CHAPTERSIXTY-TWO
Theo had been right—there was pain. Unfathomable pain that pierced her entire core where the blade had divided her flesh. It lasted maybe a heartbeat or two, then faded.
She watched her body turn into a luminescent gleam. She felt the tingle as it spread all the way down to her fingertips like the whiskers of a field mouse dusting her skin. It was a welcome reprieve after that stabbing fire the bone dagger bestowed upon her.
Her vision started to go. Images of black and speckled floaters overwhelmed her. She looked back to see if Theo and Callum were still with her. They weren’t; she was alone.
The bone dagger was gone too. She rushed her hand to her chest, feeling urgently for the deep cut. She felt only warm, intact skin.
As the brightness faded, she looked up. Her surroundings had changed. She was somewhere new. There was no cave. Instead, a vast field of golden stalks lay before her, and between those stalks, a trail.
Is this truly Ures’s realm?
It seemed too simple, too calm for a renowned war god. The cloud-filled sky let the sun begin to peek over the horizon. It was morning here.
This was not what she had expected. Where was her trial? She walked toward the trail. She wasn’t quite sure where she was supposed to go or what she was supposed to do.
She felt her chest again, wondering where her fatal wound had gone. Then she realized something. Her brand was missing. She patted her neck, her arms, and her chest. No marks, or scars, or bruises. She was entirely whole, nothing carved out or marred. She laughed in surprise as she felt the familiar smoothness over her heart. With the death of her mortal self, Dolion’s ugliness had been erased.
This had to be a farm. Small barns lined the distance as various animals grazed the golden pastures around her. She could see herself living in a place like this and being perfectly content. Far away, she spotted a modest house. It was not a shack or hovel but a brick home with a slated roof. It was older, perhaps needing a few touch-ups. The lavish gardens in the fenced front yard made up for any mediocrity.
She caught sight of a man huddled among the flower beds of snow-white, aureate, and magenta blooms. A man who paid her no mind, down on all fours tending to his garden, knee-deep in the dirt.
She approached him cautiously, feeling the uneven gravel with each step.
He was tall with dark skin. His biceps bulged as he pressed firmly into the earth. Dense coils of flaxen hair draped around his face, the same colored beard covering a good portion of his neck.
It was only when she was a few paces away that he finally glanced up at her with eyes that matched the golden vibrance of the sun.
“Hello.” His voice was comforting.
“Hello.” She shuffled awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to say next. “My name is?—”
“I know who you are,” the man said with an unreadable tone.
Helaina tried again. “I’m looking for Ures. Can you tell me where he is?”
A low chuckle vibrated in his chest as he flashed his full white smile her way. He paused his work, making himself upright as he wiped the soil from his hands on his filthy trousers.
“My dear Helaina, you are looking at him.”
She was stunned, speechless even. He wasn’t a man at all. He was a god—hergod. She couldn’t find words. Her body instinctively dropped to its knees. She pressed her forehead to the earth in the lowest bow she could manage. She was certain he was going to punish her for addressing him in such a common manner. She was dead before she even started her test.
She felt a rough hand upon her shoulder. She fisted the dirt, awaiting punishment.
“Rise, blood of my blood. You bow to no one, not in my realm.”
She inclined her head upward.
He was smiling. There was no vengeful ire or disapproval she could find, so she did as he commanded.
“Your trial is in there.” He pointed to the modest home behind them.
She raised a brow. “Inside a house?”
“Were you expecting something grander?” He crossed his arms and tilted his head, examining her. “I am happy to conjure something that requires more brawn. I saw your duel with the skin changer. A fire drake, was it? I could conjure one of those.”
“The house is fine,” she offered rapidly, remembering the scalding heat of Breyer’s attack.
