“Nosy Vedarya. Have you been eavesdropping on our conversation?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“What else have you been eavesdropping on?”
My forehead wrinkles as I wait for his answer that hopefully will only be directed at me.
“I’m afraid you are not a quiet thinker, Riven. I’m well aware of your plan.”
“And you agree with it?”
“Not the method in which you’re tricking Kyzen, but the motives and possible outcome, yes.”
Good enough for me.
“That works wonderfully. V can take us and drop us off at our destination.”
Kyzen shrugs oh so nonchalantly, then bends down to pick up my pointless map. Well, I suppose it isn’t pointless. V still would have to be told where we needed to go to get us there.
With a snap of my fingers, Kyzen’s two favorite swords appear at the foot of his bed, and he smiles lovingly at them. I do the same, and my backpack and waist bags appear for me next.
“Let’s get going. I’ve got exciting plans for the rest of the night.”
My brother arches a brow at me. All I give him in return is a wink as V flies over to my shoulder.
“Ready, boys?”
“Ready.”
Faster than even I can starshoot, we appear at a division in the forest. Behind us, if the sun was shining, we’d see gorgeous, blossoming green trees. Before us, the dead of night gets even darker.
“Thank you, V. We’ve got it from here,” I say.
“Good luck, you two. If you need me, call.”
His quick flash of light reveals shadows crawling over the path cut out ahead of us. From my backpack, I grab my new lamp and flick the flame on.
Kyzen’s eyes glow as his head pivots slowly from left to right.
“Where the hell are we? At first glance, you’d think we’re in the woods going to Derivius’s temple, but we’re obviously not.”
“No, we’re definitely not there. This frightening path leads us to the God of Shadows’ front door.”
The air around us stills as his power blasts from beneath his skin. My act of innocence has a grueling glare taking over his face.
“What kind of fucking game are you playing, Riven? We can’t kill a Domain God. No matter how much he and many others deserve it.”
“Oh, but we can as long as no one knows it was us. Which they won’t.”
“Look, I get it. If it weren’t for him, the imitation rooms wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have gone through what we did, and neither would Thayla. But you know what will happen to us if we get caught doing this. We lose everything. Any future plans of power and revenge get snatched out from beneath us.”
My eye twitches.
“I know all that and I’ve weighed the risk. My Harmony isn’t fighting. It’s encouraging. Which means there’s another already strong and worthy enough to take his spot when he falls. And he will fall. Tonight. With or without you by my side.”
He holds my very deadly, serious stare.
For too long, Obsidian has enjoyed his reign, living in the shadows cowardly. He has no problem creating rooms that dig into the depths of others’ psyches. Yet, he doesn’t stick around to see what pulling those shadows from someone does to them.
