Crud, I thought as I noted the direction he was going. Please tell me he wasn’t after the Owlbear, too. If he was, I was in trouble.

There wasn’t much that Terra Noblē wanted for. After all, his dad pretty much employed the whole town — including my dad. The business that the Noblēs ran? The sole energy crystal mine in the whole world, which meant they were filthy rich. So Terra didn’t need the Owlbear to prove anything or be able to afford a good piece of gear.

Even though Terra was basically a prince, in looks and money, he was no frail dandy. There were five young adults that had already awakened as Hunters in our school. Terra was without a doubt the strongest. With the sword skills that he’d been working on since before we started kindergarten, and his astute personality, he could best most veterans.

Personally, I believed he was hiding how strong he really was. I was a higher D ranked Hunter, which put me at the top ten percent in the city. But Terra could wipe me across the floor like a rag doll — all without seriously injuring me. That wasn’t something a C Hunter should be able to do to me. In the past there were higher ranks — even legendary S Ranked Hunters who were like gods — but that ended thirty years ago. Since the highest Hunter rank was C, I didn’t have a way to prove he was higher. So frustrating.

As much as I respected Terra’s ability, I was not going to lose my prey to him. I tapped Cho-Cho’s sides and sent her stealthily after the Winged Panther. A couple times Terra stopped and looked around. I was watching him close enough that I was always able to hide myself and Cho-Cho behind a large tree or rock right before he turned his head. Two miles later, Terra turned his mount and slipped behind a crop of rocks.

I stopped Cho-Cho and frowned in that direction. Other than Terra’s presence, I couldn’t pick up anything else. There was no way the Owlbear was over there. Stealth wasn’t in that monster’s material make-up. And I knew the mountains enough to know Terra had gone to a dead-end.

So what was he doing?

The question floated in my mind for only a half minute before I mentally shrugged. There were a lot of questions people had about the Noblēs. There was even rumor that they were related to the S God that saved the world twenty-five years ago. Since, you know, their names were so similar. Noble — Noblē. Never mind that Terra’s mom and dad looked like they were in their late twenties at most.

What he was doing was none of my business. Since he was obviously not hunting the Owlbear, it was better for me.

My hand holding Cho-Cho’s reins gently guided her to the right, back in the direction the Owlbear was last sighted. She turned her head and took a step.

Just then, an immense presence appeared right behind me. Right where Terra had gone. I’d never felt anything like this before. It was so strong, it made my knees weak. That couldn’t be Terra, right?

My lips parted in a silent gasp as I turned around. A bright light was shining from somewhere on the other side of that crop of rocks. But we were too far from the energy crystal mine. What was going on?

I slipped off Cho-Cho’s back and draped her reins on a branch next to me without thinking. It wasn’t tied up in the slightest, but she wouldn’t move unless I called for her or she was attacked. With my bow in hand, I silently crept toward the light. I couldn’t hear any yells for help or the sounds of a scuffle, but a Hunter that let down her guard was a dead Hunter. If that was a monster, and Terra was in trouble, I couldn’t let myself be at a disadvantage if I wanted to help.

I pressed my back to the jagged rocks then slowly leaned around the corner.

Terra stood with his back to me at the end of the deadend, leaning on one hip, his body language completely relaxed as he moved his hands as if talking though I couldn’t hear anything. His mount lay on the ground, head between its paws and looking ready for a nap.

The blinding light … was from a young woman.

Her long silvery hair fluttered in loose curls all the way down to her knees and her long, white empire waist dress seemed to move about in an invisible wind. Her whole body glowed with a warm, gentle light that hurt my eyes, but I couldn’t seem to look away. I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as her.

The number one rule of being a Hunter was don’t let your guard down. I didn’t know what she was — no human, that’s for sure — but I couldn’t resist stepping out from behind the rock. I didn’t want to hide to look at her. It didn’t seem right.

Terra and the woman turned their heads in my direction.

I was startled, suddenly realizing that I went from secretly eavesdropping to blatantly doing so. How … lame. “Ah…”

The woman smiled at me and came closer. It wasn’t until she was moving that I realized that her feet weren't even touching the ground and that’s why she was eye level with Terra. She was floating. “Well, hello,” she said to me then glanced at Terra over her shoulder. “Is this the good seed you’ve been telling me about?”

He trailed after her, looking at me with a complicated expression. “Mmm.” The sound could be taken as a positive or negative. “I thought you might like her.”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but I was caught. It was obvious by the way she was staring at me that she was interested. When I first saw her, I thought she was slightly younger than me. But her silver eyes … they possessed an ageless sense that I’d never seen in a person. As if she’d seen eternity.

Terra stepped to the side, forming a triangle between us. He motioned around, introducing everyone. “This is Kylee Turner. Kylee, this is Goddess.” Then he hooked his thumbs in his jeans and watched my expression as if waiting for a show.

