~ Chapter One ~
Jackson

A flurry of lights and noise overtook my senses. I hated large cities, the overcrowding, the sounds, the oblivious people who filled the streets thinking their lives mattered. Small, inconsequential but with egos that shattered when faced with terror.

I leaned on the railing overlooking the bay, my hands clasped as I thought of what was on the horizon. Rarely did I leave my home, but I’d needed to clear my head, and the city had been my first choice. The wrong one.

“Well, well. Look who decided to venture out.”

With my sight still on the water, I acknowledged my brother’s attempt to taint my solitude.

“Are you following me for a reason, Theo?”

A shrug in my periphery preceded his answer. “It’s rare that you leave home, and when you do, you’re predictable. An entire world and you choose this city and that run-down theater in that small town. The only two places you ever explore.”

“I don’t need to explore. Everywhere is the same. Mindless mortals living their lives with no notion of their true purpose.”

“You really need to get out more,” said Theo, turning from the water and leaning on the railing, his arms supporting him. “It’s a playground here. I know you’ve sampled the goods more than once.”

“Enough to know I don’t enjoy it here. What do you want, Theo?” A conversation about my sex life was not one I appreciated. I played when I had the urge, but it was rare. Mostly, I kept to myself, preferring to remain in the shadows.

With a huff, he said, “Father has made his decision. He’s ready to hand over the kingdom. He and Mother are leaving.”

I dropped my head to my folded hands, my pulse racing. A decision I’d known was coming, one that meant only one thing: the trials.

“When?” I asked, raising my sight to the skyline.

“He hasn’t finalized the details.” Turning his body to face me, I felt the weight of his stare and looked over at him. “You need to win the trials, Jacks. Del and I don’t want the kingdom. You do.”

“You must face them. It’s a law you can’t disobey. Every child of the realm must face the trials in this circumstance.”

“But only one has to win. Del and I want you to win.”

Tension showed in the bulging of his muscles. Theo was built like an ox compared to me. I was just as strong, but my frame was leaner while his was broad and massive. His blond hair and vivid green eyes were the only indicators we were brothers. Our sister, Del, bore the same traits with a delicate frame that emphasized her fragile mental state. That state was exactly the reason neither Theo nor I wanted her to rule the kingdom. Her reasons for shunning the mantle as well.

“You can’t purposely lose,” I told him. “The other gods will know and demand that we repeat them. Maybe even force us to face the Trial from the Elders.” The thought was one I didn’t want to even consider.

“We won’t, and I doubt either of us could win it, especially Del. Father already knows this is yours to win. He raised you to take the helm. Make sure it happens.”

I rubbed my temple, hating how he’d destroyed my calm so easily.

“Go home, Theo.”

He chuckled, straightening to his full height, which equaled mine. “I’m going to play. You should consider doing the same to release some of your stress. You’re wound too tight, brother.”

I turned back to the water, hearing him leave. I’d been trying to relieve my stress before he’d compounded it. Rolling my neck, knowing I would find no peace here with him wandering the city and stirring up trouble, I headed to the one place neither he nor my sister would bother me. The small theater that played forgotten movies barely anyone wanted to see. A place where I could hide in my obscurity and pretend for a few minutes that a trial wasn’t about to overtake my life and transform it completely.