“That she did, and of course I clung to that connection. I told myself if you were drawn to her creation, then you weren’t someone I needed to worry about. I checked on you from time to time. Each visit, I watched the storm build.”
My forehead wrinkles as I think back to a very particular time a few years ago.
“Did you almost drown Jeremiah in the hot spring?”
A surprised laugh barks out of him before he smothers it down.
“I didn’t like that boy from the start. He better be happy he didn’t visit it within the last year.”
I force my face into a stern mask. It crumbles as he keeps laughing lightly.
“That isn’t creepy at all. I don’t understand why you gods like stalking me.”
“I wouldn’t call it stalking. More so, trying to keep an eye out for our own. There aren’t many of us who stand firmly in our positions. We have to stick together.”
My lips tighten as I face him fully.
“You aren’t at all what I was expecting.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asks.
“It’s not a simple thing,” I say, using his words against him. “No matter how much I’d like to convince myself that by gathering these signatures and handing them over to theBeginning Gods, I’m just freeing my men from that agreement. I’m doing so much more than that. If I know that, then they’ll know that. I can’t help but feel a little guilty. It feels like I’m painting a target on everyone’s backs.”
“Don’t feel guilty. We all know what signing our names means. And yes, the Beginning Gods will know as well. They should know. Then they can decide for themselves if they’d like to make agoodchange for the realm, or bear witness to the one we all bring.”
His stern confidence has my shoulders sagging in both hope and relief. It’s a stark difference in what I’ve felt after all the other conversations.
“Thayla! Alamar!” Doren hollers from the shore, waving us back.
“That would be our cue it’s time to go. You don’t want to get trapped in the Lost Sea after dark.”
“Even the God of the Sea fears the Lost Sea?” I ask.
“Fears…no. Respects the fact some of these creatures could and would tear me limb from limb, yes.”
That gets my bare feet moving. I’ll be damned if I get stuck in this sea again. By the time we reach the shore, Sevryn, Yemi, and the Goddess of Nature are waiting along with Doren.
“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Thayla,” Evani says as she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.
The embrace is calming like taking a stroll in the meadow. I unconsciously melt a little against her.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for helping us.”
“No thanks needed at all.”
She gives my hands a squeeze before moving into Alamar’s inviting arms. They’re actually super cute and perfect for each other.
“We need to head out and get some rest. We have a very busy morning ahead of us,” Yemi says, and I whip my attention to her.
“What have you heard?”
She smiles softly at me. “The remaining signatures will be in Ellian’s office bright and early. Starting strong with the God of Scripture.”
“The God of Scripture? Seriously?”
“Yep. He’ll be there a little after sunrise. V said that Ellian’s arranged the remainder of the meetings back-to-back. That’ll leave us two hours after that. As long as all that goes as planned.”
Two hours.
