“Your Goddess foretold that you'd all be needed to end this war,” Death snapped. “That will take even longer than Ember mastering Death Magic. Be grateful I'm offering another option.”
“Another option,” I whispered in revelation. “I don't have to empower any more Wraith Lords!”
“Whoa now,” Rath said. “We don't know that this will work.”
“It's best to have multiple plans,” Xae added.
“I can't believe you guys!” I snarled, reaching another breaking point that I hadn't known I was approaching. “You don't want me to take more lovers any more than I do. But Death has just offered a solution, and you don't want to take it!”
“Of course, we want to—”
I shouted wordlessly, cutting off Rath, and faded away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I did this a lot. Just faded away from fights before they got too bad. I used to think it was cowardly. Running away. But now, I was starting to think it was smart. With the mood I was in, I might have said something terrible that none of them deserved, and I would have regretted it later. Better to just leave. Go somewhere to cool down.
I went back to the citadel and made sure I was seen as I left the keep and headed for the garden. I wasn't hiding from my lovers, just getting some space. Then I stopped at the garden gate.
I'd done this before too—went to the garden to calm down. That's where I'd met Jathalion. I started going to the roof for a while, but then he invaded that space too. If I ran into him now, it would be me getting into a fistfight with him instead of Taroc. Except I'd use magic against him. And that's kind of against the rules. No magic in training and I assumed that went for fights among Wraith Lords too.
“Ugh,” I turned around and headed back across the courtyard.
“Ember?” Caleb called.
I looked over to see crates of tools, nails, gloves, and more. Caleb was with a couple of Wraith Lords, looking over the stuff. He left them to come over to me.
“Is that going to Fress?” I asked.
“Yes. I'm helping to coordinate the next delivery,” Caleb said. “We've got a group there now taking down trees and shaping the lumber. We should be ready to start building soon. We've decided to work with the old foundations. Nothing wrong with the stone.”
“Smart.” I nodded.
“If you aren't busy, maybe you could help us take some stuff over? They've got an arrival spot to make it safer for fading since there will be so much back and forth. It's the old church.”
“The church?” I chuckled.
“What?”
“No, it's just that I think I've only been in it once. I was never big into religion, and yet, I've been blessed by the Goddess.”
“I don't think faith is the best indicator of a man's character,” Caleb said. “She saw the good in you, even if you didn't see it in her.”
The breath puffed out of me, and I just stared at Caleb.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“I never really saw you either, Caleb.”
Caleb blushed and brushed his shaggy, dirty-blond hair back. Blue eyes. He had blue eyes. Was this where my fascination for them had started? Caleb. I had once fantasized about having more of him than just a few secret rendezvous a week. Now that I had three lovers, I knew he wasn't what I wanted. But he had once been. And I had never known him. Funny how attraction works.
Before he could say anything, I said, “I'd be happy to help.” I smacked his shoulder and went to the crates. Pavis and Loren were the Lords organizing the boxes. I asked Pavis, “Which ones need to go next?”
“Uh.” Pavis looked at something behind me. “Maybe you should hold off on that, Ember.”
I turned to see my men walking out of the keep. Waving at them, I said, “I'm going to help take some stuff to Fress. I'll see you later.”
They stopped, looked at each other, then nodded. I let out a breath of relief and lifted a brow at Pavis.
