Page 293 of The Gods Order

None of them make a single comment back to me. Their attention just drifts back to the glass. Their silence infuriates me. The way they study my family, the lives being lost, the fate that sits in the balance.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed in my life.

“Am I dead?”

My question comes out quieter than I expected it to. This time, the Valorie that clearly passed on Obliteration looks directly at me.

“Not yet.” My breath shudders at his simple answer. “Your vessel remains alive, and the God of Death is holding your soul strong. With a simple wave of our hand, though, that ends and you die.”

A cold feeling settles in my chest. It doesn’t completely chill the fire burning in me, though.

“Do it.”

My mumble has them all facing me.

“You want to die?” one of them asks.

“No,” I say immediately. “I want you all to learn a very valuable lesson.”

They continue to stare at me as if they can’t make sense of my words.

“Kill me. Then bear witness to your realm’s downfall.”

“The realm will not end with your death,” Consequence says.

I let out a low chuckle and meet his gaze.

“Then do it.”

The features on their faces don’t change. They don’t shift their wings. They fucking observe. I scoff and jab my thumb in the direction behind me.

“I assume I need to go that way?”

I don’t wait for a response. I march toward the ascending stairs.

“Wait.”

The ring of all seven of their voices has my feet slamming to a stop, and my body spins around without my fucking say-so. Apprehension flares in their eyes while pure hatred shines in mine.

I let a cruel smile split my lips.

“That’s what I thought. You can’t allow me to die.”

“What makes you think that?”

I don’t even bother paying attention to which one asked.

“I don’t think,” I say, stepping closer to them. “I know.”

They remain silent, watching me closely.

“I’ve been told I’m indispensable. My men and I. A being from a whole other realm who obviously despises you as a creator wouldn’t have told me that to boost my ego. She…Elementra knew something then that I didn’t know. Something I still don’t know.”

For the first time, they all shift. Their feathered wings flinch and I laugh at them.

“My mother told me the whole prophecy, which clearly displeased all of you even though you all were the ones who told it to her. You all knew who we each would become. You needed to be able to control and manipulate our decisions. You wouldn’t have allowed us to get this far if you were willing to allow me to die right at the end.”

They don’t respond to me. Their eyes move between one another. Not dramatically or with panic, but with consideration. A conversation passes between them without a single word being spoken.