The Kiss of Deception — Excerpt from The Last Testaments of Gaudrel

Tell me again, Ama. About the warmth. Before.

The warmth came, child, from where I don’t know.

My father commanded, and it was there.

Was your father a god?

Was he a god? It seemed so.

He looked like a man.

But he was strong beyond reason,

Knowledgeable beyond possible,

Fearless beyond mortal, Powerful as a— Let me tell you the story, child, the story of my father.

Once upon a time, there was a man as great as the gods.… But even the great can tremble with fear.

Even the great can fall.

—The Last Testaments of Gaudrel