My thoughts scramble as his pointed look bores into me. Every lesson Amick’s taught me or whatever book he forced me to read attempts to run across my mind at the same time.
“The Defenders stemmed from Obliteration. The Guiders from Accord. The Rulers from Consequence. The Healers from Creation. The Plentiful from Seduction. The Attendants from Chaos,” I say and he nods.
“There you go. Keep putting two and two together.”
I stand, pacing in front of my chair as the pieces click together.
“Amick said we each, as in all becoming gods, have a touch of all the Beginning Gods’ powers within us since it was their essence used to make the Gods Binding. A touch of each Domain God that was created beneath them was added along the way. One of their essences will always come through more dominant, declaring our domain, just as it does our Designations. But it isn’t that simple.
“Each Domain God isn’t simplytouchedby a Beginning Gods’ essence. They’re given a real, deliberate ability that already exists. The power of Illusion didn’t just form from the Binding or a mixture of the gods’ essence. It didn’t appear because of a Designation. Sabe—she—already had it. Illusion was never created…it was inherited.”
I plop down in my chair with my mouth gaping at the smile on Derivius’s face.
“Now you got it. Just like the God of Pain, the God of Strength, the God of Death…we’ll call them the leaders of the Defender Designation. They each hold a touch more than everyone else of Kira’s abilities. Then from them, the becoming gods get a little less, and similar but varying abilities come from that.”
“But…” I trail off, tilting my head to the side. For a fleeting second, it all made sense. Now it doesn’t. “There are Domain Gods that have certain Designations that don’t match with the Beginning God it came from.”
His lips split into a massive, crooked smirk.
“You.”
“And the God of Boundaries. Just as my power complements others’, so does his.”
Yemi…
I shift my head back and forth, attempting to absorb this.
The Beginning Gods are so much more powerful than I previously understood.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always known they were, but this puts it into a petrifying perspective.
Wait. Riven.
“Riven’s Chaos. Is he actually warping the essence around him or—” I shut my mouth, attempting to get my question right.
He snaps his fingers and points at me, well, at the chair I’m sitting in, and chuckles.
“He is warping the essence around him, but it isn’t an imitation of illusions or anything like that. You see what Chaos wants you to see. He wanted everyone to see a Binding instead of a lamp. I want you to see a chair instead of nothing. It’s real, until Chaos decides it isn’t. He and I, we use our Chaos to warp what we want others to see. You, I believe if you tried, you could use yours to see what you want to see. Fascinating. I love this Domain.”
He laughs, tilting his bottle back. He chokes on the massive drag he takes, then chuckles about that as well. I take a deep breath, preparing to pull him back into the moment.
“So Seduction used her power of Illusion and made herself look like Accord.”
His smile melts away and he tears his gaze from mine as if he forgot what we were talking about that led to this topic. I don’t push while he composes himself.
“She did,” he growls. “Rella walked in and caught us in the act. I peered over my shoulder at her gasp, and as soon as I gazed back down,that fucking bitchdropped the illusion.”
Anger, mortification, pure heartbreak spears through my chest. I couldn’t imagine walking in on that. I’d—Valories—I’d burn this fucking realm to the ground.
Gods. He didn’t know who he was having sex with.
That’s…oh fuck.
“Derivius, that’s rap—”
“Don’t you fucking say it, Thayla. I am a Beginning God. That doesn’t happen…No. Don’t you dare speak it.”
My jaw snaps shut as his shout vibrates my bones. I hold his glare, even as my eyes water. His heartbreak, pain, and anger are potent. It bleeds into me and my Chaos stirs uncomfortably.
