“Nina, no. I’m?—”
“Save it, Selene.” Rage burns in her every movement as she rushes towards me on the stone path. “You think you’re clever, don’t you? All this time you were playing me. I saw you on your knees before the God King. You begged to speak with him alone…and you begged so fucking well.” Nina scoffs. “I should have known then, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. That’s why I followed you from his chambers…only to find you withhim.”
“It’s not?—”
“What did you do with Nobus? And what the fuck is going on between you two?” She points from me to Drayven and back again.
My eyes bounce between them as I weigh my response. Which answer is the most likely to further incite her rage? Which sin can I confess first that won’t make them both run away?
Nina doesn’t really care what’s happening with Drayven. Family doesn’t mean much to gods—for Creation’s sake, she didn’t even attend her own father’s funeral—so a betrayal from me shouldn’t hurt any more or less than if it came from any other member of the rebellion.
The flames that hover at the tips of Nina’s fingers are full of fury, but they spark with something far more dangerous. She still believes there’s a chance to escape the fate the God King has decreed.
“Selene.” Drayven grips my chin, turning my face to his. “Yoursister asked you two questions and we are eager to hear your answers to both.”
“I…I…” Words tangle on my tongue as I place my final bet on which to divulge first. A risk, but one I have to take. “I made a bargain with Nobus.”
“You didwhat?!” Their voices are nearly in unison as both gods direct their ire at me.
“I gave him information in exchange for…” I wring my hands in anticipation of their fallout. After a shaky inhale, I breathe out the truth. “A way back home.”
“I don’t understand. What could you possibly give Nobus to convince him to grant that?” The Goddess of Flame steps closer. Anger still burns at the edges of her vision, the deity ready to strike if my answer doesn’t please her.
“Show her,” I say to Drayven. “Show her what we’ve done.”
“Selene,” he says solemnly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” My skin tingles. I cut my eyes to Nina and see her fingers skate over her arms, too. The end of our time here has begun. “There’s nothing she can do to change it now.”
Drayven sighs in clear disagreement, not feeling the tell-tale sign of Nobus’ impending exile. The Dark God’s shadows fall away, exposing the sleeping form of the Prince of the Gods.
Nina gasps, the flames on her fingers extinguishing as she reaches out for the hovering young god.
“You kidnapped the prince?” she asks, pride overtaking her face.
“Not exactly.”
Nina holds up a hand, halting me as my correction falls on deaf ears. “Holy Creation. You may have just saved us, Selene. Nobus will never exile us if?—”
“He will,” Drayven stops her. “He will exile all of you, alongside the prince and his mother.”
My gaze snaps to the Dark God. His hand grips mine, urging me to read between the lines of his next words.
“The heir will reunite the gods.”
Heir. His or Nobus’, we can’t be sure. And to speculate aloud would be to hand over information that I don’t fully trust my sister not to use to her advantage.
It’s a gut-wrenching truth, but it’s true all the same. Nina’s own ambitions will be the end of her one day and I cannot allow my child to be in her crosshairs.
“We didn’t defeat Nobus, but he still might. That’s why we have to take him with us, and why he has to have a way back home. But only the heir can use the doorway. That is what I begged Nobus for.”
“What did you tell him, Selene?” Drayven asks skeptically.
“I told him…” I swallow thickly, the admission sticking like honey in my throat. “I told him that one day his son would become trapped without the ability to get home. I just didn’t tell him when, where, or that I was the one taking him.”
The Dark God’s laugh booms through the night air, genuine amusement coloring his features.
“You crazy, beautiful fucking goddess.” He plants his lips on my forehead and I blossom in the light of his praise.
