Page 265 of The Gods Order

“I’m ready,” V says, nudging my cheek.

My men all squeeze my arms or rub their hands across me as they step back to give me some room. If Verlet is going first, which it looks like he really is by the way he steps closer to me, then they’re going to stay close as well.

“So,” I say, releasing a long exhale. “What do I do?”

“Since you already know how to cleanse a Binding, the mechanics of this process will already be familiar to you. Place your hands on the contraption,” V instructs.

Verlet releases a small purr as he nods for me to do as I was told. I swallow down all these pesky emotions and step right to his side. My fingers trail down his trapped wings. The feathers are so soft, yet so powerful.

I can’t wait to see him spread them and fly.

My hands press against the contraption holding them hostage and the cool, smooth surface chills my insides.

Time for this to go.

“Good, now, just as you would call all your power forward and puncture the Binding, you are going to do the same to this.”

I don’t respond with words.

My eyes drift shut and I call my power forward. All seven spots respond and travel from their spots to my hands. They hum beneath my fingertips as I direct them into the contraption.

“Okay, they’re in,” I whisper.

“There are threads, think of them as veins, spread throughout the entire contraption. Those threads are connected to each of the seven Beginning Gods’ powers. One by one, you must embed yours into theirs. They must match power for power. You will know when your thread has found its match.”

“How will I know?”

“Just do. You will know.”

I keep my sigh to myself.

Slow, measured breaths expand and deflate my chest multiple times as I allow my powers to take the lead. They travel through the material the contraptions are made of, twisting and turning until they come across the first familiar sensation. A twitch plays on my lips as the connection brushes across my senses.

Fitting.

The recognition settles against my spine, and my power of Boundaries slips into the waiting thread, embedding itself deep. Once it fully takes over, the connection hums through my fingers with quiet certainty.

That’s one.

The next thread calls to me almost immediately. Warmth blooms in my lower stomach, but it isn’t desire. It’s attraction, a pull. The instinct to draw one thing toward another.

The power of Seduction.

The thread welcomes my power, weaving the two together until mine takes over completely.

Two.

A third thread lashes wildly through the contraption, impossible to predict. It darts away just as I think I’ve caught it, only to circle back from an entirely different direction. I can’t anticipate it. Frustration surges through me, and I swear to the gods that makes the elusive thread move faster.

Realization registers and a small laugh tumbles from my mouth.

Right. That kind of Chaos is different than mine.

I force the frustration away, replacing it with calm. With surrender. I stop chasing and simply…wait. The other thread slows. Then, as though it had been waiting for me all along, it glides into my power.

Three.

The next thread I reach for is steady, observant, as though it’s weighing what will happen if it allows my power to embed itself in it. It already knows the answer. My tongue hums as the power of Consequences—mine and Meridamus’s—meet. There’s no resistance whatsoever.