Page 98 of The Gods Order

Maybe I didn’t need to hear that. My fists clench so tight I’m surprised I don’t break the skin on my palms.

“Very well,” I grit out. “Doren, the day after tomorrow okay with you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. So tomorrow, guys, you all will be going to fetch Gladian, tell him the truth of everything going on, and help him find his remaining Valtrue members. Yemi, Rose, and I will be having a girls’ day with Mara while we tell her the truth. Then the day after tomorrow—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back the fuck up,” Sevryn growls.

“You heard me, Sevryn. It’s time for everyone to be on the same page. Regardless of whether we’re going to the Abandon or Valveilious to recover this Binding—that we have to have—we need backup. We won’t risk their lives again without them knowing the truth.”

His nostrils flare and he throws his hands up, but he doesn’t argue beyond that.

“I know shit continues to pop up, but from here on out, it’s just going to have to go on the list. First things first have to be handled. Locate Kira’s Binding and retrieve it. From there, we move on to Rella’s. Then…we figure out the next fucking step.”

I could sneer at the way everyone looks at me in shock.

I believe I’ve proven my ability to plan some shit.

“That’s very smart, Thayla,” Val says. “Plus, it would be very wise for you and Yemi to practice blocking the powers of everyone who will be joining you. Tomorrow, we will move on to sight.”

“Sight?” I ask, not bothering to hide the disbelief in my tone. “We need to focus on power and perception. The whole reason behind this training.”

“Yes, but understanding a domain, gaining control over a domain, and an ability isn’t something you master in a day. It takes time, practice, and a little patience.”

“Yeah, all things that are in very short supply for us.”

His face softens.

“You can’t expect to accomplish in days what took me lifetimes.”

“I can because we don’t have another choice.” My voice cracks more than I meant for it to. “I—the realm doesn’t have a lifetime to learn because of the choices you—the seven of you—made.”

My words linger between us. My tone didn’t come out as harsh as it could have, but that doesn’t lessen the fact that they’re painfully true.

And impossible to take back.

“Practice what?” Amick asks as my chest heaves.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before facing him.

“We have a way to move through the Abandon undetected with our powers.”

He blinks repeatedly as I give him a brief recap of our training today. By the look on his face, I’ll be repeating this later in more detail.

At least this is one worry knocked off the list.

If and when we actually fucking train for it.

Thayla

12

I’m trying my hardest to hide my growing smirk.

Trying but failing.

The twisted features on the guys’ faces would have you believing they smell something rancid. I believe all morning they were waiting for me to say, just kidding, we’re not spending the afternoon with Mara and Gladian.