Skin of a Goddess (Goddess Ascension Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

the room of twenty or so people with scorn.
    “Boring,” Lyssa agrees.
    Apate leans over to me, whispering, “Well, this is certainly going to be a raging cluster fuck.”
    “They are decidedly unimpressive.” Lyssa sniffs. “They don’t even have weapons.”
    “Good goddess, at least lower your voices!” I hiss at them as the others give us unfriendly glances.
    Though, really, I have to concede the point to Lyssa. To someone like her, it is quite the offense to be found without protection, and not the kind of protection I’m used to. Lyssa has a pair of swords strapped to her back, ready for anything. Enyo is never without her crossbow slung along her back and sword strapped to her waist. Apate and I just keep small blades, if we have room for them or think we might need them.
    Apate gives a shrug and says, “They’re shifters; maybe they don’t expect any danger they can’t handle.”
    “Good point. They are practically animals,” Lyssa agrees.
    “Yes, exactly what I meant,” Apate says sarcastically.
    “Can everyone settle down and take a seat? I’m Harold, and I’m going to be calling this meeting into session. We are here today to talk about our concerns and needs. If you have any current events within your people, we’d love to hear about them. If you have anything to add for those you’re here representing, this would be a great time.”
    “Fucking mortals, this is going to take forever.” Enyo groans. “Worse than torture.”
    Harold continues, “Let’s start with the immortal representatives, as long as no one objects?”
    I give Lyssa a quick kick to the shin as she begins to open her mouth.
    “Hello, everyone, I’m Enyo. We have been given the unfortunate task of looking after all of your silly conventions and gatherings for the next century or so. Luckily, you only have a shifter gathering every decade, so we’ll hopefully only be subjected to ten of these affairs. I would like to make some suggestions for the next one. Perhaps, like the great gladiators—”
    “What she means is, we’ve been given the great honor of representing the immortals in Olympus to the mortal-immortal community for the next century. We actually fought strongly for this right.” Apate smiles charmingly. “We won’t only be coming to your delightful conventions, but also attending other mortal-immortal gatherings in order to address any concerns that may arise. Our main purpose is to encourage peace between species and keep our interactions from affecting mortals or supernatural discovery. We are very excited for this opportunity to help communications between Olympus and the mortal world.”
    Both of them were lying quite blatantly, with some truth casually sprinkled in. It’s true that we’re the immortal representatives to all of the mortal immortals here on Earth. That means when there’s a party or convention, we’re given a nice invitation. To the immortals in Olympus, it’s pretty much like jury duty. Names are put in a hat, drawn, and sentenced. When we heard that new selections were coming up, we had Enyo mention to her brother Ares that we wouldn’t mind getting chosen. To accomplish what we have set out to do, we need unlimited access to Earth.
    Harold looks at the four of us, clearly standing out in the circle of people sitting, and tries to look blank-faced. “I didn’t realize as immortal representatives you’d hold the title for so long. Would you care to tell us a little about yourselves, Olympus, or possible concerns you have? Maybe the higher Olympians have questions for us?”
    He would like it if the big guys cared enough to send us with a list of issues to bring up. Out of all the immortal mortals, the Olympians probably care about shape shifters the least. For one thing, all gods and goddesses can change to animal shape. For another, shape shifters all live mainly human lives.
    “I’m Lyssa! I’m kind of known for starting things. I was a major hit around the Black