Read Online Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) by India Drummond - Free Book Online Page A

in this or in any of the other feeding worlds. To do so means never being able to return to our own homeland. But our world is slowly dying. Some try in vain to revive it, but I mean to survive.”
    Graiphen considered the strangely segmented body of Pang’s physical form. Would it survive in this world? What kind of power could she wield if she were here in the flesh?
    “In exchange for your help, I will free you from Braetin. Her plan to return to the old ways is ridiculous. With four of our brethren dead, it makes no sense to continue the charade of shared power. No, there will be one temple. You will govern it, and with my power, the empire. We will expand our borders. This entire world will be mine, and you will lead the people in coming to me.”
    “You’re forgetting the emperor.”
    “Have no worries about the emperor,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I have other plans for him. He will either prove useful, worshipping me as I demand, or be crushed beneath my feet.”
    Pang’s presence expanded as she spoke, and he felt the heady brush of her power. People believed her to represent love and light, but her true nature was unlike those tales written by philosophers and clerics of old. He wondered if she had dictated those tales herself, or if they had simply never known the truth. Her touch felt completely different from Braetin’s, but he could not deny that she was potent.
    “Ruling with fear is one thing,” she purred. “But make people love you, and they will willingly rush to their deaths in your name.”
    “Is that what you demand? Death?” he asked.
    “Of you, I demand life. You have already given me one. There will be others.” She snapped her fingers and a sheer-robed priestess appeared at the door.
    “Yes, mistress?” She bowed low.
    “Bring Zain to me.”
    “At once.” The priestess padded away urgently.
    Kiarana turned her attention back to Graiphen. “His name means light of the gods in one of your world’s ancient tongues. I thought it appropriate.”
    Graiphen turned over her offer in his mind. Braetin did not abide betrayal, but she herself had served it up many times. If anyone could protect him from her wrath, it would be another of her own kind. And if his mistress was as weak as Pang claimed…
    But would service to Pang be more palatable than service to Braetin? He despised so much about her temple. It seemed soft and weak, indulgent and frivolous. And yet, she had power. He felt it when she had rested in his body, when he’d taken Kiarana and Pang had moved to her new home. The physical pleasure had been unmatched in his experiences. That he could not deny. He suspected this Spirit of Light was Braetin’s equal, and his goddess had perhaps underestimated her rival.
    He turned and saw Kiarana watching him. He bowed his head, still unable to form a response, unsure if he should even entertain her proposal. Perhaps the offer was a false one. While he was unconscious on the floor of the inner sanctum or by some other means since then, Braetin could have asked her to test his loyalty. If so, and he failed that test, his life would be forfeit.
    The servant’s footfalls drawing back caught his attention and he looked to the door. She entered carrying a small boy. He had black hair and bright blue eyes. He looked unmistakably like Korbin had at four or five years of age.
    Kiarana took the boy from the priestess and turned to present him to Graiphen. “This is Zain. Our son.”
    Everything in Graiphen wanted to deny it. How could this be possible? He had only lain with her two weeks before. But she was a goddess. What would be impossible for her?
    The child rendered Graiphen speechless. He had another son? A demi-god? He bowed his head. When he raised his eyes and met the boy’s gaze, he saw power thrumming within him. He appeared like a child, yes, but his eyes were ancient.
    “Consider my offer,” Pang said through Kiarana. “But don’t delay. I am not a patient