Page 87 of Avelina

“You mean metaphorically?” Shane asked with his mouth still full of oardoo.

I shook my head.

“It’s true,” Aaron said. “Bridges don’t just take you across the province. They can take you to other worlds.”

“Is that how your family escaped?” Falondeitric asked.

Aaron narrowed his eyes. That information was supposed to be a secret too. Falondeitric wilted before Aaron’s intense regard, dropping his gaze back down to his plate. “My father told me,” he said softly. Markinius glared at his brother, pinching one side of his mouth.

Falondeitric appeared as though he might say something else, but Markinius interrupted him. “Stop talking, Falon,” he said. “Aaron, we’re glad you set us free, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a criminal. We can’t help you. If you go to the dirt planet, we’ll keep our mouths shut, but that’s the most we can do.”

“They saved your life, Markus,” Ellis snapped, his top lip curling. Apparently, Ellis knew Markinius well enough to use his nickname, a detail I hadn’t previously recognized. “You owe them more than that.”

“I don’t owe them anything,” Markinius sneered. “Axel wouldn’t have killed us. He planned to trade us back in exchange for mining rights. We would’ve been back in two days at most. It will take longer than that for us to get back now. I doubt this healer can use the Teleportation fragment she absorbed.” He’d said the word “healer” as if it were a great insult.

Aaron’s chair made a sudden scraping sound as he stood to face Markinius, who sat across from me. Aaron had been sitting at the end of the table, between us. He glared as if he were about to make Markinius into our next meal.

I laughed. It was an odd reaction, I admit, but the whole thing was ridiculous. “Healer? Does that mean prostitute in this stupid world? Jesus, the misogyny here is even worse than on my planet. How could you have so much women-hating when you have a fake goddess in charge?”

Everyone stopped to stare at me. Markinius’s face turned bright red. I wondered if he had a fancy gold dagger like Axel’s that he might pull out and use to stab me.

“What did you say, girl?”

I didn’t flinch. I was at least five years older than this brat, and with Aaron right there, I felt pretty brave. I leaned forward and stared Markinius down.

“Fake. Goddess,” I said, pronouncing each word distinctly. “She’s fake. She’s phony. She’s false. She’s a liar. It’s not true. She is not a goddess. She’s nothing but an evil reservoir thief with a giant ego and a stupid daughter with stupid yellow pants. She’s fake! And I’m here to make sure everyone knows it. That’s who I am, boy,” I said and leaned back again. I turned to Ellis, mimicking Aaron’s casual tone. “Any more questions?”

Nobody said anything for a moment. Markinius’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, and the only thing keeping him from climbing over the table to kill me was Aaron’s looming presence. Falondeitric seemed shocked, too, but not angry. It was more like he’d just had his worst fears realized.

“Her pants are stupid,” Fitch rasped. Shane chuckled in a higher, almost melodic voice. They had turned back to their food to eat as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening.

“I’m in,” Ellis said. He sat between me and Fitch. He stared at his plate like he’d forgotten it was there.

“Ellis!” Markinius sputtered, his eyes wide.

“Seleca murdered my mother, Markus!” Ellis shouted. His face turned red, and bits of spit flicked out of his mouth as he spoke. “She burned down my house and enslaved me and my brother. They made me . . .” Ellis’s voice broke. He heaved a breath, then continued. “Eve is no purified goddess. She’s a monster. I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what anyone thinks. I killed Axel, and I would do it again. The bastard deserved it, and so does she. If I can make that happen, I will. I’m in.”

The silence stretched out over us, and I shivered as I recognized that our situation had just fundamentally changed. I had openly declared war for the first time, and now I’d gained allies.

“That reminds me,” Aaron said, pulling Axel’s filigreed dagger out of his belt. “This is yours.” He pushed the dagger over to Ellis.

Ellis took the dagger, gripping the handle so tightly that his knuckles were white. Then he glanced up at Aaron and nodded. “Thanks,” he said and tucked the dagger into his own belt.

“No, thank you,” Aaron replied. “You saved Lina’s life.”

“Yes, thank you, Ellis,” I said.

Ellis met my eyes for a brief moment, then looked away again. “You saved Ward from me,” he said. “I won’t forget that.”

And through the rubble and debris, I thought. The men were all brothers, grouped into twos and threes. It was happening. Too late to back out now.

“I’m in too,” Fitch said.

“Me too,” said Shane.

We all turned to the Eboros brothers.

Falondeitric closed his eyes, his brow furrowed, then took a deep breath. “I’m in too,” he murmured.

---