Aria of the Gods Read online

  Aria of the Gods

  Amy Sumida

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  More Books by Amy Sumida

  Sign up for Amy's Newsletter and get a free book:

  And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, and Spellsinger, at Amy's website

  The Playlist

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the Spellsinger Series:

  Chapter One

  Grammar Giggles

  Pronunciation Guide/ Character List

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2018 Amy Sumida

  All rights reserved.

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  Legal Notice

  This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.

  More Books by Amy Sumida

  The Godhunter Series(in order)

  Godhunter

  Of Gods and Wolves

  Oathbreaker

  Marked by Death

  Green Tea and Black Death

  A Taste for Blood

  The Tainted Web

  Series Split:

  These books can be read together or separately

  Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest

  Into the Void & Out of the Darkness

  Perchance to Die

  Tracing Thunder

  Light as a Feather

  Rain or Monkeyshine

  Blood Bound

  Eye of Re

  My Soul to Take

  As the Crow Flies

  Cry Werewolf

  Pride Before a Fall

  Monsoons and Monsters

  Blessed Death

  In the Nyx of Time

  Let Sleeping Demons Lie

  The Lion, the Witch, and the Werewolf

  Beyond the Godhunter

  A Darker Element

  Out of the Blue

  The Twilight Court Series

  Fairy-Struck

  Pixie-Led

  Raven-Mocking

  Here there be Dragons

  Witchbane

  Elf-Shot

  Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings

  Black-Market

  Etched in Stone

  —Complete Series—

  The Spellsinger Series

  The Last Lullaby

  A Symphony of Sirens

  A Harmony of Hearts

  Primeval Prelude

  Ballad of Blood

  A Deadly Duet

  Macabre Melody

  (Aria of the Gods)

  The Spectra Series

  Spectra

  A Gray Area

  Erotica

  An Unseelie Understanding

  Fairy Tales

  Happily Harem After Vol. 1

  Including:

  The Four Clever Brothers

  Beauty and the Beasts

  Pan's Promise

  Wild Wonderland

  The Little Glass Slipper

  Happily Harem After Vol. 2

  Including:

  White as Snow

  Awakened Beauty

  Twisted

  Codename: Goldilocks

  Historical Romance

  Enchantress

  Sign up for Amy's Newsletter and get a free book:

  http://google.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=398603e0fc6b3876340e37356&id=3abd32edce

  And dive further into the worlds of the Godhunter, Twilight Court, and Spellsinger, at Amy's website:

  AmySumida.com

  Pronunciation Guide in the back of book.

  The Playlist

  Below is a list of songs Elaria sings in Aria of the Gods, in the order of their appearance. You can find this playlist on Spotify and listen to it for free here:

  https://open.spotify.com/user/ashstarte/playlist/3y3CbcZnBL14GtFp5hVRC1?si=wZ6XHBejRMupzToBR2Txgw

  Or just search for the author and the book's title on Spotify.

  Warfare by Katie Garfield

  Sleep by Joseph & Maia

  I See Fire by Ed Sheeran

  Blindfold by Sleeping Wolf

  I Will Remember You by Sarah McLachlan

  Narcissistic Cannibal by Korn

  Little Red Riding Hood by Aeseaes

  New Blood by Zayde Wolf

  Siren Song by Julian Moon

  Heartbeat by Beckah Shae

  Open Your Eyes by Bea Miller

  Sky in Your Bones by Tutlie

  Diabolical by NYXX

  So Cold by Ellogram

  For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica

  Forever Bound by Von Grey

  Invisible by Josh Gracin

  Misguided Angel by Cowboy Junkies

  See You Bleed by Ramsey

  Hellfire by Barns Courtney

  Chapter One

  How had my life gotten even more complicated?

  I sighed as I watched Torin face off with Slate. Again. Before I'd met Slate Devon, Lord of the Oregon Zone—I didn't found out which zone he was lord of until after he'd set me free— I'd been about to marry four men. My fifth lover is a griffin, and Gage doesn't want a ceremony; he said we're already bound stronger than any words could tie us. Gods; I love that griffin. Anyway, I'd been in the middle of four wedding preparations when I'd been kidnapped by Gargoyles and forced into fighting in their gladiatorial arena. Gargoyles are shapeshifters with stone magic, and they're also one of the few Beneather races who are native to Earth. They were here thousands of years before homo sapiens showed up. That gave them lots of time to develop their civilizations and even carve out a few cities underground.

