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Author's note
As ever, if you have questions feel free to email me or leave a comment. Either way, I'll try to respond in a timely manner.
This is primarily an incest story, but it is also sci-fi/fantasy, and supernatural elements are not incidental to the plot. Additionally, many chapters will feature elements of other categories, particularly group sex and anal.
All sexual acts are consensual and involve parties who are at least eighteen years of age.
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As they climbed the hill, making their way up towards the Temple of the Sun, Veronica felt a growing sense of dread. The temple itself might well have inspired awe, under different circumstances. The simple beauty of its classical architecture, the stark contrast of all that bright gold against pale marble, to say nothing of its prominent position on the highest point of the island, certainly demanded a measure of respect.
But she finally saw what her grandmother undoubtedly had sensed from the beginning. That its presence marked a dramatic and irrevocable change in Summer.
Grandma Flori hadn't said as much, of course. But what she hadn't said spoke volumes. When Veronica had asked, not for the first time, whether it was good news that the king had turned to Eternal Garden rather than Daphne, her grandmother had replied in the affirmative, but with as little enthusiasm as possible. An unspoken "but" had dangled on the end of her words.
It shouldn't have taken her until now to see why.
It was just that the past few days had felt like a dream. She'd caught the baby fever that seemed to be going around, and her brother hadn't hesitated a moment before telling her how much he'd love to start a family with her. From the moment Nick's seed had taken root in her garden, Veronica had felt like a new woman. And the world around her felt new as well. As if it had been restored to some prior state of glory. The Homelands were suddenly filled with promise and possibilities. No longer did she see an unforgiving realm that had torn their family apart and nearly killed her brother. Rather, she walked amidst a magical paradise, a fantasy realm that she'd reluctantly leave behind in a matter of days, only to return once her children were grown.
Ever since she'd discovered who she was, she'd dreamt of bearing Nick's child. Of living with him as his wife, rather than his sister. And now, after telling herself for so long that she shouldn't indulge in such hopeless fantasies, they were coming true.
Thanks to her father.
How could there be anything wrong with that?
Even after their grandmother had failed to show any sign of relief over the news of Daphne's noninvolvement, Veronica had refused to let go of that optimism.
That they were all required to visit the temple and worship the Illuminated hadn't seemed like such a big deal. Nor had Veronica thought much of the fact that they could only go in ones and twos. Sure, the idea of treating Kurt and Olivia as deities was a little absurd, but if that was the price for the future she'd never thought she could have, Veronica would gladly pay it. It was all just for show, anyway. A few hoops to jump through. Nothing more.
With every step nearer the temple that she took, though, Veronica found it harder and harder to deny the obvious truth. The king might have done what he thought was best, and he might even be right to do so, but they'd soon learn that the protection of the Eternal Garden did not come cheap. The whole business of worshipping their sunlit cousins was a whole lot more serious than she'd first assumed too.
"Don't be nervous," her grandmother said, laying a hand on Veronica's shoulder.
"I'm not," Veronica lied.
"You wish your brother was making this trek with you."
Veronica looked away.
She understood why he wasn't. Or she thought she did, anyway. Nominally, their mother wanted some time alone with Nick. Wanted to coach him in what to do, and what not to do, as Veronica's time got closer. But that wasn't really it. Though pregnancy was a briefer affair for their kind than it was for mortals, there was still plenty of time for that talk. No, the truth was that her grandmother wanted to be there with her when she went before their new sunlit overlords. And since they were only permitted to enter the temple one or two at a time, that meant that she and her brother would have to make the journey separately.
"I understand, dear," her grandmother said.
And that was the last that either of them had to say about the matter.
They topped the hill in silence, and Veronica felt the air go out of her lungs. Beautiful as the Temple of the Sun had seemed from a distance, it was indescribably so up close.
A pair of obelisks flanked the arched entrance to the temple, each bearing a golden sunburst the size of her head. The paving stones underfoot were similarly purest gold. Veronica had never seen so much of the precious metal at once.
