“Well, that’s what you get for assuming rather than using your words like a big boy and asking for something.”
Kyzen and I chuckle into our mugs as Riven and Creed have a stare off with one another.
My little psycho eventually rolls his eyes as he snatches his blanket off the couch and marches over to me. My squeal echoes around us as he lifts me up and places me back on his lap.
“Riven, you’re spilling my drink.”
“I’m aware. That shit just burned my toes. Could you lift your legs onto the ottoman? You’re making it quite difficult to get comfortable.”
“I was perfectly comfortable where I was.”
“Yeah, I could tell. Your spot looked inviting and I felt left out over there all on my lonesome.”
Creed and Kyzen scoff at him as I squirm around, attempting to get comfortable once again. I laugh at his ass as he groans with every move I make.
Eventually, we get situated where my legs are lying on top of his that are propped on the ottoman, and I lean back against him. His chiseled chest isn’t nearly as soft as the couch, but just as warm. I take a deep breath, inhaling how the blanket he cocoons around us smells like him.
My body blazes as Creed’s hand grips one of my thighs and in scary synchrony, Kyzen grabs the other. I clutch my mug to my chest and try my damnedest not to fidget as they mindlessly trace patterns on my skin.
I don’t think either of them notice that the other is doing the same thing. There’s enough distance between their hands that they wouldn’t feel each other and the blanket hides my body from boobs down.
My breath shudders as Riven tucks his hands in the waistband of my shorts at my hips.
They’re trying to kill me.
Death by nonsexual but intimate touches.
“We’ve got a problem,” Amick says as he stands in front of the fireplace and faces us.
Creed huffs. “We always have a problem.”
I definitely have a problem right now…
“The High Chancellor brought a motion forward in last month’s meeting with the Chancellors to change the yearly completed Valtrue measuring to monthly. They held a secret meeting today and it passed.”
All the caresses across my body stop and their grips tighten enough to let me know whatever Amick’s talking about is bad news.
“What is or I guess was, yearly measuring?”
“All completed Valtrues would have to reoffer their blood to the Volreen. A new parchment would appear with your level of power on it,” Kyzen says through gritted teeth.
“Shit. My blood…Valories, none of our blood can go back into the Volreen.”
“Exactly.” Amick nods and I blow out a harsh breath.
“I clearly see why this is a problem, but I still don’t understand the measuring part. Does the parchment actually say, ‘So and so has this level of power?’”
“No. It restates your Designation and Domain. Along with it, it’ll list your abilities that have come from your power. The more abilities or the more detailed your abilities are, will give a measure of how close you are to being fully powered. For example, my previous ‘Deliverance’ stated that I could read an entire page of text in four seconds. If I were to be measured now, the High Chancellor would see it’s vastly less time.”
My mouth parts. “I didn’t know you all had Deliverances.”
“They weren’t real Deliverances. Not like what you got coming out of the Veil. Derivius just wrote some stuff about us and gave it to the High Chancellor.”
Kyzen sits up beside me until his elbows rest on his knees and his clasped hands tap against his mouth. My mind spins.
“You haven’t been tested since then because you weren’t a completed Valtrue and you’ve been lying to Harriseen about your abilities. So he doesn’t have any real idea about your power, but if we’re tested, he finds out everything. But wait—how does he even know gods’ abilities to begin with? That isn’t on our Deliverance.”
The four of them share a look that I’ve learned by now.
