Page 73 of The Alpha's Mates

“You may call me Squall.”

“Okay, Squall.” My eyes flicked down again to where his feet were covered by water. It was as though he were standing on a rock, just below the surface of the water. Only, I knew there was no rock there.

“You’re a God,” I said, after a few brief moments of silence.

“I am. The God of the Sea, to be more accurate. I’ve been watching you since you were young and liked to swim in my waters.”

“That’s…a bit creepy.”

His laughter rolled over the sea like thunder. “Nothing creepy about it. I watch everything that happens in my domain.”

Tilting my head, I studied him. “Celinda sent me here.”

He nodded. “I know. I’m here to help you find Lyas. I knew you’d need a little help,” he explained with a smile. “It’s up to you to find her, after all.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You knew about all of this?” He nodded. “And you’ve been watching me since I was a kid?” Another nod of confirmation. “Why wouldn’t you tell me everything sooner?! Why would you wait until our kind was on the brink of extinction?!” I glared at him, breathing hard as I yelled at the God in front of me. Not the smartest thing if I wanted tocontinuebreathing, but my temper snapped.

“I couldn’t, child. Everything is happening now as it needs to.”

That took the wind out of my sails. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to force down the anger. “Okay. I guess I can understand that. Well no, I don’t, not really. But I don’t have time to argue with a God. Where have you all gone? Why have you all abandoned us?”

“Most of us have been in hiding. You know by now that Arune tricked Celinda into the body of a shifter.” Nope. That was new to me. It meant our theory of Celinda being a Goddess was truethough. “She’s been trapped and alone in that cave for years. That was when Arune attacked Lyas.”

“So Celinda is-”

“The Sky Goddess. Tasked with keeping balance and order,” he told me. His tone said I was an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.

“I thought the Goddess’s powers were equal. How did The Sun Goddess…Arune manage all this?”

“She had help,” Squall said. A grim look flashed over his handsome face. “The kind of help that is hard to combat. The kind that forced lesser Gods and Demi-Gods into hiding in order to preserve their lives.”

“That’s cryptic.” A chill washed over me. I rubbed my arms to warm my skin. “Of course, that’s what I’ve come to expect from all of you.”

“It is, but I can’t tell you any more. I made a promise that when one of Lyas’s priestesses finally made it here during the eclipse, I would do everything in my power to assist. Even if it costs my life.”

“Can a God die?” I asked in confusion.

“Demi-Gods can. Others of us… Worse, we diminish, fade away. Like Lyas did. To us, it’s dying. I hid her before she faded too far, preserved her if you will. You’ll see what I mean.” He motioned beside me toward the water. “In you go.”

“What?” I looked up at the sky where the moon still glowed red, then back down into the inky black water.

“You want to find Lyas, do you not?” His long blond hair caught on the breeze that seemed to surround only him and whipped his tresses away from his body.

“Yes.”

He motioned to the water again. “You’ll need to dive down to her.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “Wait a minute. You’re telling me, I just so happened to row out to the exact spot in the ocean where The Moon Goddess is apparently being held?” It was hard to contain the sarcasm.

His laughter rolled out again, cracking against the water causing it to shift and sway. “Of course not, Little Priestess.”

I glared at him. It was bad enough Soren and the others always called me little this or that. Now these Gods kept calling me little too, plus he wasn’t making much sense. It was irritating me.

“If you were a hundred miles south of here and still on the ocean, then that is where this would take place. The spot isn’t what matters,” he said as though he was the epitome of wisdom. “But the actions which are about to take place. Your devotion. That is the only thing that can restore Lyas.” His hand gestured again.

I inched toward the side and looked down. The water was calm and though it was dark, it was inviting. I grew up on this sea. Like Squall had mentioned, I swam in its waters all throughout my childhood. Emma and I would dive down and collect shellfish and crabs for lunch. That was a far cry from diving down this far out. In the dark. With a homicidal goddess on the loose, trying to kill her sisters. One of which I was about to set free.

“How deep is it?” I asked, suspicious of the likelihood that I’d live through this.

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