Isa's Secret (The Rise of Gods Book One) Read online

  Isa’s Secret

  The Rise of Gods

  Rachel Taylor

  Contents

  Dedication

  Author’s Note

  Pronunciations

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Coming soon…

  Did you enjoy this book?

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2021 Rachel Taylor

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in the fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover made by: Monique Erika from Cover 2 Cover Author Services.

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  Thank you for being my muse, Keeton. If it weren’t for you telling me to continue this story, I wouldn’t have done it.

  Thank you to my Birdhouse bishes for putting up with my crazy ass and constant messages about this book and characters. Also, I’m still not sorry for sending so many pictures of sexy models I found that fit the characters. And the endless TikTok videos. Sorry not sorry.

  Author’s Note

  This book contains adult language and steamy scenes. If you are not into reading things like that in detail, then I’d suggest that you do not go any further. It also does have a scene of sexual assault that the Heroine goes through. It is rough and detailed and can trigger those who are sensitive to situations like that.

  The characters in this story have issues and shortcomings. The Heroine is a woman who does not know how to stand up for herself and take charge, but she will develop and become a badass. The Hero is used to getting his own way but worships his woman. He just messes up a lot.

  I’ve created a Spotify playlist for you to listen to while reading. Songs that are mentioned in this book are on the playlist. So give it a listen here!

  Join my reader’s group here. Be sure to follow my author page where I will be posting many updates, here.

  I am a one-woman show here with the help of my team, who are not professionals. We have proofread, edited, read, then edited again. So if you see errors, just know that we are human and tried to catch them all. If these things bother you, then this book isn’t for you.

  Pronunciations

  Realms

  Aezola— A-zola

  Plapidell— Plap-e-dell

  Faelaxus— Fae-lax-us

  Yiokexar— Yo-kex-are

  Enoqar— Eh-no-car

  Names

  Isa— Ee-sah

  Rune— Roo-ne

  Efla— Eff-la

  Hluti— HL-ti

  Slátra— Slo-tra

  Rekja— Rey-ka

  Hegnan— Heg-nan

  Hlíf— Hl-eef

  Prologue

  The pain rippled through my body in waves that tore the breath from my lungs and had me gasping for air. They twisted the dagger already lodged in my spine with an upward thrust, lifting my feet from the ground that stole a violent scream out of me. The sound silenced those still in battle all around me, all eyes focused solely on me. Only one pair of eyes mattered to me at this moment; only those eyes had me looking at them with pleading in my own.

  They had somehow come into my homeland and attacked the innocent, who were all unprepared for this. I had gone into battle without hesitation to protect my people. Not all of them had skills for war; many were simple farmers and trades families that found peace with me and I with them. Their safety was mine to ensure.

  Suddenly, the large arm that had been around my throat, holding me to their body, dropped as they cleaved the dagger out of my spine, and I fell face first to the fertile grounds of my home. Thanks to the initial blow, I’d been rendered paralyzed, unable to move any limbs, and breathing had been a struggle.

  Shallow but forceful breaths were all I could do to buy some time for what needed to be done. I would not allow him to be alone for the rest of his life. It was my responsibility, not just to him but also to every being, and I would not fail this. Such burdens would not be forced upon his shoulders. He already had enough, and my responsibilities would not be added to them.

  The love I felt for him burned through the numbing pain in my broken body. I had wanted more time with him. I had wanted to bear his children and watch them grow and become the fierce and loving protectors he was and would continue to be. We had only been together for such a short time, and now we were cheated by death. It indeed was unfair for us. I had never feared death simply because it hadn’t crossed my mind. Never had I thought that my life would be snuffed out.

  The rumbling of his voice got closer and closer. Just as suddenly as I heard him, I was turned over in powerful arms. My eyes opened slowly to gaze up at him as he held me in his lap while tears streamed down his cheeks. Never had I seen him cry before that moment. The ache in my heart intensified just from those tears.

  I needed this to be done. I had to have his help to force my soul into the vale to be reborn again. I couldn’t do it myself for how fast my life was slipping away. Breathing got harder, and my vision blurred, my time running out.

  “Help… me,” I begged through forceful gasps.

  The blurry image of his beautiful eyes widened at my pleas. I’d never begged in my life. I’d never pleaded for anything. I knew I was breaking his heart and scaring him with my words, but it had to be done.

  I breathed in another forceful breath, releasing it in a plea. “Push… soul… out… into… veil.”

