I am sitting at the dinner table, eating the fruit salad that Zev has magically prepared, when the door of the tent-like structure blows open and a new creature appears. This new god, who must be the partner Zev told me about, has eyes the color of fire, and he moves like fire, too. His body is a little slighter than Zev’s, but I can see the lean muscle rippling through his arm as he reaches up and brushes long curls out of his face and smiles. Oh, that smile burns through me, consuming me, leaving sizzling embers in its wake.
He is speaking a language I don’t understand as he enters, in a husky, hoarse voice that bounces with excitement, but is cut off short when he notices me. “I see we have company.”
“This is Jubilee,” Zev says, sweeping a hand toward me as if showing off a trophy. “I found her in the desert, running from the Church.”
“Well, what a treat,” the newcomer says, reaching out for a handshake. “A pleasure to meet you, Jubilee. I’m Alin.”
“Pleasure to meet you too,” I repeat, taking his extended hand. Sparks, undeniable, when our skin touches, even for that brief second.
“Are you joining us on our mission?” Alin asks, holding my gaze fiercely, daring me to look away.
“Oh, I didn’t know I was invited,” I stutter, breaking my eyes away from the newcomer and glancing at Zev nervously.
“Any enemy of our enemy is our friend,” Alin singsongs, leaning over the table. I feel his flames, lapping at me, pulling me in. “We’d love to have you on board.”
“I’m not sure what I could do to help,” I say, glancing between the two gods.
“Not to worry, we’ll think of something,” Zev says, licking his lips slowly, lavishly. There’s a new energy in the room, something electric crackling through the air. I bask in it for a single moment, relishing the way that desire tastes on my tongue. But just as fast as it entered, it becomes too much, too fast.
“I have to get some air,” I say, standing abruptly. “I’ll be right back.”
Outside, I hide behind a large boulder, letting my back slide down it until I’m crouched in the red dust. The air is cooling fast as the sun disappears over the edge of the earth in the distance. My mind races, grabbing at my spinning thoughts, trying to piece them together. This morning began the same way every morning has for the past ten years. This morning, I was Jubilee, daughter of Mark and Irene, worshiper of the Seven. Now, I am no one, lost in the desert with two beautiful gods that are strangers to me. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just saw an opportunity, and I took it, and now I’m not sure I was ready for what freedom has to offer.
“I’m sorry if we frightened you,” a voice says above me. Low, like shallow water bubbling over rock. Alin. “We’re very passionate about our cause, that is all. But you’ve only just escaped, so I understand if you need more time.”
He sits down beside me, breaking another thread inside me. A god, sitting on the desert floor, beside measly me?
“What’s bothering you?” Alin prompts when I don’t reply.
I take a deep breath, unsure of where to begin. I push my hair back out of my face, twisting a loose strand around a finger as I speak.
“You’re not like them,” I confess, quietly. “The Seven. You and Zev, the way you speak to me, they way you invite me into your home. The gods aren’t supposed to behave like this.”
Alin looks at me with a small smile, until I blush and look away.
“We’re not gods, Jubilee,” he says, taking my chin and pulling my face back up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “We do not deserve to be worshiped. Those narcissistic maniacs that call themselves the Seven certainly don’t deserve your adoration. In most ways, our people are very much like yours.”
I say nothing. With him touching my skin, and those golden eyes on me, I’m transfixed, prey ensnared. I can’t pull away. Something magnetic between us binds me to him, drawing me closer. He must feel it too, because he leans in. His hold on me loosens, giving me a chance to retreat, but I don’t. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. He is fire, and I know it’ll burn, but I crave it all the same. His lips meet mine, hungry and greedy. There is no tender moment where we touch for the first time, exploring one another. He takes me fast, his tongue pushing into my mouth, his hands grabbing at my body. We burn, we burn, we burn, under the dying desert sun, as the stars light up above us one by one. When I am thoroughly breathless, hair wild and lips swollen, Alin finally pulls away.
“See?” he says, eyes blazing in the moonlight. “Not a god.”
He stands and walks back to the tent, not realizing that he’s failed to prove his point. I touch my fingertips to my lips, hands shaking with the primal ferocity of what just transpired. Not a god, he claimed, after kissing me like one.