"Welcome, children," a voice called from deep inside the temple.
It occurred to Veronica that the temple was surprisingly dark. There were no torches or windows or anything. At least, not that she could see. Perhaps it was different farther in.
Zoey slowly came into view. She looked every inch the High Priestess. Her white silk gown was trimmed heavily with cloth-of-gold. A belt of thick, golden medallions encircled her waist. Then there was her necklace and her earrings, the many rings she wore upon her fingers and her toes, the diadem perched atop her head, and the bands around her willowy arms. It should have seemed excessive to Veronica. Opulent. Decadent. Yet somehow, the woman's attired struck her as utterly appropriate, as though anything less would be unbefitting a goddess of Zoey's stature.
The woman Veronica had once considered her aunt held out a hand, wrist limp and fingers hanging like branches from a tree. She tilted her head back and softly glowing eyes stared down a slender nose at them.
Grandma Flori was the first to her knees, but Veronica was not far behind. They kissed Zoey's hand then waited patiently for the High Priestess to signal for them to rise.
"You are with child," she said to Veronica, pressing a hand against her midsection. What little light there was in the hallway winked out as the High Priestess closed her golden eyes. She drew a deep breath before saying, "Your daughter will be strong and healthy."
That should have filled Veronica with joy. But the warm hand pressed against her bare skin felt wrong. Menacing. It bore her child no blessings.
"Come inside," Zoey said, turning on a heel and retreating into the darkness.
Veronica looked a question at her grandmother, who merely nodded.
Heart pounding, she followed the High Priestess into the bowels of the temple.
#
"You really don't mind?" Patty asked.
"Not at all," Eric replied, giving his sister's hand a reassuring squeeze.
The bigger question was whether their mother cared. But he didn't tell Patty that. Besides, though their mother wouldn't be crazy about having to visit the temple by herself, she'd understand how hard it would be for Patty to see Kurt again, to bend the knee to him and pretend he was a divine being. Seeing as they were forbidden from entering the temple more than two at a time, either Patty or their mother was going to have to go alone. And it wasn't fair to ask Patty to bite that bullet.
"Guess we should do it, then," she said.
Eric nodded.
As they headed up the hill, he found himself marveling at his sister. Not long ago, he'd have found it hard to imagine her looking and sounding so calm at a moment like this. Of course, he'd have had a hard time imagining a moment like this, but even so. Due to the strange workings of time, his sister had technically spent considerably less time in the Homelands than he had. Yet Patty was no less changed by her time here than he was.
Granted, there wasn't much reason for her to be anxious anyway. Kurt would undoubtedly be glad to see her. As he hoped Olivia would be to see him, despite the fact that he'd given her plenty of reason not to be. Yet he knew his sister, and if Patty was feeling as calm about this as she let on, he was a purple elephant.
"It's weird, isn't it?" Patty asked. "They're our freaking cousins."
"I know," Eric said. "Illuminated. Could it sound more pretentious?"
His sister snickered. "Not much, no."
As they drew closer to the temple, though, they fell silent. Eric had to admit, it was more than a little impressive. It all still struck him as incredibly odd, but he could see how someone who didn't remember Aunt Zoey making a complete fool out of herself during family softball games, who hadn't given Kurt countless wedgies or stuck gum in Liv's hair, would greet whatever beings dwelled within this temple as divine.
"Hey, guys," Olivia said as the topped the hill.
Patty looked at Eric as if to ask, "Can you believe this?" then started giggling.
"Oh, sorry," Liv said, stepping out of the shadows. Her voice deepened. "Welcome, children," she announced.
"That's more like it," Patty said.
Eric looked his cousin up and down. She wore white silk and cloth-of-gold and tons of jewelry. Her skin had turned the color of her mother's, complete with metallic glint. She looked exactly as he remembered her, and yet so too did she look like precisely the type of otherworldly being that ought to inhabit the majestic temple.
"Is this the part where we bow?" Eric asked.