  Without even questioning my words and intentions, he placed his large palm over my breast where my heart lay. Together we used our powers to work my soul into the veil to be reborn again. For him to find me in another life. Till then, my soul would silently seek him.

  “Find… me,” I softly begged, while tears formed in my eyes, and his face became just a fuzzy image. Black spots grew bigger and bigger, obscuring the limited fuzzy sight I had left.

  “Where?” he pleaded roughly.

  For one last time, I entered his mind. I needed the final reassurance of his desire for me. That he would do as I pleaded. I hadn’t dug deep to see everything, for his thoughts were a flurry, and his pain was piercing. Had my heart still been beating, it would have had shattered with the immense pain he felt at that moment. It was my pain to bear at that moment. If I could, I would have taken it from him to take it with me in my death.

  But what flew through his mind gave me the comfort I needed. He loved me. He would find me. He would protect me. But he needed to know where to find me. Where my soul would go. I couldn’t answer. The breath in my body was gone, and the last of my spirit was slipping away.

  Not even I knew where my soul would go. I knew
that we would see each other again.

  Chapter 1

  “What can I get you?”

  “Um, venti strawberry crème Frappuccino?”

  The barista stared at me with a perplexed look. Why had I made my order into a question? Oh, because I didn’t know what else there was other than hot coffee, but I wanted to try something different. I loved strawberries, so I had decided, hey, let’s just try a strawberry Frappuccino, but now I sounded like an idiot. I cleared my throat nervously as I tapped my fingers on the back of my phone that sat on the counter in front of me.

  “Is that what you want?” her eyes squinted, or was it narrowed? Fuck, I was horrible at reading body language. Was she pissed? Annoyed? Why had it mattered?

  “Yes.” I cleared my throat again, nervously.

  Finally, she looked away, tapped on her screen, and told me the total. I fumbled with my wallet, pulled out my debit card, and paid. After all was said and done with, I moved away with my things and waited for my Frappuccino.

  Why did I have to be such an awkward person? I always acted fidgety, like I was on some drugs or something and needed my fix.

  I pushed some stray pale blue hair behind my ear and looked anywhere but at people. Couldn’t be rude. Shouldn’t be rude. I looked down at my phone and swiped through Facebook to pass some time until my drink was ready. There were a few people here in Starbucks and only two baristas.

  After I didn’t see anything new on my feed, I put my phone down and into my jacket pocket and looked around. There were a lot more people in here than I had thought. Here, the seats were all taken by businessmen or women and the stray hippie. They were on their phone or laptops and were engulfed in their smart devices, wasn’t paying attention to their drinks. I usually savored my coffee, hot or cold. I hated wasting things, especially when I had to pay five bucks for it.

  I looked at the time on my phone; it was after eight in the evening on a Friday; of course it was packed in here, why hadn’t I realized that beforehand? I was hankerin’ for something sweet on my way back home from work and saw Starbucks and thought, why not?

  Now, I wished I hadn’t come here. I hated crowds, and I hated rude people. Like this guy who just paid and stepped in front of me standing here waiting, thinking he was all high and mighty.

  I stared at his back with narrowed eyes and crossed my arms across my chest while I tapped my finger against my arm. Why was it people thought it was okay to step in front of you while waiting for your drink? I got it; we weren’t in a line, and it didn’t matter. However, logic suggested because I ordered before him, my drink would be ready before for his. Which begged the question, why did he need to in front of me? I was contemplating this when I heard, “Careful, you’ll burn a hole in his back.” This stunning, deep voice sounded close to my ear. Oh my, was that an accent too? Be still, my fucking heart.

  I swallowed nervously and looked to my right side and saw a sculpted, stunningly tall man standing there with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Why was it my eyes landed there first? I looked up at his face and saw the most amazing eyes trained on me, a beautiful ocean blue I longed to get lost in. Where did that come from? He had a five o’clock shadow and brown hair with various shades in the same hue, along with a few golden locks with the top half pulled back, and the rest was down. He was incredibly tall, so much so I had to tilt my head back slightly even to get a partial view of his face. He couldn’t be older than I was, maybe in his thirties?

  When he arched a brow, and a corner of his lip curled, I quickly said, “He cut.” God, I sounded stupid; way to go, just spout grade school nonsense at the god-like man staring at me!

  That smirk turned into a full-blown grin at my nervousness. I was never good with the opposite sex; who was I kidding I was only good with my tribe of friends. Even then it’s questionable. I swallowed nervously, peeled my eyes off of him, and looked back at the back of the man who hadn’t moved from in front of me, trying to remember to breathe.

