The Prince had other plans. In the morning he opened the door and said, “Come with me,” without stepping into the room.

The shock at actually leaving the room had me up.

“Clothes,” the Prince pointed at the closet.

That’s right, I looked down at myself, anger stirred uselessly, mine were burned away.

The condominium building had an indoor pool the size of one of its floors. The Prince led me there. Chlorine filled my nostrils. The air felt clammy making my dress cling to my skin. The lights were only half on; darkness adding to the ominous atmosphere. The throne got moved to the end of the pool like a destination. Other gods and Worshippers stood around as if waiting for a spectacle.

I stopped in the doorway. At first the Prince gently tugged on my hand. When I didn’t budge he compelled me forward.

We stood at the edge of the pool; the water looked murky in the dim lighting. The length of the pool stretched out in front of us, impossibly long.

“You will get your freedom,” the Prince said without looking at me, “Only if you become mine.”

I looked at the pool, uncomprehending as to what he could possibly want.

“You will walk through the pool to me,” he pointed at the throne.

Walk? “Do you mean swim?” I asked, it was impossible to hold your breath so long.

“Endurance is a sign of devotion.”

I’m not devoted to you! I’m a prisoner, I wanted to scream. If I wasn’t devoted, would I die? Maybe this was meant to be--forced suicide.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

The Prince turned to me, something like a smile passed over his lips. Then he vanished. I saw him sit on the throne, the act of sitting down I guessed meant this stupid thing was meant to begin.

I stepped up to the steps, already barefoot. I shivered as the cool water touched warm skin. As all pools the water slowly got higher and higher, I fought not to shiver or pause to adjust to the temperature. The water slowly covered my knees, thighs, waist, chest, neck. As I immersed my head, I thought to take slow steps, ensure my own demise. But as my lungs realized I had no air, panic overtook me. I needed to breathe.

My steps quickened. My lungs burned. I could see nothing under the water. What if I surfaced? What would happen? I was too scared to find out.

I thought it would be easy to give up. Take a breath underwater, let water fill my lungs and die. Yet I couldn’t. My lungs burned, my chest heaved, my heart pounding in my ears. Yet my nose refused to breathe and mouth to open.

My vision grew fuzzy. Did I see the end or was I hallucinating?

My foot hit a step, the pain jarring me from whatever half-consciousness had kept me moving. My leg weighed a ton but it lifted and moved up. By the third step my head broke the surface and I gasped. Inhaling lungful after lungful of air; sweet oxygen. I couldn’t get enough, devolving into a coughing fit.

Taking the final step out of the water I dropped to my knees out of sheer exhaustion. When I could finally breathe enough to realize I had passed the test I looked up. The Prince looked down at me from the height of his throne.

“From this day forth, you are Princess, the second of my children.”

Murmurs went up around the room. The gods didn’t leave as they had after Sam’s transformation.

Transformation? I panicked, did I look different? Did I have gills or fins or something? I stared down at my body but all I saw was soaked, near see-through clothing, hiding nothing but my goosebumps and shivers.

“Is that wise?” one of the gods, the Angel (don’t let the name fool you, other than his white feathered wings there was nothing angelic about him), stepped out of the pack.

The Prince had risen, holding out a hand to help me up. The look he turned on the Angel had me cringing. It was funny how, though the range of emotions gods showed was about two, when one spent so much time with them even the smallest changes were easy to spot.

“That is not a name for a Worshipper,” the Angel either couldn’t tell he pissed the Prince off or he didn’t care.

“It is done.” Even I knew the tone meant end of discussion.

By reflex I had taken the Prince’s hand to rise, but he didn’t let go once I was standing.

The gods finally started to disperse.

I could feel the Prince watching me, I turned to stare right back.

“You are now free to go where you want,” he didn’t let go of my hand.

“Okay,” I didn’t try to move.

After a long moment the Prince finally shifted, “Go, change your clothes. You will need to experience your new body.”

I wondered if he would teach me like he did with Sam but he said, “Ash will show—“

“No!” I snapped, then whispered, “Not Ash.”

The Prince bent to look me in the eyes like he was searching for something.

“We’ll take her,” a pale woman with angelic wings said, behind her was another woman with black wings, though hers looked more birdlike.

“Okay,” I was quick to agree, anything to get away from the Prince, especially with Ash boring a hole in the back of my head with his stare.

The women chatted as I hurried to the bedroom to get changed. It finally sank in that I was going to leave this God-damned condo.

