For a brief moment, I hold it against my racing heart. I want to sob. Rage. Bleed my frustrations and worry out all over his floor. The adrenaline coursing through me has my muscles tensing.
None of it actually bursts out of me, though.
It fades away.
I catch my breath as I return his torch lamp where it goes, then head back to his desk.
Tears of relief beg to be set free as I open the illusion cube completely and find everything and more that I was looking for.
The agreement made on their behalf.
The parchment that needs to be signed is already written out with all the godly taurnshit verbiage.
A list—a small one, but a list nonetheless—of possible Domain Gods who would be willing to sign in support of them.
My head bows as I smile down at everything I need to go through.
“Oh, Amick. I’m so, so, fucking proud of you. And holy shit, am I grateful.”
I don’t know the time that passes me by as I pour myself into research.
Every so often, Kyzen pops into my mind. If he were here, he’d speed this process along for me. When my thoughts and plans muddle, he’d whisper for me to take a deep breath and keep going.
Creed would grumble and force me to eat something or he’d bring me a cup of coffee. He’d then grunt as I called him my sweetling and thanked him.
Riven, by this point, would be fed up with me not paying him any attention. He’d do some stupid-ass shit like sling everything off the desk to distract me.
Numerous times I have to force my thoughts and motivations back to my task.
Every word written in their agreement, I pick apart. So many times, my eyes go crossed.
I flip through text after text, searching for the definition of words and sayings I don’t understand. When I grow impatient, I ask V. He answers, then goes back to letting me be.
I write a Domain God’s name down. Then I scratch through it when I think of someonebetter.
Plan after plan. Step after step.
Information after information on my…powers.
My fingers tremble for a second as I trace not only the notes he’s written for me but notes he made for himself.
I fear I’ve guided her wrong regarding the power of Accord. I’ve established in her mind that this power is complicated, which it is, but not so much so that she won’t figure it out. She will. Where she struggles is this power is the quietest she possesses. There are no obvious signs that it’s being used. There’s no destruction or creation, and no one around her will outwardly react. I need to explain to her that that’s what makes it so powerful. Only she will know. Therefore, no one can prepare for her.
Riven explained to her that the power is like a built-in lie finder. The more I’ve considered and thought about what I’ve seen from her, I know she will, if she doesn’t already, have that ability. She needs to stop believing she’s paranoid and start leaning into that inkling.
He also informed her that Accord is all about agreement, alignment, and clarity. I believe I can make that even simpler for her. For anyone to understand, truly.
Accord doesn’t force, command, or judge. It is simply about agreement.
When all, or the vast majority, genuinely understand and accept the same truth, that truth then locks into place. That’s why my Designation belongs to the power of Accord. Guiders don’t rule, defend, or punish. They ensure everyone is operating from the same truth.
For example, I know and understand that my father wants to take over the Valorian Veil. The Goddess of Seduction also knows and understands he wants to take over the realm. Weagree on that point. We are in alignment on the matter. We want different outcomes, but that doesn’t matter to Accord. Our decisions will operate from our shared truth.
Accord doesn’t make people agree. It reveals when they already do and makes that agreement impossible to pretend it never happened.
My mind weeds through everything he’s written for himself and me. He has no clue what he’s done for me. I refuse to give in to the call of confusion and information overload after all the time he’s spent putting this together for me.
I will figure this out for them.
