Time ticked past, and slowly, Quentin’s anger softened. It still lurked beneath the surface, lingering just at the tips of his fingers.
Because Krilene did not react.
The goddess simply sat there, watching him with her stormy, mercurial stare. She heaved a great sigh, dropping her feet from the table and sitting forward.
“I did not order that attack on your city,” she said quietly.
Quentin blinked. “But Varyn said?—”
“Varyn was mistaken. I was not risen at the time the attack was made on Verith. I still slumbered deep in the seas off the Kizar coast.”
“Then if you didn’t order it, why did it happen? Are your pirates that desperate for war?”
Krilene’s eyes flashed. “My people are as fickle as the sea. I did not make them, but through the millennia they have taken after me in that way. I imagine they felt slighted by Onitan trade policies and embargoes, ever since your prior queen had them enacted three centuries ago.” She tossed the silky lengths of her hair over her shoulder. “My powers were limited while I slumbered, but I sometimes would send messages to my clerics amongst the Kizar. They read the cast of the shells on the beach and interpret my will. Unfortunately, they do not always read true.”
“You’re telling me,” Quentin said slowly, “that innocent people are dead because some clerics improperly read a few shells that washed up on the beach?”
“It is not perfect. And like I said, they were looking for a reason to attack. I sent a message saying one thing, and they decided it meant something different.” Krilene shrugged. “There is nothing I can do now to change the past.”
Quentin didn’t answer. He only held the goddess’s hard stare, grinding his teeth.
He was so fucking tired of these gods.
“What was the message?” Delaynie asked softly. “That you did send them. What did you want them to know?”
Krilene hesitated, something flashing in her eyes. Her expression hardened and she shook her head. “It does not matter. There is no point dwelling on what could have been.”
“Then why come here? You ignored us when we first arrived. So why choose to speak to us now?”
“Ah. Yes.” The goddess swung her gaze back to Quentin, lips stretching in an uncomfortably animalistic grin. “I left you before because I had questions that I didn’t want the rest of Kizar to hear. I figured you’d be more willing to speak honestly with me after a few days locked away.”
This time, both Quentin and Delaynie scowled. Krilene chuckled, folding her hands on her lap.
“Put those glares away. You are safe with my people. For now.” Her eyes flashed again. “But I have little control over them, and they are finicky. I suggest compliance if you want to get what you seek.”
“Fine.” Quentin folded his arms over his chest. “So, you have questions. You want answers. And in return, what, you’ll help us negotiate with Varyn?”
Power swirled in Krilene’s eyes. “You answer my questions, and I will do what I can to aid you. I can promise no more beyond that.”
Helpful. Quentin darted a glance to Delaynie. Her walls were up, but he saw what flickered in the blue of her eyes.
Agreement. They had no choice. They had to trust this strange, foreign goddess. Then they could get what they were looking for—or confirm it wasn’t here—and head home.
He sighed. “Ask your questions, then.”
Krilene drummed a finger on her arm. “I want to know why your queen—Mariah—freed me, and in doing so, Kol.”
Quentin growled. Sothat’swhat all this shit was about?
“She didn’t free him on purpose,” Delaynie said, voice clear and firm. “Kol manipulated her to guarantee his release. Trust me, she has more reason than most to hate him.”
Krilene hummed. “Interesting. And is it true that she is bonded to areykr?”
Delaynie furrowed her brow, confused. “She is, but that had nothing to do with Kol’s release. He fought against Kol, alongside Quentin and the rest of her Armature.”
“If she has bonded to him, then she has doomed us all.”
Unease prickled at Quentin’s skin. “Okay,” he interrupted. “Andrian is a dick. We all know it. But he’s not some evil monster. I was there the day Kol broke free. Delaynie speaks the truth: none of what happened is Andrian’s fault.”
