“Mn,” Haru hummed in the affirmative. “We’ll return when Ruben and his people aren’t watching us.” They were so close this time. They would find Shey at last and take him home.
CHAPTER 23
Tyche
Alow groan trickled past Tyche’s parted lips, and he cracked his eyes open. The first thing that registered in his mind wasn’t the light stabbing his eyes, but the loud birdsong. How long had it been since he’d last heard the birds singing to him? He rubbed gritty eyes and pushed into a sitting position, dirt and rocks biting into his palm. Blinking, the world slowly came into focus. Gone were the white prison walls and gray bars. A green forest stretched out in front of him, while bright golden sunlight broke through the leaves to warm his face. Everything smelled green and fresh, washed clean by the summer rain.
He was free.
He was fucking free at last.
A broken sob lodged in his throat, and he rubbed at his stinging eyes again. He’d been in bad situations in the past and had always gotten out. While trapped in that hellhole, he’d been sure that he’d escape. But it had taken so long. What little hope he’d possessed had been worn to a tiny, angry nub.
“Good morning.”
Tyche’s head swung around and he stared at the man who’d made his escape possible.
“You’re still here.”
The words escaped him before he could get his brain working, but he couldn’t hide his surprise. He’d expected Shawn to leave him behind while he slept. There was no benefit in keeping Tyche at his side. He wasn’t a fighter and didn’t have any hidden skills that would enable them to get out of this forest faster. If anything, he was likely to slow Shawn down.
A grin broke across Shawn’s face, and he shook his head, looking as if he were laughing at Tyche.
Or should he call him Shey? That was what Yesuntei had called him. Not that it mattered all that much.
“You thought I’d leave you?”
Tyche shrugged one shoulder as he tried to push to his feet. Pain raced through all his limbs and back, sending him to his ass. They’d raced through the rain most of the day, the storm hounding their every step. Their goal had been to put as much distance between them and the facility full of armed guards. It was near sunset when the rain stopped and they stumbled across this cave. It wasn’t deep. Just enough to offer shelter from the rain if it started again and cover if the guards were searching for them through the night. But it also meant sleeping on the cold, hard, damp ground.
“Well, the agreement was to help each other escape the building. You had no obligation to protect my ass after we got out of there. Besides, we both know I’ll slow you down.”
Tyche twisted to the left and then to the right, cracking his spine and loosening up stiff muscles.
“Maybe I’m keeping you because I find you amusing.”
Tyche glared, and a low chuckle tumbled from his companion. He leaned against the opposite wall, his dark clothes stained with blood and mud. His pale hair was a long, loose mess, but his face was relaxed, and that made him so damn handsome. The few times he’d seen Shey’s face, it had been fullof harsh lines and angles, pulled tight by rage and frustration. But for the first time, he seemed almost at peace. Even the long scars on the left side of his face didn’t detract from his beauty.
“Gods, I’d kill for a cup of coffee,” Tyche announced with a heavy sigh.
Shey threw his head back, his deep belly laugh echoing through the cave. Birds cried and took to the air, rattling the tree limbs as they launched skyward.
“I was sure that was going to be your first words when you woke up.”
“Pfft. Whatever. Nothing is still better than the swill they served us,” Tyche muttered. He’d even consider selling Shey for a cup of the good stuff.Consider. He wouldn’t do it, but he’d at least think about it.
Tyche looked at his hands and frowned. The constant rainfall had washed the blood away long ago, but he could still find dried bits stuck under his fingernails.
Yesuntei.
She shouldn’t have died that way. He shouldn’t have had to leave her there. She deserved to be handed over to her sister, assuming Cirina was still alive. Part of him couldn’t imagine a world where Yesuntei could be captured and Cirina was alive somewhere. He would have thought that Cirina would die before anything happened to her sister.
But the world was changing and moving in directions he couldn’t predict. Most of the old gods were dead, and new ones were being born. The best he could do was find a place to hide and escape all notice. It’s what Yesuntei should have done.
Tyche picked at the dried blood under his fingernails, all too keenly aware of the ball of power warm and pulsing in his pocket. It was something all the gods possessed. Like a sarira, the pearl-like object was the condensed form of their powers. It was how their powers could be stolen in death. It was how Zyrosrose to power. She spent years hunting and killing hundreds of minor gods, stealing their powers so that she had enough to rival even Tula.
Most tried to fight her. Why not? She was human, and they were gods.
But she had been a powerful fighter with Tula and the other major gods whispering in her ear.