  Those gargoyle cities became popular with Beneathers, especially those who aren't able to hide their appearances easily. When Beneathers
started flocking to gargoyle cities, the Gargoyles saw an opportunity. They made the cities into Zones; secure, heavily patrolled, underground communities where Beneathers could live, shop, socialize, and be entertained without worrying about humans or about other beneathers attacking them. One of the most popular forms of zone entertainment is the arena.

  So, there I was, fighting for my life, held captive under the power of a nifty collar that subdued my magic—and released it at the push of a button—when my old nemesis, the Rooster Spell, came quietly back to life. Or came quietly back to health, rather. She'd been alive the whole time, unknown to me, just recuperating in the shadows of my soul. And instead of announcing her renewed vigor—and improved magic—she remained silent as she surreptitiously nudged Slate and me together. Surreptitiously and powerfully. I couldn't figure out why the hell I was attracted to a man who'd acted like such a dick to me. Even if he was amazing beneath that dick-tude.

  It wasn't until I was half in love with Slate that both he and I began to notice the tingles of magic flowing between us. Since the RS is a spell and not an innate magic, she'd been able to circumvent my collar's dampening effect. She'd grown stronger and stronger while Slate and I had fallen for each other, using magic she'd siphoned from me and stockpiled back when I'd been Faenestra, Goddess of the Shining Ones. But then there came a reckoning.

  The whole reason Slate had abducted me was that Galen and Odran—the ex-king of Sapphire and the Howlite King I'd made human—had manipulated Slate into believing I was a murdering spellsinger hellbent on destroying the Shining Ones. Slate—who made a point of only imprisoning psychotic beneathers to fight in his arena; his idea of beneather justice—also happened to have a zone built directly over a captive god; Gargo, God of the Gargoyles. Yep; his god.

  When I released Darcraxis from the cage our children, the Shining Ones, had put him into, a shock wave of god energy had rippled out through the Realms. That energy awakened other sleeping, imprisoned gods. Gargo had been one of those awakened. He had just enough magic to contact the pair of spiteful Shining One men, offer them power and magic, and set them on a course to bring me to him. Not only bring me to him but also get me to bleed on top of his jail cell. It turns out that god blood—even that of a goddess who sliced her soul in half and trapped her goddess magic in an orb—could break a god's bonds.

  It hadn't worked out so well for poor Gargo. He was back to slumbering beneath the Oregon Zone thanks to Slate and I. But the problem was; according to Galen and Odran—both now dead—there were numerous gods who had awakened along with Gargo. The Witches had contacted Beneather Governments on all the inhabited planets to warn them about the possible uprisings, but there wasn't much else we could do until one of the awakened gods made his or her presence known.

  And then there was the little problem of Darc's and my blood possibly being able to open god prisons. Just because my blood had been able to crack open Gargo's subterranean tomb, it didn't mean that it would work for all of the Gods. Odin Earthshaker, my friend and the Witch Leader of Earth, believes that my blood worked for Gargo because of two things; my goddess status and the fact that I had been born on Earth, the same place Gargo is imprisoned. I was hoping that was the case. Because if it wasn't, both Darc and I would have all sorts of beneathers gunning for us. I had no doubt that there would be a deluge of beneathers deranged enough to bargain with a god; the prospect of power can make people stupid.

  In light of all of these recent developments, certain individuals—Slate, Gage, and I—thought we should postpone the weddings. Certain other individuals—the men I was engaged to—disagreed. We'd been arguing over it for days now.

  “You just don't want anyone to have a stronger hold on Elaria than you,” Torin snarled in Slate's face. “Well, let me be the first to inform you; I already have a stronger bond with her than you do. All of us do. You crashed this party late, Gargoyle. Get over it.”

  “You're the one hung up on hierarchy in our group.” Slate's eyes flashed silver as he looked over Torin scathingly. “What happened between you two to make you so damn clingy? You're like a teenager with his first crush. Give the woman some space to breathe, for fuck's sake. She has six men to keep happy; you hanging on her bra strap isn't helping.”

  Torin's muscles twitched into tension from his neck downward in an impressive—and damn attractive—ripple of power. Torin loomed over Slate—both taller and broader than him—but the Gargoyle still managed to look superior; exuding cool confidence and dynamic domination of the space around himself that had nothing to do with his extraordinary physique. It didn't help that Slate had used his diabolical skills at reading people to accurately assess Torin. Yep; that was my arrogant Zone Lord.

