Once I had drained the first cup and he had refilled it, I chanced a question.
“Wh—” My voice broke on the word, and I cleared my throat before trying again. “Where are we?” I rasped. I had a million questions, but this seemed at least like a good place to start.
“On a ship, bound for Imena. Lishahl is . . . loyal to our cause.”
I raised an eyebrow at that, but he offered no other words of explanation. I studied him a moment longer, part of the familiarity finally dawning. My eyes went wide, and I almost dropped my cup as recognition hit.
“You’re her general. The one who captured me,” I whispered.
A shadow passed across the man’s face, a moment of torture in his hazel eyes that made the gold spin faster, before it vanished. His shoulders sank a bit as he admitted, “I am.”
“But . . . why?”
He shrugged. “There are many questions to be answered, but now is not the time. Now, you have to rest and recover yourstrength. The journey ahead will be long. Arduous.” His words brokered no argument; his word final.
I cocked my head at him, my memories of capture and torture at the hands of the Matriarch so at odds with the man who rescued me, the one who melted at the sight of his niece.
When he was sure I wouldn’t say anything more, he gave me a short, curt smile before turning for the door. The material of his shirt stretched across his back, and I was once again struck by a familiarity that I couldn’t place.
“Who are you?” I whispered incredulously.
The man paused with his hand on the door frame, turning his head over one shoulder to answer me.
“Cael, Commander of the Last Keeper’s army,” he paused, “though I much prefer my true name.”
“Which is?” I prodded.
“Torin d’Eshu. Lord of Iluul.”
Chapter 8
Kaos
The camp of rebels loyal to my sister—tous—was in utter chaos. Clearly, they hadn’t expected their gods to return so soon, or maybe even at all.
At the very least, they didn’t expect us to seek them out.
And why should we, really?Wewere the gods, they our loyal followers.
Though, judging by the mass exodus of half of the Last Keeper’s forces minutes prior to our arrival, maybe they weren’t as loyal as my sister previously assumed.
I sneered at the thought.
Our entire journey across Elyria, I begged my sister to let her followers come to us, to seek us out, as was befitting our station. But Solace refused my pleas, insisting that we must be the ones to reach the camp in the Stepstones—a remote area in the southernmost part of Elyria.
While I was disappointed by the lack of excitement and loyalty shown by these supposed followers, I could at least admit that the location was a solid choice.
The Stepstones were a series of jagged mountains and monoliths created through erosion—and a fair bit of Earth Magic—centuries ago. Human legend had it that the Earth God even resided here at one point—a legend that was largely lost to time and not something that would have influenced the Last Keeper’s decision.
Though, she does have access to the entirety of Solace’s memories. Perhaps shedidpick this location for its historical implications.I hummed in thought, not sure which reasoning was more terrifying—the fact that the Last Keeper knew our history, or was ignorant of it completely.
My boots crunched over the sand as I followed my sister through the desert camp. It was larger than I expected—much larger.
That, at least, had a serpentine smile spread across my face.
One of the rebels blanched as he accidentally made eye contact with me, my expression frozen in what was, I assumed, a terrifying sight. He paled to a ghostly white before averting his gaze and ducking his head in supplication.
Spineless humans.I chuckled mirthlessly.
