me to believe Madok could still be alive. I might not be in love with Madok anymore, but I would not let him suffer any more than he already had.

“Sorry, Theo. I had more pressing issues initially, but I guess I could ask that question. Where is Madok?”

He stopped by my shoulder and leaned in. I could smell the reeking sour smell off of him. “Come with me to find out.”

Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist, and we were teleported to another place. The air in my lungs felt like it was filled with rocks and my skin was tight and throbbing. It was as if he pushed me through a window with the weight of the entire land on me.

When the feeling passed, I took in where we were. It was dark, but it smelled familiar. I started to look around and realized it was a dungeon at Claiborne Castle. How did he do that? Did all gods and goddesses have that ability?

“So, on a scale of one to ten, how mad are you? Because you must know that when you came here with Madok to retrieve your onyx ring, so was I, and you had no idea. I’m the one who knocked him out and took his body. Hiding him here.”

He started walking towards the darkest parts of the dungeon, and I could see a small window with bars over it.

“Go ahead. Take a look, Clara.”

I took a hesitant stride toward the bars and peered inside. The breath was sucked right out of me.

There he was, my Madok.

He was lying on the bed, and he wasn’t too skinny, so Theo had at least been feeding him. His hair was a little longer, with wavy curls falling around his face and a thicker beard along his jaw. He didn’t know I was there.

I quickly turned to Theo and asked, “Why are you showing me him?”

His lips turned into an evil smile. “For you to say goodbye.”

“To say goodbye, why?” I scoffed.

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