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Back Truth of the Divine Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Also By Lindsay Ellis and Available From Titan Books
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Part 1: It’s A Fool Who Plays It Cool
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. Part 2: Love Has A Nasty Habit Of Disappearing Overnight
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. Part 3: A Crowd Of People Stood And Stared
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. Part 4: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. A Fiction Agreed Upon
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author

Nikola’s eyes brightened, his focus shifting to Ampersand, and he lowered himself toward them, his back now parallel to the ground.

“Please, Nik,” she whispered, voice shaking. “Please, just take us to his house. Please.”

Nikola continued regarding Ampersand, his head waving back and forth like a cobra. “IF IT PLEASES YOU, LITTLE COUSIN.”

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28

A thunk downstairs woke Kaveh, the kind that generally rouses one’s instincts that their house is in the process of being robbed. His eyes shot open, and he reached out to the space in bed beside him only to find it empty. Cora wasn’t here in bed with him, but was that her voice he heard downstairs? Yes. Yes, it was. So at first, he thought it was fine. Then it connected that she was talking to someone. But who? He turned over to look at his watch—6:09 A.M. Who the hell would she be talking to at 6:00 a.m.?

He heard her voice, something about “make sure the curtains are closed,” and then “just move the coffee table,” followed by what sounded like an explanation of what a coffee table was.

At that, he shot up and all but fell out of bed. That implied that someone was in the house with her, and at 6:00 a.m., and all things considered, there was an extremely short list of candidates as to who that might be. Please, God, let this be a drunk dial from Kaplan, who is asking for advice on interior decorating.

It wasn’t.

In the family room directly adjacent to the kitchen, right in front of the wraparound couch where the coffee table had likely been ninety seconds prior, was Nikola, standing at his full height, the inky tips of the crown on his head nearly touching the ceiling.

“HELLO, DEAR CLEVER CREATURE.”

Kaveh stood there mouth agape as Cora shot up from the floor on the other side of the couch. Given that the coffee table was now leaning against a wall, he had a pretty good idea of what (or rather, who) was on the floor between the couch and the flat-screen.

“What . . .” He couldn’t even manage to get out a “the fuck.”

Nikola seemed calm, amused even, like he was on an impromptu vacation. Cora hopped over the couch and stopped in front of him, clasping her hands. “I need you to get him out of here.”

He waited for her to issue a correction, thinking he must have misheard her. “What?”

“Please, I just need you to take him somewhere and babysit him; he can’t be here when Ampersand wakes up. He’s terrified of Nik. If Nik is here when he wakes up, he’s going to start the spiral all over again.”