Chapter 2

The Double-striped black tried to get on its hooves; instead, the creature keeled over on the forelegs. The fall had shattered its ribs. The right wing was missing, separated during the fall. A fifteen-foot-long bough of a pine tree had fallen over its hind.

Niobe got to her feet and approached her pegasus. Effortlessly and one-handed, she lifted the heavy branch and hurled it into the distance. The creature neighed in mortal pain.

The pegasus is a majestic beast, a sable ride befitting the gods. However, there it was, suffering like any other inferior creature.

‘Mortals,' Niobe thought, rolling her eyes.

'Stiletto," she chanted, and a dagger appeared in her hand. She pulled the creature's head back and cut a fissure from end to end. Blood gushed out like a stream, forming a shallow pool on the grass.

It was better to put the beast out of its misery than leave it dying in the wild. Otherwise, there were vile entities in the dark who would feast on it while it was alive. A dead pegasus was not a palpable loss for them. There were plenty of pegasi on Mt. Radomir, both tamed and wild. The citadel stable alone had over two hundred of the creatures.

Felix's ride, tangled in the branches, broke loose soon. It hobbled to the dead pegasus and prodded the body with its muzzle, hoping to revive it.

Somehow, the episode of slaughter made Felix bolder than he had ever been before.

'Niobe of House Elektra, let me make love to you!" he demanded.

The goddess turned to look at him and then at the dagger, blood dripping onto her elbows. She threw the weapon into the air, making it vanish into thin air. She got down on all fours and approached him, giggling childishly.

The spectacle had triggered something in her as well.

'Oh Felix," she called out and mounted him. Her partner gave her thighs a reassuring squeeze. Niobe unfastened her belt and removed her tunic, exposing her body. A belly chain was the only accessory that remained on her skin.

Niobe was citadel-born, citadel-bred, and had pure divine blood within her. In his mortal life, Felix had worked as a peculiar for a patrician familia in Modo- the innermost city surrounding Mt. Radomir. The Labors, an annual tournament hosted by the Ascendancy, grants divinity to one or more citizens from the three crescent cities. It evaluates aspirants over their wisdom, their athletic prowess, their mastery over elementals, and their innate peculiar abilities. Felix was one of the four champions from the previous year. Inducted into House Anaximander, he had been granted divinity through consecration and given quarters and equal privileges in the citadel.

Niobe had never seen him as a peculiar. She had her eyes on him during the tournament. At its conclusion, when they elevated him as a god, she had proposed to him. Again, the overture was according to the laws of courtship.

The goddess was wild and adventurous, and yet warm and affectionate. She was everything that Felix had ever wanted.

He pulled her by the chin towards him, and they locked lips. They had kissed before, sometimes on the turrets and battlements of the citadel or in their private quarters. Once, they escaped to the plebe city of Pago and pleasured each other on a florist's terrace.

‘But tonight is special,' Felix told himself.

'Why else do you think I invited you to come with me?" Niobe asked, kissing the nape of his neck. It was as if she had read his mind.

'It is favorable time we took a step further, my adorable new god," she whispered.

'Viola," Niobe said aloud.

Soft music started playing in their ears. Strings of the violin and peals of the lute mingled to build a sensual ambiance. The goddess started swaying to the music.

Felix took his time admiring her.

The starlight was strong enough to see the flush on her body.

The forest was humid, and a layer of moisture hung onto them.

Niobe's skin glistened like honeydew; her lustrous golden hair had a life of its own. The goddess' naked body was taut, like a metal figurine, but she moved like a young feline. Felix raised his hands and felt her breasts; he cupped and caressed them. They felt supple and warm, as if a fire burned in her bosom. Niobe shivered and giggled some more. Her left hand slipped under his tunic and rooted around. Finally, she found what she was looking for and stroked it slowly.

Felix closed his eyes and ran his hands down to her slender waist and ample buttocks. One of the perks of being divine was- the body never faltered.

Felix of House Anaximander and Niobe of House Elektra. Two divine beings set to begin their sexual congress with the spirited forest as a witness.