“Gods,” Siret suggested with a wry smile. “Mostly we have walked among the mortals as one of them. Never as gods.”
I snorted. “Uh, you assholes were worshipped at Blesswood. Even before they knew you were gods.”
It was one of the first things I remembered hearing about the Abcurses, that they were the closest thing to gods Minatsol had ever seen. The sols hadn’t realised just how close until that last fight in the arena. When we reached the white, overachiever council chambers of a building, we found Cyrus and Emmy stationed on the highest peak of the hill, standing between the chambers and the guarded gate that led to Blesswood.
Emmy let out a small cry when she saw us, and Cyrus swung in her direction, only relaxing when he realised what she’d seen. We hurried to join them, and I hugged my sister hard. “Everything okay here?” I asked.
She nodded. “We’re working on ferrying everyone through to Blesswood, but it’s slow going because the transports are not used to taking so many at one time. We’re getting there though.”
The gate was wide open, although guards were still on either side keeping the sols and dwellers in line. “You had no issue with getting them to believe you?” Coen asked Cyrus.
He shook his head, sharp eyes moving across the crowds around us. “None. The sols are trained to obey gods, and word has spread very quickly.”
“Plus they’re all more than a little excited to be going to Blesswood,” Emmy said drily. “I’m not sure they even care that they might die when they get there.”
We stayed with them while the line moved slowly, and for the most part the sols behaved themselves. Only on a few occasions did we have to reprimand them for treating dwellers badly—shoving them to the side so they could get through first mostly—and after that the rest kept their hands to themselves.
When the guards on the main gate signalled something to Cyrus, he held up a hand and the lines stopped moving. “Transports are full again,” he said, projecting his voice loudly. “Don’t move.”
Emmy grumbled, before shouting over the top of him. “He doesn’t mean that literally. You can still shift on the spot, and the line should start moving again shortly.”
She shook her head at me. “You should have seen them the first time he ordered them to ‘not move a muscle.’ Some of them passed out from holding their breath.”
And the sols thought dwellers were just here to obey.
While we waited, I stared around the area, memories flooding back to me. I’d almost burned this building down once. Speaking of …
“Do you know if Evie is still at the healer?” I asked Emmy.
She shook her head. “She’s actually inside at the moment, coordinating the food and supply carts that are heading to Blesswood as well.”
I blinked at her. “But … her burns.”
Emmy smiled at me. “Come on, I’ll show you,” she said, before turning to Cyrus. “We’ll be right back. Don’t scare the sols and dwellers while I’m gone.”
He winked at her, the slightest of smiles curving up the corners of his lips. It wasn’t a smile I trusted, but Emmy just shook her head before reaching out to link our arms together. Siret, Yael, and Rome joined us, following close behind. Coen and Aros stayed with Cyrus.
Inside it was a lot cooler and quieter. “This building was evacuated first,” Emmy explained, leading us through the main chamber before we entered a long hall. “The important members of Soldel were first on the barge.”
I raised an eyebrow at her tone, and she chuckled. “I made sure they got on the barge, leaving the train for the dwellers that served here.”
I had to chuckle at this. Emmy always won, even if the sols didn’t think so at the time.
Siret wrapped a hand around the back of my neck then, his strong fingers digging into the muscles, working out some of the tension I’d been carrying since our cart ride. I managed not to groan, even though it felt so damn good. My eyes did flutter shut at one point though, opening again when I realised we’d entered a new room.
The kitchen here was huge, at least as big as the main one back in Blesswood, and unlike the rest of the council chambers there were still plenty of sols and dwellers scurrying about.
“Emmy!” A bushy-haired chick rushed over to her. “You must have sensed I needed your help. One of the sols is in the large cooling box, and he is refusing to hand over the last of the food.”
She shifted her head then and I gasped, instantly wishing I could take it back. Evie swung in my direction and her jaw dropped.
“Willa?” she asked, blinking a few times. “When did you get here?” She examined me a little closer, just as I was doing to her, and then she grinned. “And you’re a god too. Well, at least they’re starting to get some awesome into their ranks.”
I swallowed hard, unable to look away from the ropy scar tissue that ran down one side of her face. Her lips pulled on that side, and her eye wasn’t as wide as it had been before. More burn marks extended down into the top of her open collar.
“I am so sorry, Evie,” I choked out. “My loss of control caused this.”
She lifted a hand and pressed it to her scarred cheek, like she’d forgotten it was even there. “Oh, the burns. Yeah, it’s not your fault.”
