Nadine knew she was born to die, but she didn't think it would happen so soon. She lived during a time of war in a tiny village that was suspended over a mirror of a lake. The village gripped its traditions like a hungry man receiving bread, so Nadine knew if she didn't die as a casualty of war, her own customs would kill her. And that's why she thought the drawing had been rigged.

"Are you sure my name wasn't written on all the ballots?" she asked the woman that was applying fragrant oils around her neck with a brush made from a rabbit's tail.

The woman shot her a stare. She was a familiar face, as were all in the village, but hers was especially known. This saggy yet steel-gazed hag was named Abbra, and she was the village incubator. As disgusting as that sounded, the only thing she incubated were unlucky virgins. She shut them in her hut and slathered oils and paint on them before they were thrown into the lake to drown. At least that was how Nadine saw it. If you asked anybody else, they would've told you Abbra anointed the honored chosen sacrifice with oils to please their water god. It was believed in return for a virgin's precious life, protection from the Dios War's fury that has torn the earth for the past decade would be provided.

"You were there with us and saw the same as we did. All the virgin names went in. Yours came out," Abbra said.

Nadine laughed. "How do you know I'm a virgin?"

"Because you ain't married."

"So?"

"So you better be a virgin or else you just damned your village." She lifted Nadine's arms up and slapped the greasy oil on her armpits.

Nadine bit her cheek to prevent from yelping. "Does that mean Vanah we sacrificed last year wasn't? Because I don't see a difference from then till now. Or the year before that or before that or—AH!"

Abbra had pinched one of her nipples, one of the many dangers of being naked in front of the prune of a woman.

Nadine rubbed her violated breast but knew better than to spit the curse words on her tongue. "Abbra, do you really believe our god is going to smell my pits? Can't you just throw me in and be done with it?"

A glare. "This is why you ain't married."

Nadine's exasperated sigh was the only indication of the slight sting Abbra's reoccurring words caused her. An unmarried woman was something considered strange and almost vile at her age. Once a girl bled, it meant she could give birth. It was also the sign for that child, now a woman, to begin the search for a husband. And once she found that husband, it was her duty to provide babies. Lots of them. Theirs was a tiny village with much to do, such as providing sacrifices to water gods that seemed to like smelly and oily virgins. People were born in the village of Marr to get married. Or to possibly die.

As a woman, marriage was a security not because it provided a place to stay or a way to eat and live, but a way to stay alive. If you were married, your name did not go into the yearly drawing to find the next sacrifice. As soon as you bled, you were a candidate, and until married, you could die to the warm spring waters The Sayula River ran through Marr's lake. Though it sounded simple enough, marriage was easier said than done, and Nadine knew that too well.

"I tried, Abbra," she said.

The old woman's eyes softened for the first time since Nadine walked into her ceremonial hut that smelled of chamomile, jasmine, rose, and other aromas that all fought for dominance. "I know you did, but you also gave up after Troyk declined your offer."

Nadine wouldn't go as far as to say he was her first love, but if she had to spend her entire life seeing the same man's face every day, especially in bed, he was her first choice. After he refused her to marry some other beauty, Nadine figured she wouldn't bother anymore. Why force herself to be with someone she didn't want? Live a life she never wanted in the first place? It was better to drown. Though as Abbra smeared blue paint on Nadine's face, her creeping fear made her question those thoughts.

"Here," Abbra said and gave Nadine a hand mirror.

The blue streaks she saw that ran down from her eyes and met on her chin smelled like blueberries and some other powdery nonsense. It itched, but Nadine dared not scratch it off. Not that the color was all that apparent on her dark brown skin. She sighed.

"It'll be over in an hour, child." Abbra placed the mirror away and came back with the stones.

An hour.

Nadine's heart leapt to her throat only to fall to her stomach. She would be dead in an hour. The dread of her situation weighed heavier on her than the stones Abbra began to loop around her body. The rocks were individually tied on a thin rope like the jewels of a giant necklace. One set coiled around her arms and chest while the other went another around her legs. When Abbra finished, she draped Nadine with a teal cloak.