  “He cut?” That deep accented voice wrapped me up and did things to me—bad, bad things.

  “Yup.” Why was it I couldn’t say more? If I did, I probably would just be a drooling stammering idiot.

  He moved closer to me, and automatically my flesh pebbled in goosebumps, and my heart hammered in my chest. I’d known lust and attraction, but this was exhilarating. I’d never reacted this way to anyone! I mean, I have had gotten nervous around attractive men, but this was getting worse. “Do you want me to tell him to move?”

  “Venti strawberry crème Frappuccino,” the barista called behind the counter.

  I glanced at him with a nervous smile. “That’s me, but thank you.” I moved forward as I veered around the people and grabbed my drink and straw, then quickly left the counter again. While I headed to the door, I peeked at the attractive man, only to had found him watching me with a look of curiosity and maybe recognition flashing across his face. I looked away and quickly made my way to the door.

  As soon as I was outside, I took a deep, shaky breath and fished in my pockets for my car keys, only to had found them missing. I tapped my body quickly, checking all useable pockets, then looked around if maybe my keys had fallen out at some point. The door behind me opened to remind me I was blocking the door, and I promptly veered my way to the nearest table outside of Starbucks and put my drink and straw down to look through my pockets and purse.

  No keys.

  This could not be happening. By that time, I was desperate and pulled everything out of my pockets. Then everything from my purse was pulled out and placed on the table. My keys were on a lanyard. There was no way that I wouldn’t be able to have seen them in my purse or even felt them in my pockets, but no, they weren’t there.

  Backtrack.

  I put my things back in my purse and pockets, grabbed my drink and straw, and quickly went back inside the coffee shop and looked around on the ground. They had to be here somewhere. How could I have had dropped the damn keys? How the hell would I get back home? I maneuvered around the people while looking at the ground and around the whole damn shop, and no sign.

  “Lost something?”

  I looked up and saw the masterpiece of a man from earlier, again, savoring his drink and watching me with what seemed to be concern, maybe. His brows drawn and sadly, a frown pulled at his lips. Why did it bother me he’s sad?

  I nodded. “Yeah, it seems I’ve misplaced my keys.”

  His blue eyes looked away, and he turned his head around as if he were searching as well. After just a glance around the shop, he looked back at me. “Did you check your car? Perhaps you locked them in there?”

  Of course, why hadn’t I fucking thought of that!

  My eyes widened. “Um, I’ll just go check then.” I moved around him, horribly embarrassed, and quickly made my way back out of the chaos of the coffee shop that had, of course, gotten busier.

  Please let me be slightly ignorant to have locked my keys in the car and not fully stupid and had completely lost them. I chanted this in my head over and over as I rushed to my parked car. I looked around the ground to see if the keys were outside, but they weren’t. I looked in the driver’s window but still saw no signs of them.

  “Anything?”

  Just his voice behind me made me jump slightly in surprise. I looked back at him and shook my head, and let out a sigh of defeat, “They’re not here.” I looked away from him and glanced around the lot while I thought of what to do. What the hell did people do when they lost their car keys? I’d probably need to call a tow truck to take it from the parking lot, so I wouldn’t get fined. I didn’t even know if I could have a tow truck drop my car back at my apartment lot, or would they take it somewhere else? I couldn’t afford to pay for it to be towed in the first place, then to pick it up once I figured this out. I grumbled and leaned against the car. “Just my luck.”

  “Would you like a ride home?” he took another sip of his coffee.

  My eyes went to his full lips. They looked so s
oft, and there was some wetness to them from the coffee. Would his lips be sweet? God, I wish I could be that coffee. Fuck, he asked a question. I snapped my eyes up to meet his beautiful orbs, and instantly thanked God he hadn’t noticed me staring. “Are you offering by chance? I need to call about a tow, but I’m not sure where to start honestly.”

  For a brief moment, I hadn’t known it was possible; I had forgotten that he was so attractive and am enamored by having a sort of ordinary but weird conversation with him. And I was kind of flirting by asking that question. As we’re talking, I had the oddest sensation. Something about him seemed comfortingly familiar, which was a strange thing to feel, especially since we had just met.

  His laugh was like a deep rumble in his chest; I’d never had thought something like that about someone, but truly, this man was different.

  “I am offering,” he said, sounding amused, and pulled his keys from his front pocket. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look, I screamed in my head, fuck, I looked. This man was quickly becoming more than I could handle, especially if that large outline by his keys was any indication. “I’m sure you won’t need to get towed, so fret not about the little things. Do you have a spare key?”