Blue Blood (Series of Blood Book 3) by Emma Hamm (books to read this summer .txt) 📕

his hair and muttered under his breath. He appeared to be attempting to gain control of his temper. A few of the white moths took to the air. They danced in the beams of moonlight around him.

“Lydia,” he murmured.

Mercy leaned forward on her hands and knees, just a bit to hear him better. She didn’t need to move forward. The next moment, he screamed the name.

“Lydia!”

Had he lost his mind? First he had threatened a god, and now he was shouting some woman’s name to the heavens. Mercy didn’t understand why the men she met were so fixated on random women that they couldn’t help but utter their names so frequently. Surely, it was a sign of weakness.

And then she heard footsteps above them.

Mercy tilted her head back as though she might be able to catch sight of the person through the floorboards. She didn’t have long to wait. On the landing of the fourth floor, where the ceiling was opened to the night sky, a ghost appeared.

A pale dress floated around her as though it were made of a cloud. Her skin had no pigment at all. It was silvery as moonlight and white as milk. She placed a delicate hand upon the bannister made of lost souls, and her bare feet peeked from underneath the dress as she descended the stairs.

Perhaps she wasn’t a ghost, but she was a mirage of incredible beauty.

Her face was a picture of perfection, as smooth as marble stone. Mercy wasn’t certain the woman was made of flesh at all. Her hair was pale as snow, tumbling down her chest in large curls.

Yet, there was one feature which made Mercy certain she was not of this world at all. From the crown of her head, two silvery antlers pointed towards the sky.

“Pitch?” The woman’s voice sounded like tinkling bells. “What is wrong?”

Mercy was star-struck. Literally star-struck, as she was certain the woman’s skin was glittering with bits of stars. Surely, she had fallen from the sky.

“You know what’s wrong.” His dark voice echoed, and the shadows around him grew.

“You cannot change the stubbornness of other people, my phantom. Dwelling upon such thoughts will only eat away at you.”

“And yet, my mind lingers.”

The woman reached the end of the stairwell and walked towards them, her dress making a hushed sound as it slithered over her skin. But Mercy could no longer hear the woman walking.

Tiny strands of silver hung from the tines of her horns. Goddess, Mercy thought. This was a real goddess. More so than the Five, than the imposters who acted like spoiled children. This woman, who made her speechless, was the true goddess.

Mercy gasped.

Pitch didn’t move, but the strange woman met Mercy’s gaze.

Albino. Good lord, Mercy thought, he had an albino woman who looked like a deer. The woman’s eyes were pink. They seemed to not be able to focus upon Mercy’s form very well, and she most certainly had no pigment in them at all.

“Oh, you didn’t tell me you brought company, Pitch.”

Then he turned. All the color had drained out of his face as he stared at Mercy in horror.

“This was not how it was supposed to go,” he said quietly.

“I came with you.” Mercy didn’t know what else to say.

“I can see that,” he responded.

The three of them stared at each other as though they had never seen another person before. Of course, Mercy wouldn’t be surprised if Pitch had never introduced the deer woman to anyone beyond himself.

Mercy slowly stood up. She brushed bits of moss off her knees then crossed her arms firmly over her chest. They wouldn’t be able to say she was frightened of them even though she was quaking inside.

Lydia, for surely that was the woman’s name, stepped forward. Pitch made a sound of warning, but she did not listen. Mercy thought he would force her to stop. He seemed to be the kind of man that liked control.

But he did not. He allowed Lydia to walk right up to Mercy, until she tilted her horned head back and looked up into Mercy’s equally strange eyes.

Lydia squinted at her.

“Can you not see me very well?” Mercy asked.

“I’m very nearsighted.”

“There are glasses for that.”

Lydia smiled, and it was like looking into the glare of the moon. “They don’t work for me. But thank you for your concern.”

“I don’t usually do that.”

“Think of other people?”

Mercy didn’t know what she was saying. Why was she making a fool of herself? She shook her head as her tongue tied itself into a knot.

“You turned out to be very strange for a Phoenix,” Lydia said as she stepped even closer. “But I suppose that’s what happens when you take a child out of a stable situation. It’s a shame you won’t be formally trained. You have a great amount of magic inside you.”

“That’s Ignes.”

“What a lovely name.” Lydia’s smile grew even brighter. “I’m going to need you to stay very still now, Mercy.”

“What? Why?”

Pitch barked another warning. “Lydia, now is not the time.”

Lydia did not seem to care or listen to him. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She moved even closer and wrapped her arms around Mercy’s waist, pulling her into an embrace. Mercy stood awkwardly, unsure what she was supposed to do now. Pick up her arms? Touch Lydia? Would Pitch intervene if she tried?

“Relax.” Lydia sounded amused. “Just for a bit.”

Surprisingly, Mercy did. She reached around Lydia, and the tension in her body eased. The strangest warmth bloomed and grew throughout her entire body. This wasn’t the heat of her power or flames, but something strange Mercy did not recognize.

“It’s called Love,” Lydia explained.

“Are you saying I love you?”

“No, but I do love you. I’m giving you a glimpse of what it should feel like.”

“A little bit of giddiness and a whole lot of comfort?”

Lydia sighed and nodded, one of her horns gently tracing the peak of Mercy’s cheek. “It is the ultimate moment of trust and peace. You have not felt enough love in your