Nadine knew they were done and what was next. She would exit Abbra's house alone and walk down to the end of the harbor the house stood on. Only this time instead of its empty and eerie silence that spoke of ill prophecy, the dock would be flanked on both sides by the other lovely virgins that hadn't been picked. Nadine would tread through their gazes that spoke of relief and safety for another year. She would then stand at the harbor's edge, aching and tired of course because tradition couldn't have the virgin sacrifice tied with rocks after her walk. The spared women would leave and only until Nadine was utterly alone would she take off her cloak and plunge into the waters.

All this while Abbra watched from her house with a spyglass to make sure the sacrifice drowned. Her corpse would then be fished out from the river. A rotting body wasn't something a village needed in their primary source for water and food, but those parts were never spoken of. It would take the romanticism out of the ceremony.

Now, as Nadine wiggled her toes on the saturated wooden planks, she stared at the waters below her. Her reflection was distorted by little waves that showed the river's calm currents. She held her breath, her fear and hesitation hitting her full force. She remembered when she had almost drowned several years ago.

She had been a child running on one of the many docks that held Marr when she tripped on a sack and plummeted into the water. Girls were never taught how to swim, and the current was strong that day. Nadine's panic and confusion froze her. She allowed the water to twist her limbs, reminding her of noodles caught under the bubbles of boiling water. As she continued to sink, she began to think how tranquil the end was going to be.

And that's why when Nadine fell into the water again, she didn't move and waited for the cloud of sleep to take her.

Except it didn't.

The stones tied around her sunk her quickly. Startled, she fought back and her breath escaped her as wobbly bubbles. She watched them float and disappear over her head, the image of fleeting air feeding the tiny ball of pressure that had begun to grow in the middle of her chest. Each second gave it strength, expanding it against her lungs, starving them of what they burned for. The desire to breathe was too strong. Nadine inhaled even though she knew only water would cross her lips and into her lungs. The pressure intensified. Her throat closed. Her nose clogged. Her limbs failed.

Then, something pulled her up.

She felt herself shoot through the water but the liquidly touch was gone. She was in a cocoon of air. It entered her starved lungs and cushioned them with relief. The breeze caressed her with invisible fingers, raking across her skin and through her wet hair. Goosebumps squeezed her body which she noticed was completely nude, the stone bindings gone. Nadine looked up to see light approaching her. It appeared odd as if it held no warmth, but when she cut through the water's surface and landed back on the pier, the sunkissed wood heated the bottom of her feet.

Nadine gasped mostly because she didn't know what to do. Not because she magically flew out of a lake. Or because there was someone hovering above the water. The figure was a human embodiment of scorching light. It shimmered brighter than the sun, but Nadine found herself able to look at it. She realized, however, that is emitted no heat.

"Um. Hello?" she said.

The being chuckled. Or at least that's what Nadine thought it did. The sound was like a series of electric claps that happened to sting along in the classic haha rhythm.

She coughed. "Was it you that saved me? Because if so, that was really nice of you."

It laughed again, and there was a distant sound of thunder despite the clear sky.

"Well." Nadine stretched out the word. "I should go now. Because I'm naked."

A brilliant hand reached out to her. Nadine made no attempt to pull away. There was something familiar and comforting in the idea of being touched by this entity. It brushed her cheek with warm fingers. The heat ran down her body and Nadine noticed clothes had manifested on her.

An ivory dress adorned her frame, a small train flowing behind her. It was simple in design, exposing her shoulders, but the material was fine. The alien softness greeted her calloused palms as Nadine ran her hands on the cloth.

"Thank you. I think," she said. "But who are you?"

The light from the figure receded and a man was before her. Or at least he looked like a man. Nadine had never seen golden eyes on anyone before. Or golden anything, but this man was literally encircled by it. Several luminous rings bound his waist and wrists, but they never touched his body, hovering. The band around his neck was thick and fitted though, matching the ones that hugged his upper arms.