I sorted through my memories of who-knows-how-long-ago for the names of the two women outside. The angelic one was Feather, Angel’s Worshipper and the other was Black Swan, the Swan’s Worshipper. I found pants and a t-shirt; and an actual bra. I wished I could have taken a shower but I guess the chlorine water would have to do.

“Ready?” Feather smiled but didn’t wait for an answer as she grabbed me around the waist, “Hang on.”

Her wings spread to nearly cover the whole room with their breadth. With one flap, I felt like I had stuck my head out of a moving vehicle. And we flew out of the nearest window.

“It’s good to have you on the team at last,” besides her pale complexion, almost as white as her wings, and her wings, of course, Feather looked human; a pretty, brunette woman in her twenties. “The gods were getting worried.”

“Okay, first thing,” Black swan flew close, her eyes had neither pupils nor irises, “You get to learn how durable you are.”

Feather’s smile widened.

Right before she let go of me.

Still flying a good ten stories off the ground.

I screamed but it caught in my throat as the air whooshed past me and I picked up speed on my descent. The ground stopped my fall.

Air escaped my lungs as I felt the impact jar through my body.

I stared up at the two Worshippers still flying above me. Shocked to find I was fine.

“It hurts but your body will heal in a moment,” Black Swan landed beside me.

Hurts? What hurts? I felt no pain. I tried to rise, looking down at myself. Bones poked out of my knees!

I screamed.

The two women stared down at me, similar perplexed expressions on their faces, “Just pop it back in, it will heal.”

I stared at my broken legs, realizing again that I felt no pain. I took deep breaths.

“Don’t be a baby,” Feather bent down, grabbed one leg and twisted the bone back under the skin before doing the same to the other leg.

I drew breath to scream but no pain jarred my being. What the--?

The two Worshippers exchanged glances.

“You didn’t feel anything?” Black Swan asked slowly as if wondering how crazy she sounded.

I shook my head. After months of pain I was as confused as they were.

“I’d never heard of that gift before,” Feather said cautiously.

“He is the Prince?” Black Swan raised an eyebrow.

“But Ash—“ Feather trailed off.

“Let’s just keep going, the whole point of this is to find out what you can do.” Black Swan seemed uncertain as she gave me a hand up.

As we walked down one street after another, people turned and ran. The Worshippers’ demeanors changed too; something manic entered their step and their expressions. Feather smiled and for the first time I saw insanity in it. Terror jarred me to the core. Would that happen to me? Then another thought rocked me.

They were looking for someone to kill.

“Wait,” I yelled running in front of them, “You know, I think I’ve had my mind blown enough today…let’s just go back.”

Again that exchange of glances.

“But seeing how you can entertain your master is one of the most important gifts we get,” Feather said gleefully, her smile widening to unreal proportions.

Then they spotted a man and a woman hiding behind a car—waiting to make a run for it. Stupid, why didn’t they run earlier?

Feather flapped her wings once and moved around me too fast for me to grab her.

Ash’s stories rang in my head; people dying in such horrible ways.

“This is why we are here—why we’ve been created,” Black Swan looked at me with pity, “No one expects to enjoy it—but they all do eventually.”

Tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want this. I don’t want this! I refuse to be like the Worshippers who begged for their power.

The woman’s scream cut me to the core. I turned to see Feather had ripped out her arm like she was plucking wings off a fly.

I screamed, watching blood gush from the open wound.

I moved without realizing. One moment I was several feet away—and the next I pushed Feather away from the woman.

I don’t know what shocked me more—that I moved so fast or that I actually pushed Feather into a car and dented it.

“I wasn’t done,” Feather screamed. Nothing of the woman who calmly reset my leg a moment ago remained.

“She will bleed to death soon anyway,” Black Swan frowned, “You can’t save them.”

No. No one around to heal her just to torture her again.

Anger made me shake. Red colored my vision. Months of torture to what? Turn around and either watch others get tortured or torture them myself?

“You were never human,” I spat and lunged at Black Swan.

I—I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how I knocked Black Swan out. I know Feather attacked me right after and I know I grabbed her hair, ripping chunks out as I swung her over my shoulder. She lay screaming in front of me.

Still the anger didn’t abate. I think I grabbed her by the throat to make her shut up and ripped out her voice box—and everything else along with it.

I stared down at her, panting. How long did I stare at that mangled body—her head barely attached.

I scanned the sky. No god had appeared. Not yet. But the Angel will come to avenge his Worshipper soon. I looked around. Black Swan was gone. To get reinforcements? To tattle on me to the Prince?

Would he drag me back to that room?

Terror seized me.

I can’t go back.

The thought was like a bell in my head, echoing within my depths until I was running…running as fast as I could.