  Damn it; it almost annoys me that I love him. Slate had zeroed in on Torin's sore spot like a hunting hound and then pushed his finger into it to taunt him. But Slate didn't know the full truth; all that Torin and I had been through to make my Onyx King clingy. Ugh; that was a bad word, and it wasn't entirely accurate. Torin is clingy in the way that lions are with a good meal; dangerously protective and a bit insatiable.

  Great; now, I've just compared myself to meat. Perhaps that was a Freudian slip; sometimes I felt like a piece of meat being fought over by beasts. I looked over the furious faces of my lovers and every line of their expressions looked ravenous. They were out for blood, and I wasn't the only one they wanted a piece of.

  “Look; I don't give a fuck about what kind of bond you have with her,” Slate went on. “All I care about is the way she looks at me when I'm inside her. And let me be the first to tell you; it's fucking glorious.”

  I groaned. He'd done it now.

  Torin's deep sapphire eyes flashed—the extra power the RS had given us glittering in their depths—a moment before he punched Slate's smirking face and sent the Gargoyle crashing out the open archway that led to the balcony and nearly toppled him over the railing. I sighed deeply. Slate had that effect on people; I can't count the number of times I've wanted to punch him in the face. Or balls. But I couldn't have Torin killing my new lover. Since we were in my bedroom at Kyanite Castle, we were incredibly far up. I had no idea if Slate could have shifted into his gargoyle form in time to save himself if he'd fallen over the railing, and I didn't want to find out.

  Slate shot back into the room; ready to finish what Torin started. Wait. No; Slate had started it. See? That's another of Slate's talents; he talks with the scathing superiority and circling reason that can confuse people until they end up agreeing with him.

  I jumped between them.

  “All right, that's enough.” I held up my hands and glared at Slate when he started to speak. “You deserved that.”

  “He was the one talking about having a stronger hold on you,” Slate pointed out smugly as he brushed off his exquisitely tailored pants. “I just let him know what my priorities are.”

  “In a way that was certain to make him furious.” I pushed Slate's solid chest, but he didn't budge. “I need you both to stop bickering. This isn't helping.”

  “Then let's end this argument.” Declan got gracefully to his feet and flicked his bright auburn hair over his shoulder in a gesture that managed to look masculine. Maybe it was because the shoulder he flicked it over was so well-defined. Declan had been lounging in an armchair, listlessly watching the other men argue as his alexandrite eyes drifted open and shut like a lazy cat's, but Torin's violence had finally stirred him. “You agreed to marry us, Elaria. It's time to follow through on your promise.”

  “I fully intend to do that. But I don't want to have our wedding interrupted by war, Declan.” I threw my hands up in the air and stalked back to where I'd been sitting; on the foot of my new enormous bed. “I want it to be a day I can enjoy... four days that I can enjoy.” I reached to my right and took Darc's hand. “I won't be able to relax with this God Uprising hanging over us.”

  Darc lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. My fiances had been taking turns arguing with Slate like S
partans striking and then falling back to let fresh warriors take their place. Slate thought he was the smartest man in the room and that was his weakness. He wasn't dealing with his gargoyle henchmen anymore; he was in the company of royalty, warriors, and one ex-god. Slate may be able to rattle my men, but they weren't fools or weaklings. He wouldn't be able to talk—or even punch—his way to victory with them.

  “If war comes, my fire, we shall face it together,” Darcraxis said confidently. “There's nothing to fear.”

  “You're still thinking like a god.” Gage leaned forward out of his casual sprawl on my left. “We need to prepare for this.”

  “We are Shining Ones; we are prepared,” Darc said coolly.

  “The simple fact is; we want to marry you.” Banning came around to stand before me. “Do you still want to marry us?”

  “Of course, I do, Ban,” I whispered.

  “This delay hurts us.” Leave it to Banning to go right for the jugular. He's a blooder; it's kind of their thing. “It hurts me. I question myself; if I'm still what you want. Slate's arrival and the Rooster's resurrection has strengthened us in several ways, but they've also wounded us. We need these weddings to heal.”

  “Fuck,” Slate muttered.

  He knew me well enough to guess my answer to that. After all his brilliant maneuvering, he'd just lost the fight to an emotional appeal.

  “All right, Banning; you win,” I said. “We go forward with the weddings.”

  Four of my lovers smiled brightly enough to banish the bad feeling twisting in my gut. But Gage and Slate brought me back down to earth; their grim stares reminding me that this could go very badly.