A First Page Look of The Ignited Moon

 

Chapter One

“I beg you, Non, goddess of oceans. Grant my one request. Dissolve my marriage to the Storm King.”

Yatzil took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The reflective sheen on the polished tile floor muddied the reflection of her slender figure and ice blue skin. She rose to a kneeling position, closing her eyes in a last desperate plea to Non. The goddess remained silent, following the lead of those in her pantheon. Did they believe her marriage would keep the city of Niev and her father’s kingdom safe? Yatzil shook her head and opened her eyes to the dozens of columns supporting the pyramid above. Her crown’s weight made the praying position she had taken difficult.

She groaned from the soreness in her neck and craned it to look upon Non’s likeness. The statue was crafted from onyx and towered at the far end of a grand pool. It was eye level to the dais she had been positioned beside for hours. The pool’s salty aroma relaxed her, but to meet the ocean goddess’s immense eyes and jade beak boiled her blood. A great hook rested between the goddess’s eyes, sharp like the frequent cramping in her calves. Yatzil focused her frustration upon her hands and ground her teeth.

She flared her nostrils, ice ran over her skin, crackling over her cheeks. Her eyes ignited yellow, but then she remembered her brother was present. His calm meditative state on display brought her patience. Yatzil thawed her features to flesh and decided perhaps Non required more time. Her brother opened one eye to the smooth white tile steps leading out of the multileveled room they were in. A faint grumbling emanated from his belly. Yatzil drew back her curiosity at how he was hungry once again, focusing on her time with him.