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Gavin’s face, in contrast, still looked relaxed, although his gaze flashed to meet hers before returning to the shifter. “Surely that can’t exist. If it did, then everyone would be trying to get their hands on it to avoid being drafted into the army.”
Good point. Her mind had been so focused on the possibility of escaping Dargan that she hadn’t even considered any other possible uses for such an object. The freedom that children would gain if they got to escape being pulled from their homes…
“It’s extremely rare,” Mios admitted. He let his body sink back into the sofa, crossing one ankle over his knee. “I only tell you this because you saved me, and that deserves my trust. But I’m sure you understand what people will do in order to get their hands on such an artifact.”
The answer was obvious. She knew, deep down, what she would do to free herself. To have a shot at a normal life with Gavin.
People would kill for this stone… and perhaps, so would she.
“I only know of the ones held by the four kings and queens of Caztian. When the kingdoms were first formed, the royal families split a large stone and divided it amongst themselves.”
“Your family was part of the first royals, no? Wouldn’t you have one of those if the myths were true?”
“No, not us. The shifters never called for the ire of the deities. Our goddess never threatened us with extinction like your gods did to the rest of the people living in this world.” He shrugged with a sigh. “So we never got our cut of the gems. If my family had one, I wouldn’t be out here trying to find it.”
The legend of how the new world had been formed was heavily debated either way. There were indeed those who believed that the leaders of the old world had given sacrifices to the gods, and in turn the wicked bastards hadn’t destroyed everyone living here.
Pff. Violet didn’t believe a word of it. But even with her skeptical view of everything, she knew myths and legends were based on reality. The god stone was the only lead she had right now to find what Luelle had suggested she needed. It could be a way out of this mess. And that alone deserved some consideration.
“So are you going back to the Iron City? And then, what—buy it from the King?” Gavin followed Mios as he got to his feet, his empty wooden bowl held in his hand.
“No, King Urien would never give me his. Although it would be much easier if I could simply purchase it.”
“Why not? Believe me, I know him. He doesn’t seem to care for material things.”
Mios’ harsh laughter bounced off the walls. He walked toward the kitchen and poured some more ale into his metal cup. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe a word of it.”
“Try me.” Violet’s voice was a whisper that not even Gavin heard. But Mios’ head turned to her, his eyes narrowing as he studied her closely. “Please.”
“It’s said the royals promised their second-born child to the gods. That it was their biggest sacrifice to save the planet. The deal was that if their heir displayed a magical trait, the gods would take them to serve as emissaries—the messengers between the deities and the royal families. My parents always said the Gods claimed the children of the royals when they turned twenty, as they are no longer babes to nurse.”
“What happens if the heirs don’t get the magic gene at all?”
“Then the gods move on to the next generation. So, the royals found an artifact that would make the gods believe all new royal heirs, after their firstborn, were simple humans without magic,” Mios answered Gavin, before taking another drink.
Violet’s breath rushed from her lungs all at once. She had been twenty when Cullen came for her, even though her magic presented itself when she was eleven. “What it’s stopping the gods from taking the firstborn?”
In her case, Dargan lay claim on her if she didn’t give birth to anyone.
“I don’t know all the details. It’s all passed down in galas through drunken lips. But I can speak from what I know, and they tied the royal blood to the land of every kingdom. The deal protects the royal firstborn from the gods.”
Well fuck, she wasn’t a royal. Tears pricked her eyes. “So it does hide you, even from the gods?”
“Yes.” Mios’ gaze pierced hers, and all else fell away. Could he see Dargan’s mark on her now? Did he know?
The gods needed to collect second children of a family to fill a quota of emissaries. It made sense. They weren’t going to be killed, but used as connections between the deities and the people of the world. Forever enslaved.
If she got her hands on one of those stones, she could hide from Dargan. And once she had a baby, she could use it to hide them instead.
“Are you trying to find it to protect your second child?” Gavin asked, his voice pulling her from her musings. But the spark of hope remained.
“It’s not for me,” Mios said. “A friend of mine has unknowingly repressed her magic for years. It’s only a matter of time until the Crows find her. If it hides magical people from the gods, it must surely do the same with the scrying mirror the Society uses.”
The mirror was rumored to find all magical children in the world. Myth claimed that it had been given to the Society of Crows by the wicked gods, to be used to maintain “balance”. Whatever that meant. In the end, Violet had always suspected that the gods saw Caztian and its inhabitants as mere playthings to toy with.
Mios downed his drink before placing the cup on the surface of the kitchen counter. “I need to meet with the alpha now. You two should stay here, as shifters are protective of pack information. Try to get some rest. If I’m not back by midnight, then leave this place without me.”
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