Page 356 of The Gods Order

She whirls around so fast her hair whips her in the face.

She staggers back a step and lays her hand to her chest.

“Kyzen…what is this place?” Amick asks.

A bright smile crosses my face as I squeeze his shoulder.

“This is home.”

The four of them bombard me with questions, but I shoo them off, ordering them to go check it out for themselves. They disappear into the house one by one until only their laughter echoes in my ears.

I step in behind them and shut the door.

At long last, this empty house I’ve worked on for years finally sounds like home.

Amick

45

30 years later

Warm fingers slip between mine, and I glance down as Thayla intertwines our hands.

Her thumb brushes lazily across my knuckles. The slow pattern is contradictory to how fast her soul strokes mine. Our bond pounds away in my chest like Veilatara galloping through the meadows.

“You really aren’t nervous, are you?” she asks, casting her gaze up to mine once she senses me staring at her.

I smile.

“Not even a little.”

She studies my face and traces my dimple as though she’s waiting for me to crack. I won’t. I lay a soft kiss to the pad of her finger.

“You have nothing to worry about,” I tell her.

“You know,” Riven says from behind us. “You’re making me incredibly uncomfortable.”

“Strange. That’s usually the effect you have on everyone else.”

Creed, Kyzen, and Thayla snicker at my sarcasm while Riven scoffs very unflatteringly.

“Har-har, hilarious. But I’m serious. When you found out that one day you’d become the High Chancellor, you were shitting bricks. Now, we’re just strolling to the room with the Gods Veil for that to become reality and you’re just…fine.”

“Fifty years is a long time to come to terms with something, Riven,” Kyzen says and I hum my agreement.

That’s the perfect way to put today.

I’ve come to terms with the fact it’s time for me to take the mantle of High Chancellor. Is it the role I want? Not necessarily.

The roles and responsibilities surrounding being High Chancellor have changed considerably over the years, but for the most part, it’s a position that’s still heavily based in the Godsdawn.

We noticed a pattern after the first Veiling Week. The younger generation, those around one hundred and younger, came to the Godsdawn and stayed for their training and power release. Almost every eighteen-year-old who has their Coming-Of-Age Day stays here as well.

It was those who have very established lives in their region who wanted to stay home.

So the Godsdawn and Godsden have been bustling with new bodies ever since. The need for a High Chancellor has never gone away. If anything, it’s become even more important now to have someone in the position to guide all these young gods.

Our Valtrue has been very involved. We travel the regions, check on the instructors, and make sure everyone continues to get the knowledge they need.