He liked that better, anyway.
“Do you think,” he started, feeling Delaynie’s gaze lift to him, “that if I start chucking items into the streets, that’ll get them to finally pay attention to us?—”
A quiet rap at the door cut him off. He and Delaynie swung their gazes to the entrance, eyes going wide.
Their lunch was only dropped off an hour ago. Whatever—whoever—this was, it was unexpected and unscheduled.
Excitement dripped through Quentin. Fuckingfinally.
“Instead of terrorizing the residents of the city, we’re trying to make our allies,” Delaynie said. “Why don’t you go be useful and answer the door?”
Their visitor knocked again, a little louder, as if emphasizing Delaynie’s point.
Quentin lurched off his stool, striding to the door. He gripped the handle, pulling it open.
And froze, eyes wide.
The beautiful woman was garbed in the same paneled dress and gold-plated chest piece she’d worn three days ago. Her pale hair flowed over her shoulders like water, her seafoam-green eyes narrowed and blazing with an inner fire that Quentin suspected never died out.
Krilene, the Goddess of Sea and War, crossed her arms and lifted a delicate brow. “Are you going to stand there like an idiot, Priam’s Soldier, or are you going to invite me in?”
Quentin foughtthe urge to fidget.
He stood in the living room, arms crossed. Delaynie perched on his stool from earlier, hands folded primely in her lap.
And Krilene lounged on their couch, legs tossed up on the low table. Blades peeked out from the folds of her robes and her ears glinted with gold and mother-of-pearl earrings, more pointed jewelry sparkling dangerously on her fingers.
Delaynie delicately cleared her throat, smoothing the pleats of her linen trousers.
“Thank you for visiting us. We don’t take a visit from Kizar’s patron goddess lightly.”
Krilene snorted. “Of course, you don’t. You can’t, considering I’ve been asleep for five thousand years and just woke up a few weeks ago.”
Quentin’s skin prickled, fingers itching toward his blades.
No. He was going to let Delaynie lead this. He was not to open his mouth. He was not going to ruin this like he always did?—
“You look like you have something on your mind, Armature.” Krilene’s purr rattled through him, shaking loose his thinly maintained control.
Maybe it was the three days in near solitude with nothing to occupy his mind. Maybe it was the stress of being in a strange, hostile place. Maybe it was all the failures from the past year finally catching up to him.
Whatever it was, he was tired. And if this goddess wanted the truth from him, wanted to know why he was really on edge, then who was he to deny her?
He knew Delaynie was giving him a hard stare, subtly shaking her head.
He ignored her.
“Is it true?” he asked, voice deathly soft.
Krilene cocked her head. “Is what true?”
“Did you give the order to attack Verith last winter? Did you tell them to sail to the Bay of Nria and harass our defenses, to storm our shores, to slaughter our innocents?” Quentin wassnarling now, hands clenched into fists. “Are you the reason we couldn’t leave the city to find our queen while she was alone and helpless and tortured?”
The room dripped with his fury, so thick he could taste it. Delaynie flushed a deep red, staring helplessly out the window with a hard set to her jaw.
Fine. She could be mad at him. He couldn’t keep it to himself any longer.
Krilene, though…
