His chest moved up and down in a silent chuckle. “We’ve never had a royal here. This is rather amusing.”
She rolled her eyes, dunking the bread in the broth. The action felt foreign, something her mother would have reprimanded her for as a child. She took a mouthwatering bite.
“That giant...thingthat attacked me, the one you call captain, who is he?” she started.
He raised one brow, studying her. “‘That giant thing’?” Manos repeated. He let loose a dramatic laugh. “To be fair, he did save you... I think that somehow cancels out his brutish behavior.”
Was he really scolding her right now?
“His name is Theodon Wrenn. He’s the commander here, and it would be wise of you to not piss him off again. Although from my brief interactions with you, I doubt you will heed my advice.”
“Commander of... what did you call it, ‘Divine Allura’?” Her head was still foggy, and things were coming back to her in pieces. Her body responded with every bite she took, begging for more and more.
“Yes, our army. Theo, Callum, and I make up the Troika, a fancy way of saying we’re in charge. Thousands of us live and train here to make sure your world isn’t overrun. I think the term most mortals use for us is ‘demigods.’”
Demigods, thousands of them.An army to make sure the monsters to the east stayed in the east.
This was the last place she should be. She would regain her strength, then flee. That’s what she would do. But first, she would get as much information as she could from Manos.
“Where did you all come from? Are the others like you three?” What other powers inhabited this strange place?
“We came from all over Lynor, really. Some of us even crossed Kydon’s Sea to get here. Theo finds us and brings us here; he makes us this way. We were like you once, then we traded our mortal lives to serve the realm. In exchange, our godly mothers and fathers unlocked our dormant powers... the kind of magic that used to exist in the beginning gets restored. The power is different for each of us, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Every Divine has their own relationship with magic. Theo can skin change, among other things. Callum can teleport. And I can shift mind to mind, reading your thoughts.”
That made her straighten. Was he in her head right now? Would she even know if he was?
“You all look very... young,” she commented.
“Another incentive to make the trade. The gods grant us infinite years.”
“So you can’t die?”
“No, only the gods possess immortality. We simply keep our youth, staying exactly as we are at the time we are granted our full powers. Disease and old age can’t come for us, but death can still claim us in other ways.”
Helaina swallowed her last mouthful. The fullness was helping offset the unease from the information Manos was revealing.
“How does he do it? How can hemakea demigod?”
“I can show you, if you like.”
Helaina tensed, clutching the makeshift weapon in her hand a bit tighter.
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Really, can you put down the broken teacup? You look ridiculous.”
She sucked her cheeks in, trying to harness her annoyance. Itwasa pathetic choice of self-defense. “Give me one of those daggers on your belt, and I’ll follow.”
To her surprise, he didn’t hesitate. He pulled the weapon from its sheath with a sigh and tossed it at her feet. “If it makes you feel better. There’s a slit woven into your leathers to carry it, the opposite leg of your injury.”
She picked it up, then tossed the porcelain piece down with the others. She found the hidden insert at her hip and smoothly slid the dagger beneath the fabric.
If he led her outside, she could get a better layout of the terrain. If she was going to attempt escape again, it had to be planned, calculated.
“Lead the way.”
He didn’t lead her outside, far from it. Manos led her deeper into the strange caves. She didn’t like how dim it was down here, how the shadows moved against the uneven walls. There was moisture in the heavy air and the sound of trickling water from above. She heard a strange clicking. She looked down, finding a thick insect with far too many legs scurrying past her.
“Gross.”
“Wait until you find one under your pillow,” Manos said.
