The daily treks now spanned longer distances. Our sleeps were getting shorter. And if it wasn’t my imagination, our food rations on the aforementioned treks had gotten stingier.
Basically, Xalbia never ceased attacking your mental and physical motivation. And it was getting to people more and more, including those who’d initially been so confident and capable.
There were times that I’d find some staring at nothing, their eyes lifeless or unfocused. People’s footsteps would often drag, and their postures would often slouch. Self-doubt would also occasionally creep into their expressions.
Hell, I was no exception to any of this.
Honestly, I was so drained that my body often conformed to whatever chair I claimed. Some days, I’d be so exhausted that a mental fog would take over. The edges of my patience would be frayed, and my willingness to keep going would show signs of erosion.
But I was still here.
I hadn’t given up. I’d overcome those weak moments. And I was proud of myself.
It was funny how you didn’t know exactly what you truly were capable of until you were placed in a situation where you had to find out. That said, I wasn’t in any way thankful for the opportunity. My life at Phoenixia hadn’t been exciting, but I had at least been safe.
I tried not to think too much on how I’d been yanked from my old life. It would be too easy to get swallowed by the anger and resentment that I hadn’t fully shaken off—those emotions would only distract me, and I couldn’t afford for anything tomess with my focus right now. The consequences of failing Xalbia would be too dire.
As the words on the page once again swam, I rubbed at my eyes. A yawn crept out of me before I could stop it. I was pretty sure my state of lethargy was made worse by the fact that the effects ofichorwere still playing havoc with my system.
The power continued to purr beneath my skin, just as it continued to sometimes cause physical sensations like itching and aching. Thankfully, the effects still never lasted long.
Aside from healing even faster than before, I hadn’t shown any demonstrations of power. Really, there was no guarantee I ever would. Allegedly, no Sayers had been fedichorbefore—at least not according to Vesper. Even the Sovereigns weren’t sure what to expect.
“What are you reading?” Khalida quietly asked, cutting into my thoughts. “Because it doesn’t seem to be what youshouldbe reading. Tut, tut, tut.”
I flicked a look at the encyclopedias I’d set aside in favor of the historical text in front of me. “I’ve memorized as much as I can about Deimos’ beasts,” I whispered. “I want to learn more about the wars that went on between the half-bloods after the primordials left.”
There had been no more recent attacks on the city, but another two fine cracks had formed in the foundations of the fortress. For some reason, the Sovereigns hadn’t fixed them.
The attack had to be directly connected to it, but no one was sure yet how. They were, however, convinced that there would be another battle at some point.
Humming, Khalida leaned over to get a better look at the page I had open.
“I’ve also been reading up on the Uprising,” I told her. “I had no idea until now that Sarpedon was behind it.”The deceased half-blood was in fact a brother to the three Sovereigns.
She nodded, her expression sober. “He wanted to reign over the gods, and he made several of the other half-bloods all sorts of promises if only they’d fight with him.”
“And those half-bloods really found it so easy to turn on their parents?”
“It doesn’t make senseon paper,” she said, lowering her voice even further, “because these are biased accounts. The gods’ scribes wrote them, and said scribes were never going to write ‘the half-bloods likely tried staging a coup because the gods weren’t always benevolent.’”
“So it wasn’t just Vitus who could be cruel?” I asked, thinking of what he’d done to Talon.
“No, they all had their moments. They even put many half-bloods through Xalbia-type hells to see how strong they were and gauge whether they were a threat to the gods’ power. Some were too powerful for their liking and so were killed—including Sarpedon’s consort, which was part of why he began the Uprising. It was really only a matter of time before someone rebelled.”
I braced my elbow on the table and propped my chin on my hand. “Maybe so, but he paid for it with his life.” Many had lost their lives during the Uprising. “I bet the gods thought that by culling the number of half-bloods the battles would stop and there’d be peace. Except it didn’t work that way. Theseus was determined to reign supreme after the primordials left.”
“What you won’t read in that book is that Minos and Theseus were once close friends,” Khalida told me. “But not so close that there was real loyalty between them. As evidenced by how Theseus had no issue killing Minos’ only son during the war between the half-bloods.”
“You know, I look at how the ones in the Dark Lands ended up fighting amongst themselves and … it’s like they can’t help it, isn’t it?” I wondered if it was a case that power bred greed and corruption, or if it was quite simply somehow in the nature of these incredibly powerful beings to destroy each other in their quest to reign.
“Yup. They seem compelled to take each other out—and the Sovereigns. Right now, all the Dark-Land half-bloods run underground unofficial monarchies. They should be content with that. But Deimos is therealseat of power, so they’ll never likenothaving their ass on a throne here.”
I tapped my fingers on the cool, wooden desk. “I agree with what the Sovereigns said; itisstrange that Scylla might have partnered with Theseus. He killed her daughter in one of their battles. Personally took her life. I wouldn’t do a single thing for anyone who harmed a person I loved, let alone my child.”
Khalida raised her shoulders. “Maybe Scylla didn’t particularly care for her kid.”
“Hmm, maybe. She is, by all accounts, vicious and cold.” I idly flicked forward a few pages, pausing as a particular one caught my attention. “So this is Eva.” The mortal Talon loved. The drawing beside her name depicted her as a curvy, pale, auburn-haired woman who was remarkably beautiful. “This may seem like an odd question, but does she always look the same when she comes back?”
