Page 297 of The Gods Order

Silence.

The warmth around me doesn’t fade, though. It changes. The glass ripples beneath my hand and I don’t understand what I’m seeing. I don’t think I’m meant to.

Possibilities, moments, lives. Threads weaving together, only to separate again. Some flourish. Some unravel. Some end.

None of them remain still.

The images dissolve before I can grasp a single one.

“There are always paths forward.”

I gulp.

“Then how do I know which one is right?”

“Guidance is given. Choice remains.”

The sensation fades from my skin and I look back through the once again clear glass at the battlefield below.

At my men. At everything I could lose if I choose wrong.

I don’t think I will choose wrong, though. I…think I understand.

The realm isn’t asking me to obey. It’s asking me to make a choice.

“You heard it,” Accord says.

My attention snaps to her and my eyes narrow.

“Heard what?”

They glance toward one another, then they examine me even more keenly than they have been. I fucking scowl at them as my frustration and disappointment in them soar.

“Why do you want me to return to the realm?” I ask. “The truth or I take those fucking stairs without another thought.”

They stare. Then Consequence takes another step closer.

“You can succeed where the Gods failed.”

“Meaning?”

“You can reclaim the Gods Binding, return our power, and restore the realm.”

I nod. In complete understanding.

“Return your power and restore the realm. To your design, I assume?”

“We are the creator,” Creations says.

“Right, right.” I bob my head. “So you want me to basically become my dad? Pledge you my unyielding loyalty and do your bidding?”

For the first time, they all fucking smile. It’s like they’re proud of me for understanding.

These motherfuck—

When the time comes, you make your demands.

A breathless laugh escapes me as Willow’s advice rings in my mind.