Danielle’s POV
*****
“Anzari? W–What the hell is going on?” I took a step back, my gaze flitting between the dagger in his grasp and the unrecognisable look in his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
He kept those silver orbs on me for what felt like forever.
During that time I wanted to run for my fucking life.
I really did—but no matter how much my instincts pushed, my body just won’t budge.
Or rather, it didn’t want to.
Gradually Anzari turned fully to face me.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
That’s it.
That’s all he could say after I caught him drawing some weird shit in my backyard, with a dagger in his hand.
All while he stared at me like I was his next sacrifice.
He spun back to the symbols, his head tilting.
“It’s time,” he mumbled loud enough for me to hear.
Then he lifted the dagger—
—And slit his palm, drawing a glistening crimson trail that trickled to the ground like a waterfall.
I gasped at how calm he was while hurting himself.
What in the hocus pocus did I walk into?
“C–Can you not spill blood in my backyard?” I asked without thinking.
No, actually there was a lot of thinking behind those words.
“I’m entering the beginning of a custody battle and could really do without the divine madness… or occult rituals that have no business near—”
Anzari’s body spasmed.
Without warning, the crimson blood dripping out of him shifted colours.
It became a sparkling silver.
Like moonlight made liquid.
Only when every symbol had been filled up did Anzari’s blood stop running.
He chanted something in a language I couldn’t understand for the life of me.
His voice carried into the wind so loudly I feared the entire neighbourhood could hear him.
“At least explain what this is!” I yelled, squinting when the wind blew too heavily all of a sudden.
“This is my house for Christ’s sake! You’re—”
“Leave!” His neck snapped to me just then, his voice multilayered, eyes igniting like silver fire.
My chest caved in.
I didn’t know if it was fear but somehow that single look got my legs pumping until I was standing safe in the kitchen.
The wind picked up the second I was inside.
Leaves, dirt and dust swirled around Anzari, his hair whipping behind him like tiny snakes.
Even while inside I felt this suffocating pressure that made every breath short and ragged.
The lights flickered.
Kitchen utensils clinked erratically.
I screamed, covering my ears and closing my eyes right after I saw him raising all six of his arms into the air.
Only for the noise to stop a few seconds later.
I blinked slowly, my chest rising and falling with every breath as I swerved to the kitchen door again.
The lights were back to normal and the wind seemed to have stopped blowing wildly.
I squinted through the open space on the door, heart still slamming like it wanted out of my damn chest.
There he was—Anzari—standing tall in the middle of all that mess as if nothing had happened.
The symbols on the ground glowed faintly silver for a second before fading into the dirt.
He looked…
Fine.
Just standing there with that damn dagger still in his grip.
That was enough to flip the fear right into fury.
I shoved the door open and stormed out, slamming it behind me.
“Anzari! What the hell, man? You drove me inside like I was some stray dog you didn’t want sniffing around your little ritual! I live here! This is my backyard, my house and my life you’re messing with!”
He didn’t answer at first.
Just stood there with his back to me, shoulders tense.
That silence only made me madder. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
I kept going, words tumbling out fast like they’d been boiling since he first showed up in my life.
“One of these days your ‘god’ bullshit is gonna get me in real trouble, you know that? I got a custody battle breathing down my neck, bills stacking up, and now I’m out here dodging whatever the hell that was—wind whipping like a tornado, lights flickering like we’re in a horror movie. I could’ve called the cops. You think they’re gonna believe ‘he’s a divine being’ when they come knocking?”
Anzari finally turned, those silver eyes locking on mine.
His voice cut right through my rant.
“A human like you had no business around a Divine ritual.”
I stopped mid-step, arms crossed tight over my chest.
“Excuse me? Humans like me? Boy, I—”
“It was a cloaking ritual,” he continued, ignoring my glare.
“The symbols, the blood offering… it’ll hide us. From outside Divine perception. Any gods hunting me won’t sense me here now. Not for a while, at least.”
I let that sink in, the rage easing up off my shoulders bit by bit.
The yard felt quieter now, almost too still.
No more pressure squeezing my lungs.
My eyes dropped to his hand—the one he’d sliced open.
Blood still oozed slowly.
“Your hand… It’s still bleeding. Let me help you with that. Come on inside, I’ve got bandages and—”
He shifted away when I reached for him, pulling his arm back smoothly.
“The only reason it hasn’t healed yet is that the dagger itself is divine. Mortal remedies won’t fix this.”
I sucked my teeth.
“Uh-uh. Don’t start that with me. Divine or not, you’re bleeding in my yard. Get your ass inside.”
I grabbed his other arm anyway—careful not to touch the cut—and tugged him toward the kitchen door.
He didn’t fight me much, which surprised me.
As we moved, I peeped over the fence real quick, scanning the neighbour’s side and the street beyond.
Everything looked normal.
Mrs.
Jenkins’ lights were on, a dog was barking somewhere down the block—but something felt off.
Like eyes on the back of my neck that weren’t there.
I shook it off, pulling him through the door and locking it behind us.