“You know what I mean.”
The underlying edge to the god’s words was belied by his grin.
“She looked the same.”
“No… uncontrollable rage? Changes in her appearance? Visions of previous circles?”
Rydon blanched and the god laughed.
“So she knows everything that came before. Good. I’ll speak with her later, of course, but I’m curious. Did she say anything of interest? About any of it? Specifically, does she know how she was tricked into finding the shroud before she reached her majority?”
Rydon shook his head. When Hermes arched an eyebrow at him, Rydon sighed. “She did not mention anything about that, no.”
“But…”
“But,” Rydon glanced at Daris. “She said… Sonah tried to kill her in the first circle. And that Daris tried to kill her in the last circle.”
Hermes turned his head and stared at Daris. “Interesting.”
“Her appearance remains the same,” Rydon added, pulling the god’s attention back to him. “Was it supposed to change?”
“Depends on the god,” Hermes sighed. “We’ll have to catch up later. I have an assault on the city to prepare for.”
Rydon’s thoughts spiraled as he tried and failed to take in everything Hermes was saying. There was an ocean, swirling andturbulent, crashing through his head right now and he had the overwhelming urge to throw his head back and scream at the sky. Instead, he looked over at Daris. The commander’s mouth hung open.
“Why would you assault the city?”
“I need to make an example of them,” Hermes said as if talking to a child. “This is the beginning of a new era, Eudaemon. This is no longer the age of man. I am proof of that. Terena and Sonah are proof of that. Melanos?—”
Rydon’s jaw snapped shut when a large shadow to his left resolved into a scowling visage Rydon knew well. Melanos stopped next to Daris, his enraged countenance fixed on Hermes as the trickster god held out his arm and smiled at the newcomer.
“Melanos,” he said again, turning to pin Rydon in place with a malicious grin. “Is proof of that.”
In the sudden quiet of the clearing, Hermes looked around at the soldiers who’d stopped to listen in.
“They all thought they killed us. When we Olympians left, the demigods and those favored by the gods were hunted and killed. Their families were hunted and killed. But man is arrogant.” Hermes laughed, a maniacal chuckle raising all the hairs on Rydon’s body.
“Mortals cannot kill gods. The gods left behind hid themselves,” Hermes said as he pointed to Melanos. “They’ve lived on the fringes. Hiding their nature. Their gifts. No more. Our time has come. Tonight, we reclaim this realm, and all those who have fought against the gods, railed against the gods, prayed against the gods will learn what their defiance costs.”
Hermes abruptly turned away, leaving them all in stunned silence. Melanos was the first to react, bounding forward, gripping Rydon’s shoulder in a crushing grip that made him wince.
“Where is the goddess? Is she safe?”
Rydon nodded dumbly. Daris, too, came to stand before him, their small huddle the subject of low, murmured conversation from the soldiers nearby. Daris motioned with his head, and all three of them moved away to speak in private.
Following on numb legs, Rydon’s thoughts shifted from everything that had happened to Terena and the others inside the palace. By now, everyone would know Hermes and his army were camped outside their city. Rydon wondered if Terena was already moving forward with their plan.
They stopped walking and Rydon glanced up, realizing they stood in front of the commander’s tent.
“What do they have planned?” Daris asked.
Rydon smoothed down his beard. “Croak is in the dungeons. He and the cleric were found almost as soon as they arrived. Orry is somewhere else. Some college. I don’t recall the name. The prince has a plan to get Croak out, but he needs Ren to distract the emperor at the feast he’s planned. All the guards will be there. If she holds them off long enough, Lerek and Gabriol will sneak down to the dungeon to get him out.”
“How?” Daris snapped. “They’ll still be stuck in the palace?—”
“Lerek has a plan for that as well, although, he wouldn’t elaborate.”
“And Terena was fine with that?”
