Mikais turns his head and stares blankly at me for a moment, seemingly noticing my presence for the first time. I push past him, bored of waiting for an answer from the self-centered god. The closer we get to war, the less he seems to care about how anyone else but himself fares.
I shut the door behind me loudly, a sigh of relief slipping past my lips when the gods don’t follow.
“Finally,” Nina sighs. “Do you have it, Selene?”
The Goddess of Flame leans over the table, her arms bracketed atop a map of the palace. Her eyes burn with the promise of fire as she glares at me from across the room.
She sent me to the library hours ago to retrieve a book—an old tome with tales and sketches of Creation. No one knows how the divine legends of the supreme being’s creation of the human realms will aid us in overthrowing the God King, but when the Goddess of Truth saw it in a vision, my sister ordered me to fetch it.
“Where’s the book?” my sister asks again.
“I couldn’t find it,” I lie. The title flashes in my mind—the gold foil lettering on the worn brown leather. I had just pulled the book from the shelf when I felt Drayen’s presence.
Taura cuts her eyes to me, the irises shifting hues as she narrows them. The corner of her lip tilts up in a smile confirming my suspicion. She knows exactly what I found in the library—and that’s why she sent me there in the first place.
“Do I have to do everything myself?” Nina snaps, pushing off the table. “Mikais goes for a walk. You can’t find a simple book. Meanwhile, I’m planning an entire fucking battle.” She curses forcefully under her breath as she storms past me in a rush. “Just stay here, Light. I’ll give you your orders when I return.”
The door slams shut behind her.
“She’ll be back in twelve minutes.” The Goddess of Truth steps beside me, her shoulder brushing mine.
“I thought your power wasn’t precise?” I bump her playfully on the shoulder.
She returns the nudge with a chuckle. “It’s not. I just know her.”
“Taura.” I turn to face my oldest friend and watch her mouth pinch into a tight line at my tone. “I know I told you that I wouldn’t ask about your vision, but?—”
“Things have changed,” she interrupts. “And you want to know how much of this I foresaw?”
I nod and she motions for me to sit. We each take one of the gray velvet wingback chairs that face the fireplace. Alabaster wolves flank the fire that roars within, their diamond eyes glimmering in the flames.
My hand drops instinctively to my lap, my finger grazing the place where Death’s child secretly grows. “Start at the beginning. What did you see at the bestowing?”
Taura reaches across the space that separates us and takes my hand in hers. Emotions war on her expression.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.” I squeeze her hand, urging her to continue.
“I saw you in another realm with the Prince of the Gods on your hip.” Of all the things I expected Truth to say, that was not on the list. Surely she’s mistaken. Surely she saw the babe in my belly instead.
“You’re sure it was the prince?” I ask, skeptically.
“Black hair. Silver eyes,” Taura confirms. There’s no denying the child-god in question is Prince Calaedon—the mirror image of Arcasia.
My head spins trying to make sense of her truth. Why would I have the prince in a mortal realm? “Do I kidnap him?”
“I can’t be sure. All I know is the prince is with you as a child. The next vision I have of him isn’t until he’s older.” Blue shifts to violet as Taura calls upon her power to reveal more of the truth.
“It’s just snippets,” she laments. “On a battlefield in tears, in a dungeon covered in blood, and…and…in Nobus’ throne room crowned in shadows.” The goddess’ eyes return to normal, the hint of fear still lingering on her features.
She wouldn’t have told Drayven that I was with the Prince without a valid reason. The rest of her vision—the prince as a man with Death’s magic— that’s public knowledge. Drayven wouldn’t make a bargain to keep me from knowing what he openly declared in front of the entire pantheon. He wouldn’t have handed over his realm for that. There must be something else I’m missing— some reason that he cares about what happens next.
“What else did you tell Death, Taura?”
“Selene.” She shakes her head in dismissal, turning my confusion into intrigue.
“I know it’s about me. Don’t I deserve to know?”
“Of course you do.” The Goddess of Truth shakes her head again as she reluctantly presses on. “I saw you in the mortal realm. You were…”
