I followed the fae servant, Aurora, through the winding halls of the Amethyst Palace, trying to store every turn and exit in my memory bank. But whenever I turned a corner, the corridor behind me just vanished. Then, suddenly, I was inside a room. I didn’t even remember walking through the door.

What kind of fucked up place was this?

“There’s no point in tracing the path, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said. “The palace shifts at the will of His Lord God. This room is specifically assigned to you. We’re in the west wing right now, but tomorrow this room could be moved to the east wing, depending on how pleased His Lord God is with you.”

“Do I look like I give a fuck if he’s pleased?”

I tried to keep my emotions off my face, but my heart sank knowing that I was at his mercy.

“Any necessity you need—dresses, shoes, toilette—are all in your room,” Aurora continued in a pleasant tone.

I swept my gaze over an ivory bed, a vanity, puffy chairs, and then the unbarred window. On the other side of the glass panes, a storm brewed over a gray sea. Was that for real? When Apollo dragged me along the slipstream, I hadn’t seen an ocean, only endless clouds.

“The palace is floating in the sky. Where did the ocean come from?”

“Isn’t it lovely?” Aurora said admiringly, peeking outside.

“There’s a storm.” I reminded her.

“That means His Lord God is brooding. He can make everything happen. If you want a garden view, all you have to do is ask him very nicely. You can even have blossoms hanging over your window and the moon shining on your face. Although, I don’t recommend you ask for a moon since His Lord God is the God of Sun. But still, he might do it for you. I can see he’s very fond of you. In the past, His Lord God was fond of a few others as well, but they didn’t last. I do hope you last longer.”

“Don’t hope for that,” I said, studying her. Everything about her was like pretty plastic, but she wasn’t a robot. She was a fae. “What did he do to you to make you this way, Aurora?”

She blinked. “I exist solely to please His Lord God.”

“Where were you from originally, Aurora?”

“I was born in the Amethyst Palace, the Wonder of Future Olympus, born to serve. His Lord God wants me to please you, and I’ll please you to please His Lord God.”

I eyed her wearily. I wouldn’t gain any useful information from her.

“Are there many others here like you?” I asked.

“Yes.” She beamed. “I hope you’ll meet them one day if you last long enough.”

“That asshole must have drugged you to make you this way.”

She frowned for the first time, fear forming in her green eyes for a heartbeat. Under Apollo’s influence, the fae seemed incapable of feeling any intense emotion.

“You shall not blaspheme, Goddess Cass. You’ll be sent to the most undesirable place if you don’t behave, even for a goddess.”

“Who’s going to send me?” I sneered. “This is already the most undesirable place; where else can he send me to?”

Aurora sighed, then smiled the next second. “Are you ready for your bath?”

“I can handle my own bath. You’re excused.”

Instead of leaving, Aurora waved her hand over an unseen sensor, and the wall pulled open from the middle, revealing a large bath chamber.

Steam rose from a gold tub large enough to swim in. On a marble bench was a stack of white towels. On a high counter lay three sets of gowns.

“His Lord God had us prepare everything for you in anticipation of your arrival, Goddess Cass,” Aurora said. “You’re so lucky.”

“He’s a fucking stalker.”

Aurora threw her hand over her mouth to cover a gasp.

“Go take a coffee break, Aurora.”

“I don’t drink coffee. I must stay to serve you, or His Lord God will be displeased.”

I started losing patience, more so since I was cold and wet.

“Wait outside, or I’ll punch your face and send you back to Apollo and we can see who’s more displeased.”

She stopped smiling, which rolled the world back towards sanity. But she still didn’t leave, instead loitering outside the bath chamber awkwardly. At least she gave me a little space.

I peeled off my wet blouse with a sigh and stepped into the steamy gold bathtub.