I shut myself into the small bathroom and took a sip of the coffee. It was earthy and strong but sweet and milky. It looked like C’ael took his coffee just the way I liked it.
I still wasn’t entirely sure what he was, but I couldn’t deny that he made me feel safe in this strange new place. And he made good coffee. I took another sip and then stared at my bedhead in the mirror.
If Blue was here, he’d have plenty to say about it. He was probably worried sick about me. But he was safe, and that’s all that mattered. He’d understand why I’d given myself up, and when I found my way back to him, hopefully it would be with a better understanding of the true history of this world.
The revenants were kept deepin the mountain in a place they called the stables. It was a chamber lined with stone cells, bars so thick I wouldn’t be able to wrap my hand the whole way around one. The creatures had their own access in and out of the camp and were taken care of by djinn called keepers. We were met by a woman named Sassa, a tall, slender djinn with winged eyebrows and a defiant expression.
“Come to stare at the beasts?” she asked with a wry smile. “The oath-breakers are well taken care of. Fed and watered and never mistreated.”
I stood in the aisle in the center of the stables. There were only a few lanterns hanging above us, enough to light up the aisle, but the cells themselves were left wreathed in shadow.
“They prefer the dark,” Sassa said. “They sleep most of the day, probably dreaming of when they were gods.”
“Can they be…turned back?”
She shrugged. “No idea. But they can be tamed. Given some kind of peace…purpose.”
“To attack and kill people?”
She shot me a sharp gaze. “To seek revenge on those that caused this to happen. I assume you’re here so you can understand what your people have done, am I correct? I can only assume that’s why Iblees asked for you to see the stables?”
I had no idea why he’d wanted me to see them, but now that I had, I wanted to know more. To understand. Maybe that was what Iblees had hoped would happen.
I nodded. “Yes. I wasn’t born in this world, but I’m here now, primed for a position of power. I want to know more.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I suppose that’s something. These gods became revenants because of the dishonorable actions of the few that signed a peace treaty on behalf ofallAsura and Danava. Those few were the first to turn once the treaty was broken. They then infected many more. And the rest of the Asura now hide in the sky to avoid a curse that they unleashed with their betrayal and duplicity.”
“Did they know they’d be cursed if they broke the treaty?”
“I highly doubt it,” Sassa said. “The treaty was drawn up by the deva; the curse was probably woven into the terms by those gods.”
“Do you think they suspected the Asura would betray the djinn?”
Sassa shrugged. “I don’t know, but it certainly seems so.”
I approached the nearest cell, peering into the gloom.
A hulking shadow lunged at the bars, teeth barred, maw wide and snapping.
I reared back, bumping into C’ael. “Fuck!”
His hands landed on my hips, a chuckle reverberating across my back. “You’re safe, Leela. They can’t get to you.”
Two revenants skulked out of the shadows to join the snarling one, flanking it.
“Hush,” Sassa, the keeper, said, stepping forward. “Alliani, oath-breaker, you are safe. You are seen.”
The revenant’s growl tapered off, and it backed away, its body relaxing as it melted into the gloom of its cell once more. Its companions followed.
“Strange,” Sassa said, her arched brows pinching in a delicate frown. “They don’t usually get so aggravated around demigods, not unless instructed to attack by Craven.”
“She’s not just a demigod, though, is she?” a gruff voice said from behind us. “This is a royal blood. A deva blood.”
A man with a dark, bushy beard and angry eyes joined us. His long hair was braided down his back, and his dark brown skin shimmered with motes of gold where the lamplight touched it.
“General.” Sassa inclined her head. “I was instructed to show our guest the stables.”
“I know.” He looked me over. “So this is the Asura queen-to-be.” Was that a hint of disdain in his tone? “Come to see the evidence of deceit and dishonor?”
