It took every bit of control in Mariah not to hurl her dagger into the Elder’s chest. Probably wouldn’t help the situation. Even though it couldn’t get much worse.
Imri took a step forward before Mariah could respond. “Not all actions of this Council must be approved by you, Amasis,” the Elder said. “And the threat at the border must be dealt with immediately.”
Amasis smiled coldly. “Indeed, you are correct. But tell me, what is this threat at the border?”
“We know, Amasis. We know of the Onitans. We know you have, for whatever reason, allowed them to stay.”
Odelle brushed a strand of hair from her cheeks. “We would never approve something so brash, High Counsellor. We simply want to resolve all confusion now, before?—”
“I did allow the Onitans to stay, Odelle. I have given them permission to use our military supply to construct temporary housing outside of Desva. They will arrive here in two days.”
The desert breeze whistled through the boughs of the acacias.
“You cannot be serious, Amasis.”
“I am very serious, Miron.” Amasis’s voice was colder than Mariah had ever heard it. Her heart pounded faster, her skin itching beneath the heat of the sun.
Was she—were the Onitans—worth all this? After all they’d done, all the harm they’d caused to people, all the women and girls they’d kept weak.
Were they even worthy of Amasis’s loyalty?
“When Callamus arrived with Mariah’s Court, we agreed as a Council to welcome and support the Onitan Queen in whatevershe might need. At the very least, the warnings of the gods must be heeded. Under that direction, I swore to Mariah that Kreah would aid her. When she asked for this, duty bound me to oblige.” Amasis hesitated, adjusting the golden rings on their fingers. “And it is not the Kreah way to abandon those people. We are a nation that gives and welcomes; we do not shun our neighbor at the door.”
“We are also a nation that survives in a desert with limited water, food, and resources!” Natia snarled. “What will this do to our stores, Amasis? How will our people suffer because of the rash decision-making of a young, untested queen?”
Not Mariah’s decision. Annoyance again surged through her at Priam. She stepped forward. “Stop talking about me as if I’m not standing right here.” She lifted her chin.
“I can swear now that my people will not be a burden on yours. I don’t intend for them to remain here indefinitely. We will return to Onita as soon as the time is right.”
Natia scoffed. “When ‘the time is right.’” Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Queen. What if that time is never right? What if the evil plaguing your land cannot be quashed?”
“Well, Elder,” Mariah said. “If you think that evil will stay contained to Onita, then you vastly underestimate its source.”
Zalam sniffed. “Kreah can defend itself. We always have.”
“Not from this.”
Another roar boomed over the grove. A shadow cast over them, blotting out the sun. Wind gusted from great wingbeats.
Two dragons descended from the skies.
Took them long enough.
Rulene and Callamus dived for the grove, and for a moment it looked like they would crash into the trees. At the last second, they gave mighty beats of their wings, sending the sands up in great flurries. Everyone shielded their eyes, Mariah just catchingthe flashes of sky blue and indigo light as the gods shifted. They landed gracefully on two feet, striding through the trees.
Though they now looked human, something about them was unleashed in a way Mariah hadn’t yet seen.
Their power rippled off them in waves, dangerous and eternal and unfathomable. Rulene’s dark skin glowed with the magnetic force of change, her blue hair rippling and changing color as quickly as the skies themselves would shift. Callamus was her inverse in every way, night-pale skin draining all sunlight around him, the unending galaxies in his eyes twinkling.
In this moment, there was no mistaking who—what—they were. Guardians of nature, crafted to hold and embody the day and night sky themselves.
Enoch and Satya dropped instantly to their knees, heads bowed nearly to the sands. Even the Elders couldn’t resist the beings before them, though they followed more slowly, averting their eyes from the gods.
“Eternal Ones,” Odelle whispered, her voice trembling. “We are honored by your presence. We are not worthy.”
Coldness seeped from Rulene. “No. I suppose you are not.”
Mariah worried that Odelle might be sick, right there at the gods’ feet.
