I kept my expression bored, though it was merely for show. “Your kill count is as long as your body count, sister.”
“Mortals!” she gasped. “I do not kill gods.”
“Youcan’tkill gods,” I bit, planting a foot forward as I stepped toward her. “And a nymph hardly counts.”
Candlelight from the chandeliers reflected her hate as her glare bore into mine.
My father cleared his throat. “Your sister makes a point, indelicate though it may be. Word continues to grow of your fixation on a singular mortal soul. The Hellenic pantheon has cause to retaliate, should they wish. The Celts and the Innuits?—”
“With whom I’ve established good relations,” I reiterated through my teeth.
“They are the exception,” he allowed.
My sister’s eyes narrowed. Black hair billowed behind her as she approached. “And if the bear god had attacked your human then? If he’d wanted her thrown into the sea? Would you have permitted it? Or would we have another dead god on our hands.”
“If you have to invent a fictional scenario to prove your argument, it’s a poor defense,” I snapped back.
Our father regained control of the room. “Are we to expect that your newly established relations will hold their tongue if Heaven presses them for information? For weak spots? If they offer allyship? How confident are you in these ‘ambassador missions’ that cover your proclivities?”
Even Izi wrinkled her nose at his final question. Heaven had many tricks up its sleeve, but it would not side with a rival pantheon, no matter the cost. It had no allies.
“You threaten the realm,” Izi said firmly.
Histrionics bored me. “Unless you know something I don’t, find something to do with immortality beyond my eternal agitation.”
They exchanged glances—an act that disquieted me more than I cared to admit.
“Do you?” My voice dropped. I pictured Brigid and her vague warning as I eyed them now. “What have you heard?”
Our father’s expression was gentler. “We all have our role to play in the war. You are the heir to our throne, should I fall. As such, you have my trust. Let’s put the issue to bed. We can do away with the sorts of rumors that come from other realms and their soothsayers. They aren’t our citizens. We aren’t beholden to their fates. Tell me what it is that you see in this soul, son. I’ll listen. Perhaps if you could articulate your connection with this human…”
I wondered if he saw the pieces of me—a minute twitch of the eye, a tendon in my hand—that betrayed my reaction to the cavalier reference to Love.Thishuman.Myhuman.
I stood, Hell’s Prince. The Hope of the Realm. The Kingdom’s Future.
If the Celtic pantheon had shared an ominous vision, I had to believe they weren’t the only one.
I didn’t see her as a threat, a weapon, a crack in Hell’s armor.
To me, she was simplyLove. To articulate our connection in a way that would answer all questions and reassure the kingdom I left exposed?
A defeated huff came from the hollows of my lungs. “Let’s hope for all Hell’s sake that I can’t.”
Chapter Twelve
0 ADE
Avirgin birth, they called it.
Word trickled down that Heaven was curiously divided on what it meant for the theology they dispersed among the humans, but the new host was a win for their realm, nevertheless. Heaven’s King would receive the recognition, the energy, the worship, whether sources were to be believed, and their god had taken on mortal flesh, or if the presence was merely a divine teacher.
Hell saw what was coming.
The specifics were negligible.
Facts carried little weight with the faithful. Details and methods and practices were fuzzy among the humans in every pantheon. Intention was the only thing of consequence. It was the aqueduct that funneled the power to their deity.
Love was thirteen when the news of Heaven’s development reached our realm.
