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Caelan’s heart skipped and he shifted so that he was standing directly in front of his bodyguard, his voice barely above a whisper. “What about Zyros? What about the Goddess of the Hunt? Why doesn’t she have a major shrine or temple dedicated to her?”
Adrian shrugged. “No clue.” He glanced about the square. “Maybe she’s got one of the minor shrines along one of the streets, but she’s not recognized as one of the major gods.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. She’s locked in a godstone,” he hissed. “She’s threatening all of Thia. She can’t be lumped with the God of Luck and the Patron Goddess of Kittens.”
Kaes cackled so loud that Caelan winced. He was half-convinced that Adrian could hear the God of Storms, but the bodyguard continued to watch the other people still milling about the tree.
Serves her right. She’s probably got a crumbling shrine next to the God of Toenail Clippings. The old god laughed.
More likely, she’s sharing a lovely temple with the Goddess of Sharp and Pointy Objects, Caris countered, which helped to quell Kaes’s amusement.
Caelan rubbed his eyes with one hand, some part of him silently praying that these weren’t real minor gods who existed or had existed at one time.
“Look, there’s a visitor’s kiosk,” Adrian announced suddenly. “They probably have a map listing all the various shrines for the tourists.”
“Grab a map,” Caelan ordered. His bodyguard stared at him for a second with an expression of intense indecision, but he finally jogged off to the kiosk he’d pointed out. Caelan, however, didn’t miss the fact that Adrian glanced over his shoulder several times as if he expected his king to sneak off and create mischief the second his back was turned. He had a feeling he had a combination of Eno and Drayce to thank for that lack of trust. Eno probably left him fearing for his life if anything happened to Caelan. And Drayce…fuck, Drayce just had to be Drayce, and that left an impression on a person.
He watched Adrian for a minute and then turned his attention to the rest of the square. It was an amazing place with temples, shrines, and churches of all shapes and sizes. Some of the places seemed bleak and serious where others were colorful and full of a sense of whimsy.
Had there been this many gods and goddesses in the world at one time? He’d been raised to believe there was one goddess left—Tula—and all the other gods were dead. But that was wrong.
If there had been minor gods roaming Thia, what had happened to them?
Do you really need to ask?
To his surprise, it was Caris with the grim question. But the implication was clear. The minor gods were gone because of the Goddess of the Hunt. There had been no mention of other gods falling to Zyros, but this wasn’t a group to be overly concerned about anyone else outside of themselves.
But if she’d destroyed minor gods, how was he supposed to stop her?
With all of our assistance, Tula murmured.
Which is why you’ve got to get the God of Wisdom to help you, Kaes added.
And exactly where do I find the godstone so I can have a conversation with the God of Wisdom? he mentally snapped.
Silence.
Helpful. So fucking helpful.
But then, he had a feeling that the God of Wisdom knew he was there with all the other gods and he wasn’t exactly pleased about it. Ever since the explosion of butterflies out of the tree, the tingle in the air had become sharper, almost cutting. He pulled a little more on Tula’s gift, using it as a shield against the painful touch of the god’s power. It made sense. Another god, another grudge.
It was probably best that he wasn’t marching straight up to the godstone. Some reconnaissance and research might be helpful before presenting himself to the god. Missteps with the Dead God had left him short on time. What would he lose if he pissed off the God of Wisdom? He shuddered at the thought.
Thankfully, Adrian returned with a suitable distraction.
“Bad news,” his bodyguard announced the second he was at Caelan’s side again. “There’s a curfew, and it kicks in soon. We’re gonna need to get off the street unless we want to catch the attention of the city watch.”
Caelan swore under his breath. He’d been hoping for the chance to wander about after night fell, slip among the shadows and escape the notice of so many potentially prying eyes, but they couldn’t risk getting in trouble with the Ilon police. Or New Rosanthe soldiers. He’d almost forgotten that Drayce said that the government district had already fallen into Empire hands. That probably meant that New Rosanthe soldiers were roaming the area as well. The Empire had to suspect that he was here and would be actively searching for him.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. “We need to find an inn or a hotel. Someplace safe for the night. Also share that news with Drayce and the others. They need to find cover as well. If we can’t meet up with them tonight, we can—”
“Adam? Holy shit! Is that really you?” A loud voice cut through their conversation and Adrian groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Adam?” Caelan repeated, but Adrian didn’t get the chance to answer.
A large man slung his arm around Adrian’s shoulders, pulling him in close. He was easily four inches taller than his bodyguard and outweighed him by a good fifty pounds. Nearly all of it muscle. His skin had a darker, swarthy quality to it and a black beard lined his hard jaw. But all his potential scariness was shoved aside by his blinding, wide grin and the laughter in his stunning blue eyes.
“I was right. Freaking Adam! I thought you said you were never coming to Brightspire again!” the stranger laughed, pulling his somewhat flailing bodyguard into a half hug, half headlock.
