Page 111 of Vengeance of the Gods

Octavia rolled her shoulders back with a triumphant smile, knowing she had Vega and Arlet in agreement. “I know you’re eager. Demuto was once your home, but no offense… you currently have no connection to it, nor have you stepped foot inside its boundaries for what, fifty-five years? Fifty-four? It was before I was born, and that’s all one big history lesson the children of Demuto missed out on.” Octavia fluttered her fingers toward the direction of Demuto. “Ya know, cause no schools. Everyone is killing themselves or going crazy.” She grimaced.

Vega wondered what all she’d seen in her lifetime.

“Our leader doesn’t want anyone crossing over, especially not when no one has any idea what this curse being broken is going to look like. It’s their job to protect the shifters. It’s my job to adhere to their orders.” She motioned to her fox already disappearing into the trees of Demuto. “Tilie knows what she’s doing.”

After Vega and Arlet got Khort to relax, as much as Khort could relax, at least… Vega figured a good distraction for him would be teaching him and Arlet how to shield their minds for privacy.

Leo and Octavia sat next to each other on the other end of the fire he’d started with the three level ten soldiers standing in a little group of their own, not allowing their guards down.

They’d definitely been trained by Bridger.

“Okay, so you feel that sheet, cover, whatever thin fabric you wanna call it?” Vega asked.

Khort and Arlet held their eyes shut tight. Arlet scrunched so hard the creases of her face wrinkled like she was a hundred years older than she actually was.

But they’d never age again.

Arlet nodded.

Khort concentrated too hard to do anything more than grunt.

“Good, now grab it.” Vega wasn’t as good as Bridger was in explaining this.

“Grab it, how?” Arlet asked, letting her concentration go when she popped her eyes open.

Khort followed suit, throwing his arm over the log he sat in front of. Octavia used it as a bench, thoroughly engrossed in what the three of them were doing. Her mouth opened and then closed. She tapped her lips with her finger and then opened her mouth again. “Fuck, I don’t even know where to start. It’s not often I’m at a loss for words.” She laughed, her eyes bouncing over them. “You three—four being gods is going to rattle the shifters. Especially you.” Octavia nodded to Khort.

Khort looked up from the flames and stared into Octavia’s green eyes for a few silent heartbeats before cocking his head and asking, “Who are you?” He shook his head, correcting his question. “I mean, who’s the shifter bloodline you descend from?”

Khort was meant to rule Demuto one day. He had once known almost everything there was to know about his home territory.

Octavia looked like she had been put under a spotlight, tensing at his question. “Um.” She paused. “I’m not really sure. My mom doesn’t talk about the past much, and she doesn’t shift either. I’ve never even seen her in her shifter form, and I’m fifty-one.” Another pause. “Sometimes they don’t know if they’ll come back out if they do.”

She was lying… at least about part of it.

Vega glowered, wishing she could see through to exactly what she was hiding.

“While I’m not a shifter, my mom and sister are… or Nora will be. She’s showing signs and can’t leave Demuto but hasn’t manifested anything yet. The few children who’ve been born over the last half-century aren’t encouraged to shift or lean into their power like they once were. The longer they can avoid it, the better.”

Khort took on a pale shade of green, and his throat bobbed like he was fighting off spewing the contents of his stomach in front of the group.

Keeping a shifter from its true form had once been use as a torture tactic against the people of Demuto—it was the fastest way to make someone go crazy.

“You’re the fox saved rebels talk about, aren’t you?” Leo interjected, cocking his head to the side.

“The fox?” Vega asked, her eyebrows pinning together.

Octavia stiffened, shaking her head slowly.

“Oh, come on, ”Leo huffed. “I knew it the second I saw you. About twelve years ago, shortly after I escaped from the mines, I joined a group of rebels outside the border of Demuto in Pax. We lived in the woods. One night, a group of soldiers found us while we were sleeping. By the time I woke up, the others had been killed. I was weak and hadn’t built my strength back up yet.” Leo paused, clearing his throat. His eyes were fixed on the fire before shooting over to the redhead.

She was beautiful in a way that felt effortless. Her dark brown cloak made the warm tone of her skin stand out in the fire’s light. Freckles splattered her face, thicker around her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Her complexion didn’t look as if she’d spent years hiding inside the dense forests of Demuto.

“You and Tilie saved me that night.” Leo paused, giving Octavia the opportunity to explain.

She didn’t.

“If you hadn’t killed them, I’d be dead.” It seemed Octavia might argue against his claim until he raised a brow and challenged her. “I might have been beaten senseless and back on the verge of death, but I could never forget your face.”