I stared at the floating woman, my mind ticking. Goddess wasn’t an original name by any means, but the only one I knew of was … My eyes were automatically drawn to the second, slightly larger moon in the blue sky. It was said that that planet was owned by an actual Goddess. The provider of all the energy crystals on Earth.

This woman couldn’t be …

“Yes, I’m that Goddess,” she said, smiling wide and motioned to the moon.

I jumped like a shocked cat. Hold up! I just saw some light and followed it like an idiot. I didn’t think that I’d meet — meet a celestial being!

Terra’s lips curled, obviously enjoying my reaction.

Goddess laughed and held out her hand. “Would you like to become my child?”

“Child?” I mimicked, completely confused. I was way past ‘child’ stage, just months shy of an adult. And my parents were perfectly healthy. What was she asking?

As confused as I was, a part of me wanted to reach out and take her hand. As if it was the thing that I should do, simply because she asked.

I wasn’t the only one confused. Terra’s eyes widened and he looked at Goddess. “What do you mean?”

Goddess tilted her head to the side, her long hair fluttering with the movement. “Now that things are finally in order financially, I think it’s time to gain a few more children. Since most of my energy is being used to renovate our new home, I can’t create any more children right now. I was going to search Earth for a handful of humans that are compatible who can become my children. I’m sure Earth’s god wouldn’t mind losing such a small number.” She smiled at me. “I just didn’t think that the first one would be so close.”

I stared at her, not understanding the meaning behind anything she just said.

Terra hummed under his breath, as if surprised, cutting me off before I could say anything. He touched his chin, thinking. “Father might throw a fit if you put more responsibility on him.”

She laughed. “Your father has complained about me since the day he discovered my existence. There’s not much more he could say. And no matter what he says, he can’t escape me anyway.” She couldn’t look happier, as if it was a fun game. “But,” she held up a finger, making a point, “Kesstel isn’t responsible for managing my children. That role is your mother’s.” She looked at him with meaning.

Terra paused then nodded in agreement. “She’s not going to like that either.”

Finally they were talking about someone or something I knew. As Terra’s classmate, since we were six, I’d seen his mom multiple times over the years. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew whose mom she was, I would have never guessed that low-key, kind woman was a billionaire. Jyn Noblē didn’t wear expensive clothes like other powerful people that visited the city. She didn’t act bossy and even her mannerisms were like a normal person’s. In fact, Terra’s mannerisms were more uptight than hers, which he probably got from his father. She doesn’t even bring bodyguards around with her.

It wasn’t until recently that the town found out she was a Hunter at all. She had such a tight control over her aura that an idiotic criminal once thought he could kidnap the ‘human’ co-owner of the energy crystal mine. When he pointed a gun at her in the middle of a crowd, she hit him so fast and hard, the crowd couldn’t even see her move. The guy lived, but rumor was he had permanent brain damage.

Goddess smiled, her eyes gleaming with intense love. “Yes, she’ll hate it at first. But it doesn’t change the fact that my people are her responsibility. And my people weren’t meant to be alone.” She reached out and gently brushed his cheek with her pale fingertips.

His eyes widened with understanding. A smile touched his lips and softened his handsome features. “Thank you.”

I stared at him. I’d known him for over ten years, and that was the first time I’d seen him look like that. When he smiled like that, he was so han—

“Hold up!” I lifted my hand, cutting off the thought and their conversation. “I have no idea what’s going on.” Refusing to look at Terra, I focused on Goddess. “I don’t understand what you mean by becoming your child?”

She brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “Simply put, would you like me to unlock your true potential?”

My eyes widened with instant desire.

“If you become one of my children, you will no longer be human. You’ll be just like Terra and his parents.” She motioned to him. “Everything will be exactly the same. Your parents, your school, your career choices. You just won’t have the restrictions of the human race on you. If compatible, you’ll be trained as a Warrior of Mist with Terra. And you’ll be taught to improve the lives of yourself and my people.”

“Warriors of Mist?” I muttered, trying to wrap my head around everything. Was there a catch? It sounded too good to be true.

Terra lifted a hand. A pale sphere appeared over his palm, floating inches above his skin. It took a second for me to realize it was smoke — no, fog. Mist. So Terra being classified as a Melee Hunter in the official records was a lie. He could do magic too. He tossed the ball to me.

I reached out to catch it, but as soon as the cool vapor touched my fingers, the ball lost its shape and dissipated. Startled, I looked up at him.

He tilted his head to the side and lifted his hand, using his fingers to hide how his lips curled. There wasn’t anything mocking in his laughing, it was pure non-malicious teasing.

My brows wrinkled as I stared at him. I was seeing a new side of him I’d never seen before and I didn’t know what to think of it. Mostly, I was just confused.

Goddess hummed, a light-hearted sound. “Kylee,” she said, drawing my attention back. “Would you like to be my child?” She held out her hand again.

I stared at it, desire building in me so badly I could barely breathe.

“Yes,” I said and slipped my hand into her.