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He pulled his arms behind him, entwining his fingers behind his head and stretching back. “What are the rules? If you steal something, do you go to the underworld, or is it only for murderers? Where’s the scale?”
“The gods know what is in our hearts,” Dora explained. “They measure the weight of good and bad in our souls when we die.”
Maddox interjected. “Supposedly.”
“Don’t mind him,” she said. “Maddox has always been cynical.”
Maddox shook his head, with pinched eyebrows and an amused smirk. “I prefer the term logical.”
Viktor exhaled slowly. “So this Estia is supposedly all good?”
Dora nodded. “That’s right.”
I didn’t agree. No one was perfect. Even a goddess. According to legend, the gods—well, the children of Estia and Lucius—were locked away in prison realms. “That’s not entirely true.”
All eyes shifted to look at me.
“She didn’t try to intervene when her children were locked away. I mean, that’s pretty terrible mothering if you ask me.”
“Language!” Dora said, berating me, although I was sure some of her anger related to the truth in my statement. Dora was more religious than anyone I’d met.
Viktor suppressed a smile but nodded in my direction.
Maddox finished his tea. “Elle’s right. That’s not very maternal for the goddess of love.”
Dora clenched her jaw. “It’s not her fault her children turned out to be monsters. They spent too much time in this world and allowed greed, desire, and anger to corrupt them. She’s done a service to humanity by not allowing them out. They’re a danger to us.”
“Allegedly,” Maddox said again, earning a smirk from Edmund, who’d so far managed to keep out of it.
“The tea is getting cold.” Dora hurried, grabbing the teapot from between us with more force than needed. “I’ll make a new pot.”
Viktor stood. “I’m actually going to head out and explore, but I really appreciate the effort, Dora. It was a lovely spread.”
Her temper faltered, and a hint of a smile crossed her lips. “Take an umbrella if you’re going out, and wear a jacket. You’ll catch your death out there.”
“He’s a grown man,” Edmund said.
“He’s new here.” She placed a hand on her hip. “I’m sure the weather in Salvius wasn’t like this.” She turned back toward Viktor. “I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”
“Right. Thanks,” Viktor replied, tight-lipped.
Salvius took up almost half of the land both of our territories shared, so the weather was just as unpredictable as here, depending on where in Salvius one resided.
“Magic quill us if you need anything,” I said.
His gaze climbed back to meet mine. “Should I know what that is?”
“Ah, right. One of us will show you when you get back. It’s a spell you can use to send messages to another person. You need to already have established a magical link with whoever can send you them. Like Nai and I, we did a joining spell and can send messages to each other anytime. Same as any of us in the coven.”
Maddox interjected. “Except for Alma. She can use it to anyone.”
“Interesting.” He paused at the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Dora pointed at the door. “There’s my umbrella in the stand. You can use it.”
He eyed the yellow polka-dot umbrella, then from her to me. Maddox and I curled our lips back between our teeth, but as soon as we looked at each other, laughter erupted.
Dora rolled her eyes, and Edmund pressed his lips together, trying not to join in. Viktor relented, grabbing the yellow umbrella, and headed out into the storm. I wasn’t sure why he’d chosen now to explore, and to go alone, but I figured he probably wanted some time alone. I remembered when I’d first arrived and how disjointed everything felt. He’d done better than I had, sliding into his new life with suspicious ease, but he didn’t seem the type to wear his emotions out loud. Besides, he probably felt nervous under his calm exterior. Tomorrow was going to be the first day Viktor would have to use his magic, and if he was anything like I was, it would most likely go disastrously.
