“No. Maybe it’s good he doesn’t. This way, he won’t notice I failed.”
“He’d realize you tried.”
“No. I don’t want him to know I was so… naïve.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from contradicting her. She knew Grimm better than I did, but if he was anything like Sainte, he would prefer to understand. Curse it all—I would demand the truth if I were in his boots. But this was about her trauma, her healing. I had to let her go at her own pace.
“Well, if you change your mind, I can tell him myself. Or send word through a sneaky spy.”
“You have spies?” She laughed, stealing a glance from the corner of her eye.
“Maybe not yet, but I will soon.”
“Ha! Acting like a queen already.”
I smiled, curling against her, my heart humming with pleasure as she sought my comfort.
One day, when I was queen, I would have my brother’s head.
Anderz clasped his hands atop the table. “The God Stones have arrived.”
“Thank Nothar,” Aliea said, features settling into a relieved grin, “another Howl is echoing across the plains.”
Leihim leaned back in his chair, sharp blue eyes on me, anticipating a comment as the high court convened. “Do we have a date for the third Rite?”
“Prince Regent Adastrus has not announced it,” Reuthland snipped.
I didn’t bother gracing her with a glance as she spoke.
“We can assume sometime within the next few days. We should not delay–”
“What you mean, Counselor Greer, is we shouldn’t keep the God Stones longer than required.” Reuthland straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin. “The date will be settled and announced tomorrow morn.”
I shifted in my seat, leaning toward Anderz, who subtly turned his ear my way. “Why don’t we want to keep them?” I asked.
If they provided answers from thegods,why not use them? Perhaps people were afraid of what they’d say? Nobles might lose their status—laws practiced for generations could change.
He cleared his throat, then whispered, “Legend has it they hold up the world.”
Ah, more myths and fables.
“Funny how we’re still standing,” I murmured.
Anderz’s golden eyes met mine, a silent warning in their depths. He rested his fingertips against his lips, and I smiled, reclining in my seat. Doubt gnawed at me—this test seemed more like pure chance. So far, the odds were in my favor during the Rites. I had to imagine that trend would continue. If any god watched over me, it would be Niena of Luck.
“‘Tis more of an analogy, Princess,” Lady Aliea said softly to my left.
I glanced at her before leaning to her side so she could speak to me in low tones.
“The world balances on the word of the divine,” she explained. “One wrong move, and we risk their displeasure, plunging everything into darkness.”
Adastrus hadn’t yet incurred their wrath? What kind of gods allowed him to rule without restraint?
“Then why not keep them here?” I whispered.
Leihim watched me from across the table with hooded eyes, his mouth a flat line.
“We trust that those favored by the divine will make the best choices for us,” Aliea said. “We reserve direct intervention for… specific occasions.”
