“And?”
“Isn’t it interesting how the world demands balance—thatFatedemands it. Earth and Air. Water and Fire. Creation and Destruction. Pain and Pleasure. Yet you’re the God of Truths, and Solace is the Goddess of . . . what did they call her? Visions and Memories.”
A slow smile spread across Kaos’ face. “It does seem strange, doesn’t it.”
I was having a hard time following their conversation, only understanding a few threads here and there. It sounded as if they were speaking in a language only they understood—two immortal beings revealing centuries of buried secrets.
“You cannot tell a lie, can you?” Fay asked, cocking her head to the side.
Kaos shook his head once.
“I cannot.”
“And you were always paired with a Keeper, yes? Your Truthsayers were always matched with a Keeper. One to receive visions, the other to discern the truth from them.”
“That is true.”
Fay ran her hand over the wall once more, falling silent as she gathered her thoughts. She pushed a wayward curl behind her ear, her dark tattoos glimmering in the firelight.
“Tell me, Kaos, is your sister the Goddess of Visions and Memories? Or is she the Goddess of Lies?” Fay finally asked, her voice a confident, albeit quiet, whisper.
Life seemed to still in that small cavern. My gaze pinged from one immortal to the other as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.
Kaos’ face exploded into a wide grin. “You’re the first to ask me that question in nearly three centuries, RuneMaster.”
“Answer the question, Kaos.” Fay’s voice was hard, her hands balled into white-knuckled fists.
“You tell me. What is my sister the goddess of?”
Fay answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“The Goddess of Lies.”
“Odd, isn’t it?” Kaos asked, suddenly pacing. “That the truth is shrouded in darkness”—he gestured to his appearance—“that the mortals are taught to fear chaos? That my descendants were massacred without compunction centuries ago in an attempt to hide the truth? Yet the lies are allowed to live in the light. Given positions at court, ears of the most powerful.”
My gut fell into my feet. The longer he talked, the more I finally started to realize how deep Solace’s deception went.
“She was playing the long game,” I finally added to the conversation, both Fay and Kaos turning to look at me. Fay’s hazel eyes sparkled with an intelligence and curiosity that belied her heritage, while Kaos’ fathomless black irises pulsated with an urgency that had the hairs on my arms standing on end.
“That’s why you had Alois kill everyone here,” Fay mused, drawing the attention of the god back to her.
“Yes,” he responded curtly.
“That doesn’t absolve you of their deaths. It doesn’t make it right,” I clipped venomously.
“No, godling, it doesn’t.”
“How much of what I saw can I trust?” Fay interrupted suddenly. Kaos sighed, tipping his face back toward the ceiling.
“Nothing. Not unless you had a Truthsayer to weed through everything that you saw,” he admitted.
“Ironic that the God of Truths is here with us then, isn’t it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Kaos petulantly.
He barked another surprising laugh. “The two of you are a formidable pair. Fate chose well.” I opened my mouth, but Kaos held up a hand to ward off my comment. “I am not here to tell you the truth of the history of the world, Rune Master.”
Fay frowned as the crystal around her neck pulsated slightly. Kaos swore before pointing a finger at the object.
“Ask me what that is,” he spat, his voice strained and hurried. “Then ask me why I’m here.”
