He keeps his firm glare pinned on me, and it only falters when Rose rests her hand on his arm, then moves in to give me a hug.
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” she says.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure as shit won’t be when I tell your men how you ran off alone and didn’t tell any of us where you were going.”
I roll my eyes at Sevryn and his smug-ass smirk.
Before all the peppering of questions can commence once again, Yemi orders everyone to the table and they listen without complaint. I throw her a wink as I starshoot all my research from where I laid it on my bed to the table.
I don’t waste a breath before jumping right into explaining how the Goddess of Creation used her clause to spend one day a year with the guys as a way to trap them in her house for a total of twenty days.
I don’t share anything else that was said between drunk Derivius and me.
Nero’s features twist with my words and he holds his hands out for the agreement. As his eyes skim section after section, I point to the part that I highlighted and spent the most time reading into last night.
“I may be looking into this too much, so I need you to correct me if I’m wrong. It sounds to me like they have to spend the full day with her. Since it isn’t clearly defined, obviously purposeful on their part, I’m assuming a full day means exactly that. A full twenty-four hours. But at the end of that, they can leave.”
He nods as he continues reading.
“Yes. In more words than necessary, that’s basically what this says. So technically, in three hours from now, their twenty-four hours would be up and they could leave. That’s not going to happen, though, based on what you just described.”
“It’s not. We’re going to break them out right at the forty-eight-hour mark. That way they’ve fulfilled their time without breaking the agreement since it’s still in place.”
“What?” everyone shouts and I hold my hands up to silence them.
“We have twenty-seven hours to collect all the signatures they need on their behalf, then get them to the Neutral in time for their hearing. Even if I thought we could do it in less time than that…”
My lids drift shut for a moment as my fingers flex at my sides.
“Getting them out earlier than that could open us up to more issues and give the Beginning Gods more time to pull surprises like this out of their asses. We time it exactly right, and then show up with what they need, the agreement becomes void and there’s nothing they can do. By their own definitions, the guys would have fulfilled their end of the Goddess of Creation’s clause and have fulfilled the terms set forth by the Law of Doppia Disaccord.”
Everyone’s jaws drop as they gawk at me in disbelief.
I know, I’m shocked with myself as well.
“That is a very strategic plan, Thayla. Very impressive,” Ellian says with a big smile.
“Well, that’s only a piece of it, but thank you. I need—I’m going to ask a lot of you. All of you really. I need help with some of these.”
I flip through my parchments and pull out the list of Domain Gods I wrote down. They all jump up and lean over the table to get a look as I slide it to the middle. Their eyes grow wider the farther down the list they go.
“You’re fucking joking,” Sevryn growls as he narrows his eyes on me.
“Nope.”
The word pops off my lips and he shakes his head.
“Well, seeing as I’m the first on the list, I will gladly hand my signature over now,” Doren says with a massive grin.
With a snap of his fingers, a pen appears clenched between them, but I shake my head at him.
“I put you on there as a maybe. I don’t want you to think I assumed you’d sign. This undoubtedly announces you’re alive and well. If you’re not ready to rejoin the godly realm fully, I completely support that.”
“I know you do, and that’s why it makes my decision that much easier. Not only will I sign, but I’ll get you in touch with two of those gods on your list if you’d like for me to.”
“Two, really? I was only going to ask for your help with one.”
