“When all of this is over, you’ll understand why I did it.”
“You’re as delusional as ever.” I lowered my sword, picked up a fistful of sand, and let it sift through my fingers. “Here is your Parousia.”
I surveyed the desert surrounding us, burning like the rage within my chest. If I must raze the entire human realm and the Imperium along with it to get you back, I would.
Redemption through the blood.
Vincent
Epilogue
I awoke in a gray metal box. Everything was gray—the plastic foam mattress, the cold, concrete floor, the toilet and sink. Even my clothing was gray, made more drab by the dull lighting. I almost didn’t notice the door, because the only thing to distinguish it was a seam and two hinges.
The air was cold—frigid, but there were no vents that I could see. There was a metal tray beside the door and on it, a scoop of what looked like mashed potatoes—no utensils, cups, or bowls. But there was a large rust-colored pill, the only spot of color in the entire room.
“Hello?” I said and my voice died in the small space, strangely muted. “Is anybody there?”
Nothing—no sound whatsoever. Not even distant footfalls or the random clunk of machinery. I went to the sink and activated the motion sensor. The water ran for five seconds before it shut off and wouldn’t turn on again.
I sat down at the edge of my bed pad and stared at my hands, which were clean. My whole body had been scrubbed and swabbed with something medicinal. I reached up to my hair, shorn to a buzz cut, and that’s when I saw it. The skin of my forearm was raised and paler than the rest, bearing the brand of two overlapping diamonds—the mark of an Imperium slave.
To be captured is a fate worse than death.
I hadn’t understood the truth behind your warning, but I soon would.
Glossary
Order of Angels:
Seraphim (the Burning Ones): angels so ancient they no longer communicate outside of their order; serve as energy sources for the spirit realm.
Thronos (the Thrones): angels of justice and authority who seldom take human form; charged with sentencing angels and demons alike.
Potestas (the Powers): warrior caste of angels charged with keeping order in the realms as well as opposing evil spirits and delivering them to the Thrones for judgment; can be called upon for war if necessary, as was the case in the banishment of the Grigori.
Dynameis (the Virtues): angels through which signs and miracles are made in the earthen realm.
Principatus (the Principals): angels who guide and protect nations; charged with carrying out missives of higher angels and bestowing blessings; angels of good and bad fortune.
Malakhim (the Messengers): angels who inhabit human bodies and serve as messengers to the gods, physically or as mediums.
Demons of distinction:
Grigori (the Watchers): fallen angels, now considered elder demons who exert control, either by force or persuasion, over the other categories of demons.
Nephilim (the Giants): direct descendants of the Grigori and their human conquests; half-god, half-human beings born into human-like bodies, but with enhanced powers including, but not limited to, immortality.
Belial (the Wicked): angels who’ve been banished from the holy realms outside of The Fall of the Grigori.
Fate demons: humans who’ve been corrupted or seduced into forsaking their everlasting souls.
Dybukks: dispossessed human spirits that can sometimes inhabit human bodies and present themselves as demons but are usually bound to a physical location.
Familiar demons: very weak spirits, both malevolent and benevolent, who can inhabit animals and assist the mortal and divine in their pursuits.
The Fall: banishment of the Grigori by their angel brethren as punishment for copulating with humans and creating the Nephilim race.
The Imperium: Nephilim army, hand-picked by Azrael, Angel of Death, to carry out the missives of the Potestas in the earthen realm.
Methods of inhabiting a body:
original: natural birth by a supernatural being. The original body of anyone in Medusa’s heme-consuming lineage is referred to as “bloodborn.”
inhabitation: temporary possession of a human vessel, though powerful demons and angels can take over for extended periods of time.
transmutation: releasing the natural soul from a body and replacing it with that of a supernatural spirit; involves the killing and resuscitation of the body.
Realms:
earthen realm: also known as human, physical, or corporeal realm, the material world where spiritual growth is stunted by the physical needs of the body.
spirit realm: domain of demons and angels alike. There are a vast number of spheres, which allows for this realm to be inhabited by a multitude of beings without interaction. Similar to the way a human can affect its material environment, the divine can manipulate their realms to reflect their energies, preferences, and aesthetics.
holy realms: the spheres of the spirit realm most often inhabited by angels of higher orders, said to be more “illuminated” and “enlightened” than other realms.
under realms: sometimes referred to as the underworld or hell, this realm is crucial to the restoration of souls.
dream realm: where two or more unconscious beings with a soul bond meet in dreams.
Shade Vales: places where the earthen and spirit realms materially intersect, controlled by either demons or angels (occasionally both) and used for the purposes of detention, judgment, punishment, recreation, and treaty-making.
Acknowledgments
For those of you who took a leap of faith and read Book of Orlando, knowing it was the first in the trilogy and that the other two hadn’t yet been published, I thank you. As a reader, I know how difficult it is to be patient. I promise I will be burning the midnight oil to get the final book in this trilogy to you as soon as possible. I hope that it will satisfy all of your spiritual angst.
I’d like to again thank Moony Eliver for making this book the best it can be. She fought hard for the merge between Orlando and Vincent’s souls, and it was her extremely constructive criticism that allowed me to improve upon each draft.
Thank you Xia Xia Lake for continuing to inspire my world-building mythos and Hollis Mohring for appreciating my attempts at humor. Erika P also gave me a markup of the manuscript with her reactions throughout, which not only helped me to know if I was striking the right chords with readers but was an absolute delight to read.
I’d like to give a shout-out to my dad and #1 fan, who, if he’s reading this, has surely obeyed my wishes and skipped over all of the sex scenes. I love you and appreciate your support of my work. (We will never speak of this again.)
Finally and forever, I thank all of you for reading my books and continuing to patronage my art. Even more so than the millions in profits (ha!), it is your thirst for my stories that inspires and motivates me to create.
The complete Mortal and Divine trilogy
Book of Orlando
Bloodborn Prince
Parousia
About the Author
Laura Lascarso wants you to stay up way past your bedtime reading her stories. She aims to inspire more questions than answers in her fiction and believes in the power of storytelling to heal and transform a society. When not writing, Laura can be found screaming “finish” on the soccer fields, rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and trying to convince politicians to act on climate change. She lives in North Florida with her darling husband and two kids. She loves hearing from readers, and she’d be delighted to hear from you. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lauralascarso.com