Lambrit’s expressions have me on edge and I can’t focus on him too long. He may have sworn nothing I had to say would change the way he felt, but he had no clue what I was really about to lay on the table for them.
His features morph from fear to anger, back to fear, to calculation and deep concentration. I don’t know what’s running through his mind.
Rose looks absolutely concerned. Her power is trying to crawl all over me, and I don’t know if she can’t help it or if she’s letting it out freely to help her and Lambrit.
Havar is stunned. He’s statue-still, with his fork stabbed full of food and clutched in his hand. Part of me is curious to know if he’s thinking to himself, ‘Fuck, I should’ve left this girl in Oddian or at the cliff.’
Yemi…she’s the one who has me most worried. Her face hasn’t changed one time. It’s shut down. Blank. She stares at me intently even as her hands take notes in her notebook that keeps her organized.
She’s going to be mad as fire when I tell her she has to destroy those.
I release a final deep breath. “So yeah, if we don’t succeed on this quest, the God of Obliteration is going to take me back with him to the Abandon and give me his power.”
The silence that hangs in the air isn’t heavy. It’s fragile.
It’s like we all know, one wrong word—reaction—will have the friendships crumbling around us. New and old.
I can’t take it any longer and let my face fall.
“Someone say something. Anything.”
Everyone speaks all at once and I jerk back from the noise.
“Stop. Everyone, stop now. I can’t take you all shouting,” Yemi commands.
Her chest rises and falls as she grips the counter and stares down at her list as she tries to catch her breath.
“Thank you. We’ll start at the beginning. Does anyone have any questions about from the time she was Chosen to her arriving in Godsden?”
They all murmur no, and I swallow roughly at the low tones.
“What about what happened during her first two tests?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“The Gods Veil?”
A question falls from each of their lips, but she holds her hand up. “You first, Lambrit.”
“Did he really, like physically split your soul or is it more of like a metaphorical connection? Maybe your Valtrue mark and tie are stronger somehow because of him, but it’s not really your soul.”
“No, he really split it. I felt every second it took to tear apart, and the guys felt it when it pierced them. I could tug on the sliver of it I have, and they more than likely would kick Yemi’s door in to get in here.”
“And that’s how they got to you so fast in the Court?” He follows up.
“That’s right.”
“As long as it’s in them, you can’t die.”
“Yes. Derivius confirmed that.”
“Anything else about the interaction in the Veil?” Yemi asks and the others murmur that Lambrit brought up what they were going to. She nods and my heart pinches a little at her clinical way of approaching this.
It’s like the girl I met on my first day is standing before me. Not the girl I’ve grown close to. I’ve desperately tried to ignore it, but she was swiftly becoming one of my best friends. I can’t help but feel like I’m losing that as she checks off each topic on her list.
“I do have questions about the Oblirians, but those aren’t the creatures I care to talk about. I believe that can be discussed at another time. I want to know about your connection to I believe you said his name is Seismet? And also, not trying to be a dick right now, but I think you’re confusing Vedaryas with some other creature.”
“Is she?”
