“Commander.”
Daris looked up to see Aslan, one of the assassins Hermes liked to keep close to him, his dark face half hidden beneath the black mask covering the lower half of his face. His dark brown eyes were barely visible beneath his thick black brows. A large group of soldiers followed in his wake. He wheeled his mount around until he walked his horse at Daris’s side.
“Scouts came back with word of the Heylisian army heading toward Colinas. And another report from the city, lord. Lady Luca is there with Captain Soros and they are outnumbered. Lord Hermes wants you to take a hundred men and ride out quickly to their aid, as our vanguard.”
Daris nodded and Aslan pulled away, galloping back to his place at Hermes’s side.
“It seems the emperor is also set on finding Terena,” Daris called out, a hard edge to his voice as he looked over his men. “We ride to defend her. Hermes and his men will follow, but we are the only thing stopping our friends from slaughter.”
Daris unsheathed his sword, stabbing it into the air as he cried out. “Honor in life! Glory in death!”
The others roared. Daris leaned over his stallion and took off.
LETHE MONASTERY, RAVOS
Croak stumbled out of bed, his head throbbing. The world swam as he held his arms out to steady himself. The pounding in his head was fucking unbearable.
“Croak!”
Sluggishly, Croak turned to the door, his lips drawn down. “Hello?”
The door banged. Croak groaned, the sound splitting his head open.
“Stop that,” he mumbled as he took a slow step toward the door. If he didn’t get there fast enough, he worried Orry might make that ungodsly racket again, and this time Croak wasn’t certain he’d hold in whatever was still left in his belly.
Unfortunately, Orry slammed his hand into the door three more times. By the time Croak reached it and pulled it open to glare at his friend, he’d soiled the front of his already filthy tunic.
“How the fuck are you still asleep?” Orry squeaked in an annoyingly high voice. Gods, could he not see the pain he was inflicting?
“Are not all sane people asleep at this hour?”
“No, Croak,” Orry snorted. “Everyone’s awake and about to sit for the noon meal. And guess what? Hermes has arrived.”
Croak’s heart skipped a beat and he swallowed against the bile rising in his throat. “What? Hermes? Here?”
“Aye, so get your ass ready, and—no, never mind that. You need a bath and a shave because you are disgusting. But best you make yourself as presentable as you can and try to stay out of Hermes’s line of… smell.”
Croak bared his teeth at Orry, who stepped back with a hand over his nose.
When Croak finally emerged, he was wearing a clean—well, cleaner—tunic and had done a poor but acceptable job of brushing his hair. The shave would need to wait, but splashing cold water on his face had helped to revive him enough to finish his ablutions as quickly as possible. Hermes was an asshole, but he was still a god. Croak didn’t want to think what he’d do to him if Croak took much longer.
“Ah, if it isn’t the useless appendage Terena calls ‘brother’,” Hermes’s voice boomed when Croak arrived in the refectory.
The tables were set out in rows, with one of them moved to the front of the room facing out. Hermes, of course, sat in the middle, surrounded by his sycophants, the bloodthirsty criminals all leering at Croak. The chatter grated on his frayed nerves and the sudden outbursts of laughter made him wince.
“I would’ve arrived sooner but,” Croak shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck.”
The monks seated at the tables on either side of him gasped as Croak passed them on his way to Hermes’s table.
He spread his arms and shrugged at the god. Croak was paying for last night’s overindulgence, but he’d be damned if he’d let Hermes belittle him in front of everyone. The god could strike him dead, but Croak still had his pride.
Reaching the front of the room, Croak looked around for Sonah. As he searched, his eye landed on Melanos, whose faceresembled dark clouds before a storm. Bethana sat next to him at the table to the left of the abbot.
Croak wondered why they weren’t seated with Hermes.
“Croak.”
Spinning around, Croak’s eyes widened, and he smiled at Sonah, who stopped at his side with a radiant smile.
