“They will all rage,” I said softly.
Reece nodded. “Yes. I’ve felt their fury at being trapped for my entire existence. Not just their fury, but also the way they see no reason or logic. Nothing will stop them from consuming it all.”
His words hung heavy in the tent, and even though Shadow’s unhappy expression hadn’t lifted, he didn’t protest Mera’s presence here again.
We all understood what Reece was saying: there was no safe place. Not when it came to ancient gods that could walk all the worlds.
Our only shot was to work together and prevent this from even beginning.
For in this case, the beginning could very well be the end.
14
The men left after this, accompanying Reece to officially meet the princeps and hopefully do some preliminary sleuthing. Mera uncharacteristically didn’t argue with Shadow’s request to stay in the tent and get some rest. I stayed too since I’d mostly only come on this journey to keep her alive.
“You don’t usually do as you’re told,” I said, moving onto a pillow closer to her. She’d lain back at this point, her feet propped up as she crossed her hands over her stomach.
“Shadow has already given as much as he’s capable of,” she said with a sad half-smile. “I acknowledge the limits of my mate, and in this case, it wasn’t worth fighting him when this visit is about shaking hands and talking politics. Better that he can focus on that and not worry about me, especially when they’re hoping to flush out who we should be focusing our suspicions on.”
“Once the actual gathering gets underway, we’ll be out of this tent for most of the moon cycles,” I said. “Best to rest now.”
Mera nodded as she reached down to grab the sand-woven glass Shadow had left for her, filled with the slightly murky water of these lands. She took a drink, her nose wrinkling. “It has a weird taste but also reminds me of something,” she said before taking another sip.
“To my knowledge, it’s a lot like coconut water with extra minerals and electrolytes.”
She sipped again, nodding a few times. “Yes. That’s exactly what it reminds me of.” After her next drink, her eyes met mine over the rim of her glass. “Now that the guys are gone, are we going to talk about what happened in the library?”
I’d wondered how long it would take before she brought up that incident.
“Reece and I have a very long history, you know that,” I said with a sigh. “Len told me that the reason I’d been outcast from more than just Reece’s life was because that bastard forced them all to shun me. I just… Dammit, Meers. There’s just too much betrayal and anger on both sides.”
Her eyes widened, brow furrowing as she mulled this over before shaking her head. “He can be such a bastard at times. Why can’t he just get the hell over his grudge? You’ve told me bits and pieces, so I understand why he was initially upset. But it’s been centuries. I’m sure you’ve more than made up for whatever happened.”
“He doesn’t see it that way,” I murmured, staring toward the wall of the tent.
“Angel,” she said softly, and I once again gave her my focus. “I’m your best friend and bonded family. I think it’s time you tell me all the shit that went down between you two. Last time you just said family died and you bailed on a fight when you should have stayed, but I know there’s more to it.”
As much as I hated to relive the past, there was no way to avoid it while we were back here. Maybe it was time for Mera to know everything. “Reece and I met when we were both young,” I said with a long exhale, “when the worlds were much younger as well. Our families were old friends, powerful beings, and we all enjoyed our friendship for many decades before our parents were killed in the same battle.” I had to swallow a few times to find my next words. “After that, all we had was each other and one sibling each.”
The burn in my chest was rising, bringing with it the despair I’d tried so hard to suppress.
“Many years after our parent’s deaths, there was a war in the Delfora—the last time someone tried to raise the ancient gods.” I didn’t realize my hands were shaking until she reached out and took one, holding it tightly. Her firm pressure helped me keep my shit together.
“My sister and I came to fight, along with many others from Honor Meadows. This was an end-of-world battle, not my first and obviously not my last, but maybe the one that stuck with me the most.”
“Sister?” Mera breathed, her eyes shiny.
“She died.” Those two words stabbed into me. “She died in my arms, and I was alone. My family line all but wiped out.”
Mera’s eyes were wide and shiny as she pressed her free hand to her chest. “It’s a vastly different world, right? When you realize you’re walking it truly alone for the first time.”
Young or not, she’d just hit the nail on the head. “Yes. It changed everything. Part of me died that day on the battlefield too—at the very moment my sister closed her eyes and never opened them again.”
“Surely Reece could understand why you left after that!” Mera demanded, pushing her sadness aside in favor of annoyance.
“You have to understand,” I told her, “that when my sister died, I inherited the mantle of my family’s power. I had so much under my control that there was a possibility I could have ended it all where we stood. Reece asked me to stay, to fight with him, and I fled. His brother was injured some days later, and I heard that he was never the same until he died a few years after the battle. So, yeah, the battle was won, but not without many losses first.”
“Angel,” Mera breathed. “You were broken and grieving. I know that within your power you feel your family, so using it all then would have been like losing them again.”
