Page 228 of The Gods Order

Valories. My mother is the Messenger. My father is the Beginning God of Boundaries.

My role now makes terrifying sense.

“They really are closer here,” I murmur, continuing to stare at the stars.

Her smile deepens.

“They are.”

Her hands slowly fall from my cheeks, and she gently strokes the ends of my hair. I offer her another small smile as I take in this chamber with entirely different eyes now.

“This is the Eye of the Veil,” I say.

“It is.”

I look back at her.

“Have you…always lived here?”

A quiet laugh escapes her.

“Oh, no. I, once upon a time, had a bedroom at the Sanctum.”

My eyes widen as she turns my hand over and rubs the scar on my palm.

“Your…the Sanctum.” A disbelieving laugh tumbles from my lips. “Seven bedrooms for the Beginning Gods. One for the Gods Binding. One for the Volreen. The Gods Veil. One for you. The Messenger. The eleven mystery rooms.”

“The Messenger. The Goddess of Fate, the Fates, the oracle, the Seer. I’ve been called so many things over the span of my lifetime, but…” She shakes her head. “All I’ve ever cared to be called is Mom.”

Her glistening eyes meet mine, and the tremble in her bottom lip sends a burst of pain through my heart.

“I know your father has already explained what led us to this, but—” She closes her eyes as though she needs a moment to find the words to say. “I’m so sorry, my girl.”

The sincerity in her tone wraps around me. For a heartbeat, all I see is a grieving mother. A woman who had to mourn time lost and had no say-so about it whatsoever.

Every murmur and mention about the Messenger that I’ve heard races through my mind. There are two that stick out to me the most.

V’s insistence on me forging a relationship even if I got no response. He obviously knew the truth.

And then…Seismet’s statement. The one he gave me right after I received my first message from her. I don’t think he knows the truth about our relationship, seeing as he didn’t know about my father, but he did know her truth.

I asked him what the Messenger would gain if I succeeded in helping the realm right itself once again.

He said freedom.

“I…” I start, then take a deep breath. “It’s hard for me to just erase the pain I’ve felt over the last twenty years, but I understand everything more now than ever. You’ve been a prisoner since you took your first breath in this realm.”

Her gaze wanders across the stars, and something soft settles over her features.

“It didn’t always feel that way,” she says as she tangles her fingers in her lap. “For years, life was simple. No, I don’t have abilities like the Beginning Gods, but I can starshoot. I wasn’t allowed to go beyond the Gods Binding and the Sanctum, but I could move. That felt like freedom.”

“That’s a leash,” I grit through my teeth.

She smiles to herself. Maybe me.

“My realm really changed after the first assassination attempt on my life.”

“Kira?” I ask, and she lets out a low laugh.