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“If the scholars of Ilon don’t recognize the Goddess of the Hunt, how do they think the Gods War started?” Caelan demanded, trying to keep his voice at normal levels.
“I’m not sure. It’s not an area that I’ve spent a lot of time studying.” Nina paused, her dark-brown eyes wide behind her glasses as she leaned close to him and said, “This is ancient history and mythology that we’re talking about. Who really spends a lot of time studying that unless you’re some university professor?”
Caelan sucked in a calming breath and straightened. Okay, she had a good point. He’d been so stuck up to his eyeballs with the gods and their troubles that he forgot that most people had a normal life that included a job, bills, and their favorite television program. Most people weren’t worried about what the gods were getting up to several centuries ago.
Shoving a hand into his hair, Caelan shoved some purple strands back from in front of his eyes. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. I need to know what’s going on here, and that starts with the distant past.”
If Nina thought there was anything strange about his comment, she wisely kept it to herself and off her face. She gave him a small smile and a nod. “We’ll head to the library from here and I’ll send a message along to our friends. They can meet us.”
“Excellent. We—”
“Where are you off to in such a hurry, Your Majesty?” a voice that was like metal spikes being shoved into his ears called.
Caelan instinctively grabbed Nina’s wrist and pulled her behind him as his eyes lifted to scan the area. They’d just crossed into the center square that held the shrine to the Goddess of Life. People were scattered about in casual groups, but it still took him no time to locate Safa.
She strolled closer, wearing the black-and-gold uniform of a New Rosanthe officer. Behind her were another dozen New Rosanthe soldiers with their weapons drawn and pointed at them.
Adrian immediately took a step forward to place his body between his king and the threat. A chill ran through Caelan as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. Adrian had never faced Safa, had no clue as to the kind of horrors she was capable of. It didn’t help that Adrian had nothing more than a knife and a handgun on him. Considering the problems Erya citizens were having in Brightspire, none of them wanted to get caught walking around heavily armed, but it now meant that Adrian was vastly outgunned.
Caelan, on the other hand, had a few other tricks at the tips of his fingers. Releasing Nina, Caelan moved up with Adrian and directed a brief glare in the direction of his bodyguard. “Get our new friend to safety. I’ll catch up.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Adrian stubbornly argued.
“She’s bonded to the goddess,” he growled through clenched teeth. At least Adrian had the good sense to look a bit more hesitant, his eyes widening as he swallowed hard.
“Isn’t he a good little bodyguard?” Safa taunted.
Caelan narrowed his eyes on the woman. She didn’t appear as if she’d changed much in the month that he hadn’t seen her. Her features seemed sharper, leaner, as if the power of the goddess was sucking up her vitality, leaving her a more ravenous version of herself.
While Adrian might not be willing to listen to him, Caelan was relieved to find that the gods bonded to him had perked up and were paying attention to the creature facing them.
That’s the one Zyros chose? Caris gave a delicate sniff. Our Chosen One is much better.
Of course he is. Caelan is of royal blood. The Taloses have served me for centuries, Tula countered.
Not to mention that he’s part dragon as well, Caris added crisply.
Wonderful. They were arguing about his pedigree rather than focusing on the problem at hand.
Like the gods would allow some nobody to fight for them, Nyx replied with a snicker in his voice. Oh yes, Caelan knew that dig was just for him.
Can we do this without hurting the innocent people? Caelan inquired, trying to get the gods to focus on something important.
Boring, Kaes complained, helpful as always.
“Still not leaving,” Adrian grumbled under this breath.
“Don’t start anything,” Caelan whispered. They couldn’t be the ones who fired the first shot. He didn’t know what the deal was with New Rosanthe and Ilon, but if they had formed an alliance, he couldn’t make the first move that widened the rift between Erya and Ilon. “What do you want, Safa?” Caelan shouted across the square.
“You mean other than revenge, annihilation of the gods, and the utter destruction of all the cities of Thia?” She paused and shrugged. “Not much, really.” Her smile widened, and Caelan swore her fangs looked like they’d grown longer and sharper. “But those are all long-term goals. I’m happy to begin with your death and work from there.”
“Will the new alliance with Ilon hold if you attempt to kill the King of Erya?” Caelan tapped into the power from the gods, trying to unconsciously sort through them and prepare them so that they were ready in an instant. He had no idea what she was going to throw at them first.
Energy snapped along his nerve endings, leaving him clenching his teeth against the pain of thousands of sharp pinpricks throughout his entire body. The surge was gnawing on bones and twisting up muscles. No matter how hard he tried to keep it all contained, there was still power leakage. Dark clouds were rolling across the sky, blotting out the sun, while a chill wind had picked up, rustling the leaves of Tula’s massive tree. The God of Storms was more than ready to create some chaos.
Safa cackled and shook her head. “What the fuck do I care what Ilon wants? Or Zastrad? Or even those damn dragons?” She extended one talon-tipped hand and pointed at him. “When this is over, you will bow to the goddess, you will bow to me, or you will be dead.” She dropped her hand back to her side and smirked. “Kill them.”
Before the soldiers could pull the triggers on their guns, Caelan had his protective shield up around himself, Adrian, and Nina, protecting them from the spray of bullets.
