Celestial Monsters (The Sunbearer Duology #2)

by Aiden Thomas

On the long list of Teo’s recent fuckups, accidentally triggering the apocalypse had to be number one.

“Dammit, Teo!” Niya barked. “Don’t try to make friends with evil roosters!” “I wasn’t, it was monologuing!”

The worst thing to do to a Son of Amor was to lock him in a room alone where he didn’t know where his friends were or what was happening. And the second worst thing to do was to make the boy who loved him watch.

“Do you have enough emergency supplies?” “Uh, yeah, Teo,” she said, annoyed. “What do you think the Takis are for?”

He cursed the universe for giving him the ability to talk to birds but not boys.

“Is that why you wear black all the time?” Niya asked. “Because you want to look all tough and scary?” “I wear all black because it looks good on me—” Mala Suerte took a steadying breath, physically turning his head away from Niya and her nonsense.

It struck Teo that, of all the gods he’d met, Mala Suerte was the most human.

Teo was lucky to have her as his mom and, right now, he wished he was enveloped by her wings more than anything.

Mala Suerte smiled, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “I always liked you,” he said. Teo let out a dry laugh. “Even though I’m a troublemaker?” Mala Suerte’s smile curled into a mischievous grin. “Because you’re a troublemaker.”

Aurelio rolled his eyes, but even in the dark Teo caught the red blooming in his cheeks. “Eventually you won’t just be able to charm me into every situation,” he muttered. “It’ll wear off.” He straightened his posture and started down the dock. “Wait a second!” Teo chased after him. “What’s that about me being charming?!”

“You also have very soft hands,” Aurelio added, enjoying himself now. Teo smirked. “When exactly did you notice I have soft hands?”

“Listen—I’ve had a rooster spit fire at me and then got attacked by a pile of rocks, so forgive me for being a bit suspicious of wildlife at the moment,” Teo grumbled.

“You hear a baby crying and your first instinct is to pull out a sword?” “IT’S ALL I HAVE, TEO. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?”

Teo couldn’t help smiling a little, and as sleep clouded his eyes, he decided to push away all thoughts of Golds and dioses and humanity, and let himself dream about the cute boy asleep beside him.

Xio raked a hand through his dark, curly hair. “You’re infuriating,” he told her. “Likewise,” Atzi replied with a sarcastic smile.

Atzi rolled her eyes, but Xio didn’t miss the hint of a smirk. The air between them felt charged, crackling with a strange energy. Xio couldn’t deny the strange sense of camaraderie that was beginning to form between them and Atzi. It was a far cry from the connection they’d once shared with Teo and Niya, but it was something.

If people treat you like you’re bad for long enough, I imagine you start believing it.

She tends to lash out when she’s scared,” Paz said with a smile. “Most things do.”

“Besides, you can’t be your sister. Your ass isn’t thick enough to fill out her uniform.”

It wasn’t like a kiss in the movies. It was awkward and clumsy, and Teo could feel Aurelio’s tense lips tremble against his own. But it was soft and warm, and it tasted like sweet mazapan.

To be honest, Aurelio could’ve drooled on him, stepped on his foot, or even sneezed directly into his mouth and it wouldn’t have mattered because he was kissing Aurelio for the first time after dreaming about it for so painfully long. Finally, finally, finally.

“What the hell were you doing?!” she demanded, seething. “You could’ve roasted him like a chicken!” “Hey!” Teo scowled, offended.

The four of them stood in silence for a moment, sizing one another up. In one way or another, they all felt they had failed—Teo as the Sunbearer, Aurelio as the son his mother wanted him to be, Niya’s own desperate need to save everyone, and Xio, the Obsidian-blooded traitor.

A small, sad laugh escaped Aurelio’s lips. “My sister always made me brave,” he confessed, looking into Teo’s eyes. “But you, Teo … you make me fearless.”

“Aurelio,” Teo whispered, his heartbeat as unsteady as his words, “promise me that, no matter what happens, we’ll find our way back to each other. Wherever that is.” “We will,” Aurelio replied softly, his grip tightening around Teo just a little bit more. “I believe in us.”

“You’re just a nothing Jade. You have no talent or skill. You don’t even possess any power.” “I’m flunking math, too,” Teo spat.

Quetzal straightened and smoothed her hands down her dress. “Now it’s our turn to fight,” she announced, turning to the gathered dioses. “For our people, our children, and our home.”

“Enough!” he shouted, his voice hoarse. “No one is being sacrificed! Can everyone stop trying to kill themselves for five godsdamn minutes?!”

In that moment, the difference between the two dioses could not have been more stark. Venganza was chaos and destruction. Suerte, love and protection.

“My love for you is eternal,” Suerte told them. “And I will watch over you, always.”

There was still beauty in the world, even after everything they’d seen.

“Promise me we’ll have lots of moments like this,” Teo murmured, his voice barely audible over the gentle breeze rustling through the trees below. “Always,” Aurelio vowed, kissing the top of his head. In the fading light of the day, Teo knew he could trust that promise with every fiber of his being.