Page 49 of The Gods Order

Unease flickers across Val’s face as he studies my pissed-off expression.

“We want to do what’s best for you. Train you. Work with you on your powers. Teach you things you won’t get from a book. And, if she’s willing, I’d like to work with Ms. Andino as well.”

My suspicion flares.

“Did you have something to do with our pairing and her domain being under you?”

“No. I swear I did not.”

My eyes cut to Derivius. He shakes his head.

Fuck. So she’s always been touched by the Gods Binding.

“What if I don’t want to train with you two?”

“Then we’ll hold onto our Bindings…until the time to hand them over comes,” Meridamus says.

My jaw clenches.

The desire to tell him to fuck off is strong. Working with them gives them far more access to me than I ever planned. What’s just as strong is my want to give this to Yemi. She’s been alone in her domain for so long. If she was that excited about his book, she’d faint at the offer of working directly with the God of Boundaries.

Gods damn it. I hate this. I hate the feeling crawling beneath my skin.

They stood somewhere together, talked about how this would go, decided what they thought was best for me without ever speaking to me.

My stomach twists. They’re dangling something genuinely valuable in front of me, and part of me already knows refusing would be stupid.

My fingers curl tighter.

I don’t want them to be useful. I don’t want them to be right. I don’t want to need anything from either of them.

The realm doesn’t care what I want. They obviously don’t either.

“Fine,” I mumble. “You hand over your Bindings now, and I’ll train with you. I won’t make that decision for Yemi, but I’ll talk to her.”

They glance at each other.

“Then we’re in agreement,” Meridamus says, arching a brow.

My nostril twitches as I call my Accord forward and slam it into him. He and Val both widen their eyes as it locks around the three of us.

“Happy?” I ask.

They nod.

Power pulses through the Court as their hands glow. I hold my breath as the Bindings materialize in their palms. They stare down at the powerful little shits like it physically hurts them to let go.

Fucking gods.

I step forward as they do, taking Meridamus’s first, ignoring the prideful smirk on his face. A gasp threatens to escape when Val’s fingers brush mine as he passes me his. My spine tingles so sharply my back nearly bows.

I backpedal immediately.

Derivius claps once, loud enough to snap the tension.

“Well,” he cheers, “this is already going significantly better than I expected. A touch awkward and some aggressive diplomacy, but no violence, so this is a grand start.”

Riven scoffs. “These fools just failed a test they didn’t know they were taking.”