Page 14 of The Last War We Ever Fought

“There is no such thing.”

“It’s a story, little thief. So, if the story says there once was, then there once had been,” he said, and then continued, “A long time ago when there was no order. When the sun rose from the north and fell south. When stars shone day and night. When day was young, and night was old. Right when all the gods were born. What they call the dawn of time. The boy and the girl met then, watching it. He was turmoil and she was tranquil. And as they watched the sun rise east for the first time,” he said, reaching for Rowan’s hair to pluck a leaf from the thick curls that were still loose. “They made a vow to one another. They’d only be apart when the sun would no longer set west, when day would once again become old, and the stars would never cease to shine. When the gods that were born would be unborn.” There was a pause in his words and Rowan found herself almost curious enough to ask him to continue. “They’d been heard by the new gods who’d risen with more than just power. They’d risen with greed, with hunger. They did not like that where there was turmoil, there would always be tranquil. They didn’t like the balance of things. Only they could place order.”

“Why?” Rowan asked, despite herself. Suddenly curious about his stupid little tale that made no sense at all. But then, she’d found him to be a nonsensical god entirely.

“Because the order of things comes from disorder. How could they place it when there was already an order? It went against the need they’d been born from.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“So thought tranquil and turmoil. Then the gods found a way to part them from one another despite the unbreakable bargain they had made. They made him a God, then they made him King of the Gods once they realised humanity craved what he was.”

Rowan stopped walking, and so did the girl and War, both looking at her with a curious expression on their moonlit faces half covered by night. “Why would they do that?” she asked. “Why wouldn’t they make her Queen of the Gods?”

“Because an eternity of turmoil would mean an eternity of their rule. An eternity for them to maintain balance. And an eternity of tranquil would have rendered them useless. If everything stood still and peaceful, then a new order of life and death would have been established. No need for anything else. No matter how much I dislike the bastard, Death would have made a great king of all,” he said, lifting his eyes to the moon and letting Rowan watch the colour of his irises turn a light shade of lilac. “At least he wouldn’t have made her what they did.”

“What did they make her?”

He finally looked back at her. He looked at her as if he’d looked at her for years, decades, perhaps eternity. A look so familiar, so known. “They made her small.”

“Small?”

Elijah nodded. “They rid her with an illness made entirely of loathing and spite. Then they banished her to live among humankind. To watch them suffer. To grow even smaller under their suffering which she couldn’t help. Unlike him, she was no longer immortal. Reborn as someone else in every lifetime.”

“And the bargain?”

The God of War smiled down at her. “You paid attention.”

“Answer me.”

“Turned into a curse. He’d look for her in every lifetime and he’d find her. Turmoil would find her only after she’d died. They say peace dies last. But she never died last for him. She always died first when he was near her. So, he only looked from afar, and she never even knew.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“The ending. What’s the ending? All stories have endings.”

“Not this one.”

“Nonsense.”

His head tilted to the side and so did his smile. “You think so, little thief?”

Rowan rolled her eyes and grabbed the girl, dragging her towards the town faster. “You’re done annoying me, I suppose.”

“Not truly. But it's fascinating watching you think so hard. I didn’t want to interfere with whatever thought you’re dissecting so intently. Wouldn’t wish to be caught between that blade.”

She cast him a quick glance. “Why me out of all that you can pester in this realm?”

“Indeed, why you?”

“Just answer me.”

“You remind me of someone I knew long ago.”

“Tranquil, as you called her.”

He stopped walking, and with a sigh, she stopped walking, too. Refusing to turn to him just yet. She was waiting for him to answer as she was terribly afraid that she’d been correct.