His incredibly defined upper arms, Nadine noticed, just like the rest of his exposed torso. She had seen the young men in Marr work with their shirts off, their lean muscles stretching and gleaming, but this was the first time she stared with her mouth open. He was lean but still defined with a prominent "v" that poked out from the waist of his white pants. His strong collar bones especially caught her attention, and her fingertips burned with the urge to touch them.

When she found the strength to tear her sight away from her chest to his eyes, Nadine felt if he had appeared years earlier, she would've been married on the spot. His raw beauty and sculpted features were enhanced with the ringlets of clouds that spiraled behind his head like misty and feathery halos.

Nadine tilted her head as if that would answer all the questions running in her head. She asked the one that burned the most. "Who dresses like that?"

Something jerked her to her knees and pushed her body into a bow.

"A god does, idiot child!" Abbra's voice came from her right side. Her thin hand on Nadine's back held her down.

A god. She knew that. What she didn't know was how to act or talk to one, but bowing seemed to be a good idea. Why didn't she think of that before? Nadine peeked up, thinking he had left. He received his worship, so he should return now, right?

He was still there. When their eyes met, he smiled at her and to her surprise, there were creases by his eyes. It was oddly endearing and Nadine found herself smiling too.

"I'm going to take this woman," he said.

Her smile dropped. "Which woman?"

He beamed at her. "You, Nadine."

She jumped to her feet. Her action unbalanced Abbra so she almost fell into the lake, something Nadine thought would've been befitting. Maybe then this god would take Abbra instead and the village wouldn't have to worry about incubating virgins.

"Lord Yirrel, she is yours to take. She is our offer to you from Marr," Abbra said, taking the chance to stand up, but her half crouch betrayed her hesitation.

The god chuckled. "I am not Yirrel."

Abbra froze.

"You don't even know the god your worship. I am Gardus."

"Gardus. The god of the skies?"

Nadine looked between Abbra's alarmed face and Gardus' placid expression. Shit. Wrong god.

Abbra clasped Nadine's hand and she sensed the urgency to run through her touch. "Are you here to destroy our village?" Abbra asked the question slowly.

Gardus inched closer to two women, his steps taken in midair. Nadine noticed his pants continued down his ankles and around his feet save for his toes and heels. "No. As I said, I am here for Nadine. Nothing else," he said.

Nadine felt fear for the second time that day. "Why?"

"I am saving you."

Powerful arms wrapped around her waist and pulled Nadine to a hard chest. She looked up into Gardus' golden eyes and his heavenly grin. "Hold on to me, my lovely," he told her.

She nodded, entranced by his gaze and his scent of sun and rain. Her arms went around his neck, careful not to snag his hair. It was long, longer than hers. Softer too. A powdery blue, it reminded Nadine of the skies during winter.

He leaned into her and her stomach clenched. He was going to kiss her. She had to admit that was a great plan having her wrap her arms around his neck to dissuade a slap. Oh god. Would she really slap a god? Oh god. Did she say 'oh god' to slapping a god?

But there was no kiss. Instead, Gardus looked up and audibly inhaled through parted lips. Seeing his strong chin and neck had Nadine reconsidering her thoughts on making out with a god.

"Now don't let go," he whispered to her.

Wings shot out from his back. Nadine blinked. No, they weren't wings. They were lustrous white ribbons, some as thick as her arms and legs while others seemed thinner than her pinky finger. Each one seemed to be sentient, twirling and waving to its own set pattern. The different sized golden rings at the end of each ribbon twinkled and enhanced Gardus' already divine presence.

He shot in the air and Nadine only saw white. She tensed her body closer to his. Gardus gripped her tighter, but she recoiled when his hips dug into the sides of her stomach.

"I apologize. I should have draped you over my arms instead. I'll remember that next time I want to carry you." Without her sight, his voice sounded louder and clearer. It was like the low rumble of thunder that promised fury.

It reassured Nadine despite the fact she had no idea what was happening or where she was going. All she knew was Sky God Gardus saved her from drowning, saved her from becoming a sacrifice for Water God Yirrel. Which meant it had been real. All those women that had been given to the lake had been received. Except for her. Nadine bit the inside of her cheek. She sure hoped all this didn't happen because she wasn't a virgin anymore.