Page 38

They were both quiet for a while, and I’d almost decided to climb down and gather some food for myself when Garlic replied, “You know the records say his father was some kind of magical priest from down south. Said he washed up here hundreds of years back. He was kept in a cage for ages, until one of the Omegas went into heat and he tore his way out to get to her.”

“Magical priest? Bullshit.”

“You could read it yourself if you’d bothered to learn.”

When Garlic fell silent, the other one slumped. “Come on then, you can’t leave it at that.”

Garlic scowled, scratching at his bites. “An old priest named Renner wrote lots of notes in the margins of the Omega records back then. He put in a whole piece of parchment, folded and stuck to the back, right? Said he was caged down by the bitches’ longhouse until one of the girls came into her nature. The Omega he mated had a daughter, and that one had another, and on and on until Serak broke the line of girls.”

The shorter one laughed. “Serak might as well be a girl. He’s always goin’ on about how bad the breeders have it.”

“If they’d suck a few more dicks, they’d get more food,” Garlic muttered, and then their voices faded as the wind picked up.

I knew better than to believe everything I heard, but something in that story rang true. Rada was different from other Omegas in a fundamental way, though she would deny it. Perhaps, like Serak seemed to be, Rada was descended from a god-touched line, as well as chosen by the Goddess.

The mates she’d gathered already made it obvious she was uniquely powerful in some way. The Emperor of All Emperors, the most formidable kraken ever to swim the oceans? Two selkie princes, some of the last of their kind, and one of them an Omega himself? Not just any warlord or king, but Goran, the Warlord of All Starlak, who had made it his life’s purpose to redeem the past treachery of the chieftains who had contributed to the spreading of the plagues?

A vision of Skadi, the ice god who took dragon and human form, flickered in my mind. I hated to think it was true, but he had clearly been drawn to her as well. He’d quenched the pain she’d tried to hide that had begun when she made her deal with Edan back in Mirren. He was hers. That made five.

But she’d loved Serak, too, long ago.

I knew from the stories that the Goddess had seven mates. Seven Alphas, princes, or kings. I had always suspected Rada, as Her avatar, would have the same. Lusca, Lachlan, Kellin, Goran, Skadi, Serak, and… I swallowed bile. Was Edan the last?

I landed on the jungle floor as a dark thought took seed in my brain. Had the Goddess intended Rada to take Edan as a mate?

I whispered the thought aloud and felt the familiar hum in my mind, heard the silvery chime of the temple bell of my childhood that told me I was seeing clearly. Every time I’d listened to the Goddess and done Her will, She had given me this sign.

I vomited on the fallen leaves. No. No!

“I will not do that,” I whispered, stumbling away and falling to my knees next to the stream. I wasn’t sure if I was praying or preparing to throw myself into the stream. “You told me to protect her. You said she was Your daughter. You cannot ask this of her. Or me. You cannot⁠—”

A bolt of cold fire split my thoughts, numbing my lips.

“You cannot,” I forced out, and another bolt stilled them entirely.

The words rang in my mind. She must choose him. You must make certain she does.

I passed out on the ground. When I woke, I was shaking, though every muscle in my body felt energized. My mind swirled with terrible thoughts.

I’d never once entertained the idea that Rada had slurred drunkenly at a campfire on Havira. “Everybody says th’ Goddess is so good. But She’s not human, see? She don’t have that same sense of good as we do. She has Her desires. Her will. And we’re ants to Her. Least She’s held up Her end of the bargain, though. I wasn’t sure whether I’d get to live even this little bit on my own terms. But She’s still got me wrigglin’ on the hook, Lex. She’ll never let me go. Never let me be anythin’ but Her tool. You’ll see.”

I’d prayed for her then, believing her words to be blasphemy. But now…

More recent words trickled through my mind as I crouched and began to gather the bulbs that dotted the streambank here. Young crowstem, so similar to wild onions that once the bulbs were peeled, only the slight variation in scent would give them away.

“You lied to me. So from the very beginning, it was a lie. That’s why you kept calling me mistress. To remind yourself I was a job. Don’t start with the nicknames now. Unless you’re done being a priest?”

Done being a priest. Cold lightning sliced through me again, but it was weaker now. Or I was stronger. So I ignored it, and forced myself to stand. I could do a lot of things for the love of my Goddess.

But I would not do this. I would not deliver my love into the clutches of pure evil, not even if it saved the rest of the world. I tucked the bulbs into my robe pocket and turned back to the guard’s quarters on the ridge, knowing what I was about to do would damn me for eternity.

I didn’t care. Or rather, I did. It was only that I finally understood that while I loved the Goddess… I’d grown to love Her daughter more.

And I would protect her, even if it cost me my soul.

RADA

“Is it done?” I held onto the bars of the fence, keeping my head almost completely submerged as I whispered the question. It was now high tide two nights before our intended escape. I’d noticed Kellin in the water a few hours before, though I’d had to wait until true dark to swim out to him. He was in his seal form again and couldn’t answer, but he bumped me with his nose between the bars and moved down. I followed his example, diving beneath the next wave to find out.