Read Online My Life From Hell by Tellulah Darling - Free Book Online Page B

admit us, and just like that we were through.
    The space beyond was filled with people. I stepped inside, bouncing on my toes in wonder.
    “I get to say ‘I told you so’ now, right?” Festos sounded smug.
    “I’ll give you this one,” I replied, half-turning, unsure of where to ogle first. “Membership does indeed have its privileges.”
    I’d expected some kind of posh building. But no, we stood on the top level of a colosseum. Very much like the one found in Rome, including, I guessed, its size. The one obvious difference was that this space was set down into the earth, rather than sitting on top of it. So while I was on the fourth floor of the ringed arena, I was on ground level. I could see all the floors below me, sloping down and away, since the inner walls were only about waist high and topped with railings.
    And this colosseum had a roof. The outside wall on the top tier curved up into a ceiling with a tiled pattern—thousands of white, dark purple, and lavender tiles, all seemingly lit from within. As I stared up, some tiles got brighter while others dimmed. I found myself getting lost in the trippiness of it all.
    Theo waved a hand in front of my face. “Look at something else for a bit. You’re swaying.”
    I was getting a little dazed so I turned my attention to the four levels. Through the archways ringing each tier, I saw that every level boasted a multitude of cozy seating areas in sleek, dark groupings. Balls of light—not flame, not torches, just golden balls of light—were mounted every few feet along the walls. They gave the impression of millions of candles, adding a much needed intimacy to the cavernous space. So did the oases of greenery centered around the flowing water features, that dotted each floor.
    The electronica that played through invisible-yet-perfectly calibrated speakers grabbed me in my gut and in my hips, making me want to abandon myself to swaying sensuality. But the music took second place to the clientele. Gods, goddesses, demigods—this was the place for the Greek pantheon to see and be seen. Everyone looked young and beautiful in a way that mere airbrushed mortals could only fantasize about.
    It wasn’t all human forms either. I saw centaurs chatting up daemonae, and on the floor below, a siren held court amidst male and female admirers.
    “Interspecies,” said Hannah, her eyes gleaming, “very nice.”
    The waitresses were all nymphs with slender flowing bodies clad in seaweed, river pebbles, or leaves. Yet the flora these girls sported could have upstaged any Paris couture on the catwalk.
    Silk dancers performed aerial ballets high above the dance floor. They spun and arced from billowing ribbons of silver and gold, like acrobats in Cirque du Soleil.
    I squinted, my head tilted upward, trying to see what the silks were attached to. The answer, I saw was nothing. The silks were actually gossamer wings that sprouted from the dancers’ backs.
    “It’s so beautiful,” I sighed.
    Hannah nudged me. “Check out the dance floor.”
    I leaned slightly over the railing and gazed toward the bottom level. The floor was packed with bodies jammed so tightly together that they appeared to be moving as one. Even from this top level, I could see the ecstatic expressions.
    “They’re all relatively human size,” Hannah said.
    “We’re on Earth,” Festos said, like it was the most obvious explanation in the world.
    We were quiet for a little while. Lost in the music. Then, there was a voice beside me.
    “My favorite patrons. Welcome.”
    My head swiveled around. All this gawking was quite the workout.
    Beside me stood an androgynous figure that was definitely not human. It was slightly too tall, and its eyes gleamed yellow in its ebony skin. Its fitted black shirt and slacks did nothing to help me guess the gender. Neither did its close-cropped hair, dyed platinum blonde.
    I felt both a centeredness and great power coming off it, so figured it was probably a god of some