Page 148 of The Gods Order

“Eventually, he will learn regardless.”

“Then let’s keep eventually as far away as possible.” Her frustration sharpens as she releases her grip on me and throws her hands in the air. “He could attack you at the Neutral the second he sees you.”

“He could.”

“If he doesn’t, he could follow you back here and march on the Godsdawn.”

“He could.”

“Or he could lose his fucking mind and attack one of the lower regions. Again.”

“He could.”

Her fists slam against the table as his calm agreement finally drives her past the point of pissed.

“Stop fucking doing that,” she barks. “Why are you handing him these opportunities?”

His face never betrays anything but patience for her and I swear that makes this worse. Her soul is going absolutely fucking feral in my chest. Not only mine. Creed and Amick look damn desperate to crawl across the table to her.

“Because you need time in the Abandon. You need room for error and surprises. I want to choose when he learns that I’ve returned rather than allow him to discover it on his own. This solves both those issues.”

The Court falls quiet again.

Damn. That was a good answer.

Judging by the expressions around the table, everyone else thinks so too. Thayla does not.

Unfortunately, though, it becomes very clear she doesn’t have a counterargument for that. Even if other options are running through her mind—scenarios of what Derivius could do to cause a scene, none of those would work as well as this.

The realization settles over her slowly.

A deep exhale falls from her chest, and the longer it lasts, the more the grip on my soul eases. She stands back straight, and the blank stare that erases her concerned features has my brothers and me sharing a look with each other.

That’s not acceptance. It’s resignation.

“Fine,” she mumbles. “When? What’s our timeline?”

The first fracture in his sure face cracks as she glances at him like she doesn’t even see him. He blinks away his uncertainty quickly enough, though.

“I told you I’d have you ready in seven days, and I will. You’ll leave day eight.”

Fuck. That’s not at all what I thought he was going to say.

The weight of his declaration settles across the table for a fleeting second. Then everyone has their own two cents to put in.

Thayla tolerates the bombardment of noise for a millisecond.

“Stop,” she says, holding her hand up. “You all heard him. We leave in four days. Sevryn, grab a sword.”

She marches from the table without a backward glance. There’s no doubt she feels our eyes on her, though.

“Thanks a lot,” Sevryn grunts, glaring at Val. “Getting my ass beat was exactly how I wanted my night to go.”

“Better you than me,” Mara mumbles.

He scoffs before leaning down and laying a kiss on Yemi’s forehead. She gives him a tender, appreciative smile, holding on to his fingers for as long as she can.

“Well,” Amick says. “Minor details can be worked out later. Lambrit, Rose, and Havar, if you all wouldn’t mind helping me organize this and getting the table put away. Everyone else, pair up and get to training.”