Hmm, I personally thought they protested a little too much. “Right.” Turning back to Khalida, I cut into my meat. “Are the other Phoenixian godkin who were sent here with you nine years ago still around?”
“They’re at Deimos, but they’re not part of the Order,” she replied. “They didn’t make it through Xalbia.”
“Since you’re taking me under your wing and all, maybe you could tell me what Xalbia is.” I bit into the chicken dangling from my fork.
She flashed me a sympathetic smile. “Nothing you’re going to enjoy, which is why many drop out. But if you get through it, you become one of us.”
A loud laugh made me turn my head without thought. A bunch of officiates were amused at the expense of another, who appeared to have gotten stew all over himself. I idly swept my gaze along the bench of people as I was turning my attention back to the pair opposite me. And my stomach hardened as my eyes clashed with Talon’s striking gaze.
He sat amongst a crowd of people, his body language screaming “power” and “authority.” He looked supremely relaxed yet somehow also coiled to strike.
There was nothing for me to read in that steady stare he pinned on me. He was careful to keep it neutral. But I would imagine he was still trying to figure out how a Sayer could be human.
Good luck with that.
Resettling my focus on Khalida, I asked, “Is it true that Talon never speaks?”
Chewing food again, she nodded. “He allegedly doesn’t even talk to Eva,” she added, referring to one of the first mortals that the gods created.
I picked up my tankard again, the reference tickling my memory. “So the tragic romance story about her and Talon is true?”
“Depends what version you’ve heard.” Nakoa leaned forward a little. “The truth is that the gods offered her immortality as a reward for prewarning them about the Uprising. Though she was in a relationship with Talon, she said no to their offer. She wanted to be reborn as a mortal over and over like all human souls.”
“Each time she comes back, which is usually every sixty years or so—a short stretch of time for immortals like Talon—she remembers her first life; remembershim,” Layna elaborated.“She turns up at Deimos as an adult, is welcomed by the Sovereigns, spends a few decades with Talon, and then ends her own life to be reborn again. She doesn’t want to grow old when he never will, or to leave him and build a life with another man.”
“Huh.” I sipped at my mead and then rubbed at my cheek. “I know some might think it’s romantic that they repeatedly come together like that, but it sounds more like two people returning to a doomed relationship again and again.”
“That’s how I see it.” Khalida sighed. “Anyway, she should be back again in another year or so. Maybe things will be different for them that time and she’ll stick around.”
I looked at Layna. “You said he takes officiates to his bed, so I’m guessing he doesn’t remain celibate while she’s gone.”
It was Nakoa who responded. “He only scratches an itch every six months or so. Usually just for one night, though he’s never short of offers from officiates. People outside the Order would probably make themselves available, too. But none of us get involved with them. We’re an inclusive bunch.”
Feeling the weight of someone’s attention, I looked to my right. A few candidates were staring at me, their gazes assessing and finding me lacking.
“You’re going to need to be careful, Anara,” Khalida advised, pulling my focus back to her. “It isn’t at all common for candidates to kill others, but it does happen occasionally—Xalbia is taxing on the mind; it causes arguments to break out and tempers to explode. Plenty here might not like that a human was chosen to be a Sayer. During a weak moment, they could easily end up making an issue out of it.”
I raked my teeth over my lower lip. “I’d already thought of that. Atticus in particular might make himself a problem. Do you remember him?”
Khalida nodded. “He still a dick?”
“In every way that counts,” I told her. “Bevan and Seneca are also here. They’re all thrilled about it.”
She snorted. “I’m sure they are. They’ll want their abilities to surface. Can’t really blame them. Ilovemine. I can spout wings at will, chuck around balls of swirling frost, and healveryfast.”
I looked at Quillen. “What about Lykaons?”
“We’re stronger and faster than average godkin. And, of course, we can shift into a wolf. In that form, our skin is tough as scales, and our saliva is flammable.”
“Us Nemeans are pretty jealous about the last part,” Nakoa told me, “but we have our own strengths. Our lion-fur is impenetrable, and our claws are so sharp they can cut throughanything—even Lykaon skin, which their kind doesn’t much like.”
“No, we don’t,” Quillen admitted.
I tilted my head as I glanced from Layna to Jelani. “And Delphiae? Can you really become trees?”
“Sort of,” said Jelani. “As part of being able to call on elemental energy, we can grow wooden armor. We can also heal.”
I hummed, setting down my tankard. “So, basically, you all kick ass.”
