“Nismera, I am not as concerned with your presence as I am with what you want and the timing of your visit.”
Nismera’s gaze met Athos’s again. The legion at her back had not moved a muscle, and I knew they wouldn’t unless she gave the order. I wondered if she was hoping for a battle today, and if so, would she do enough damage to win?
“I am not your true enemy,” Nismera said. “We are the same. My blood is just like yours.”
Athos swallowed, and I thought she was going to say something, but she remained quiet, letting Nismera proceed.
“I only wished for what was always mine. The crown. We can work together for that.”
“Work?” Koa scoffed. “You have decimated the east, enslaved and conquered for a thousand years, and now you seek a peace treaty? Why?”
“Samkiel.” It was Athos that answered, her voice a whisper, but it calmed the rage of the gods.
Nismera did not deny it. “Does he not frighten you all?” she asked, folding one armored hand over the other.
“Why should he?” Renah, the red-haired goddess, spoke at last. Her council garbs were gathered tightly at one leanly muscled, freckled shoulder, secured with a clasp engraved with the miniature image of her famous, world-splitting axe.
“He has secured his brothers at his side, along with another Ig’Morruthen Kaden made,” Nismera responded. My heart sank, and of their own accord, my gaze flicked toward Blayne. He was already turned toward me, and he gave me a nearly imperceptible nod. With that one gesture, he confirmed everything he’d said to me, and all he’d shown me rang true, which only broke me more.
“What if he makes more?” Nismera added. “Do you wish for another Gods War? One, we would not win. Not alone, at least.”
“We may not be as old as you,” Davian said. His rebellious tongue would have gotten him slaughtered long ago if it weren’t for his high-born bloodline. “But we know of the stories. Was it not you who used those beasts in the Gods War? Now you fear them?”
If looks could kill, his head would be rolling from his shoulder with how Nismera regarded him. “As I said, I wished for my crown. I was not a fool, and neither is he. It is impossible to face the gods alone. Ig’Morruthens, while strong, can be controlled. So, I did. I make no excuses for my past, nor what I fought for. It was all about survival and claiming my birthright.” She leaned forward, giving Davian a half smile that would have bared fangs if she had them. “Never underestimate your enemy. As you said, you are young, but that is how true battles are won. In war, you utilize any and every tool at your disposal to secure your victory by any means necessary. Your cockiness shows your youth in such a sensitive topic. You’ve never been in a true war, and you’ll probably piss yourself when you face it for the first time. Especially if you are facing Samkiel.”
Davian chose not to respond with one of his usual snide remarks, even as a line of muscles jumped in his jaw.
“I came here to offer you a peace treaty for what is to come,” Nismera said, sitting a tad bit straighter. She held her pristine head so high that it made it easier to picture slicing it off. “Everyone in this room knows who has true power. I have a legion of hundreds at my call, an armada that could block the sun, even with recent developments, and the last seven remaining houses following me. The Eye,” she said the last part with such disdain, she nearly spat it, “has been trying for ages to cause me to stumble, and you’ve failed. Now we can unite against a common enemy and put an end to this embarrassing attempt at an uprising. Is that not your ultimate goal, Athos? The old days of Rashearim, when we ruled and all below us bowed. How fractured we are now.”
“And who is the cause of that fracture?” Athos’s voice was like silk, and she asked the question without a hint of abrasion, just the unrelenting truth.
“I wish to fix it,” Nismera contended. “Here and now, I offer you my legions. Let them stay in your city to show my goodwill.”
Koa scoffed so loudly that heads turned toward him. “Absolutely not. Would a mouse open its home to a snake in good will? Venom, regardless of what you say here, is and will always be your nature.”
He spoke the truth, but as I looked around the table, it seemed I was the only one who agreed with him. No one would even lift their eyes in his direction. Sweat slicked my palms, and while Jaycee stayed in position on the other side of Blayne, I could see the apprehension on her brow. Were they truly so unnerved by Samkiel’s return that they would rather side with her?
“While your intentions seem to be true, I cannot help but wonder,” Athos said cautiously. “Samkiel seeks his throne. The one that you took from him. That is his true goal.”
“Is it?” Nismera asked. “Or is it more?”
“More?” Athos asked
Silence fell.
“Samkiel and Ayla. What of them?” Nismera said, poking at the fractures she so easily sensed. “What happens when he takes the throne, and I am no more? Do you think you will rule once more? As proudly and righteously as you did on Rashearim? I don’t. You will be lower than the celestials if they come into power, and their offspring will taint our bloodline. It will be the end of the gods as their offspring breeds and breeds until we are pages in a worn book.”
Koa scoffed. “This failed attempt at inspiring fear in us does not blind us to the past and all you’ve done.”
Again, he was the only one who spoke up, and no one jumped in to support him. Nismera noticed, of course she did, and dread filled my gut.
“What if it is not fear?” Wren asked, tapping his fingers against the tabletop. “What if what she says is the truth?”
“At best, it is a what if,” Koa said, and for once, the other gods seemed to agree.
“Koa is right. Without any proof, this seems to be a weak attempt at peace, and even possibly a misdirection,” Lina said, and all eyes swung her way. Her quiet demeanor did not make her any less of a threat, and between her and Koa, they led the largest armies of celestials. Her dirty blonde hair was tied back in an intricate display, small pieces swaying as she leaned forward.
Nismera narrowed her eyes on Lina and nodded ever so slightly, but it was enough to know Lina had sealed her fate. Nismera turned back to Athos at the head of the table. The length of gold-veined stone between them was as wide and vast as any ocean. They were two warring forces on opposite sides, fighting to restore broken, desolate lands.
