Page 16 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

“You are,” he insists.

Anger pours through me. “No. I’m not!” I yell.

“Quiet!” the man from before barks from the end of the hallway. “One more fucking shout and you and your friend will be sleeping in the courtyard instead of getting a bed.”

That threat has me shutting my mouth, but I shift towards Regis despite it. He shifts away. “Don’t come near me,” he hisses.

“I’m not bad,” I tell him. “I didn’t do anything to your brother. I promise.”

Regis is quiet for a long time, so long, in fact, that I fear he’s resolved to ignore my existence. Eventually, however, he speaks. “Mortal Gods shouldn’t be here,” he says without looking at me. “Mortal Gods are better than humans.”

I frown at that. “Why would you think that?”

“Because it’s true,” he snaps. “You heal faster. You’re smarter. You’re stronger. It’s why Grell went with that God—because we, humans, can’t defy them.”

“My dad said that humans and Gods are the same,” I tell him.

“They’re not.”

I bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming at him. My dad’s not a liar. He wouldn’t have told me something that wasn’t true. I sniffle and the sound makes me realize that the tears have returned. No matter how much I try to defy them, they run down my cheeks. Each wipe dries my skin only for it to be taken back over by the fresh saltiness of my own pain.

A sigh comes from the boy and I sense rather than see Regis’ head turn towards me. “What did I say about crying?”

I hiccup. “My d-dad didn’t lie,” I say.

“What?”

I sniff again and rub my face hard with the dirty sleeve of my shirt. I rub until my skin feels raw. “My dad didn’t lie,” I repeat the words. “He said that humans and Gods are the same. He’s not a liar.”

Regis is quiet for a beat and then he shuffles closer. I look up. His face is twisted and full of guilt. “I’m not calling him a liar,” he tells me. “But we are different. Gods have power and … mortals don’t.”

“My dad was mortal and he was the strongest man I know,” I say.

“Your dad’s dead now, though,” he replies. “Gods don’t die.”

I blink and sit up straighter. “Yes, they do.” I straighten my shoulders. “My dad said that Gods can be killed, but only if their killer has Divinity of their own.”

Regis’ gaze widens and his lips part in shock. Suddenly, the look in his eyes changes. He stares at me for several long beats of silence, his face a mask of emotions—none of which I can place or understand as they pass over his features too quickly for me to catch them. Finally, he sits back against the wall and looks away.

“You’re right,” he says. “I forgot about that. I just … I didn’t think anyone with Divinity would ever try to kill a God.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, I’m going to,” I snap.

“What?” His head pivots to face me again.

“I’m going to find the bad people who hurt my dad,” I say. “I’m going to find the Gods who took my mom and I’m going to kill them.”

Regis stares at me for longer this time. So long that I wonder if he’s even seeing me or if he’s fallen asleep with his eyes open. When his lips part and he sucks in a breath, I know he’s still awake. His hand comes up and I flinch away from it, worried he’s going to hit me for saying something that Ophelia had only laughed at. It’s not funny. It’s the truth. But Regis doesn’t hit me, nor does he laugh.

Instead, he pats the top of my head with his dirty, grimy fingers. “That’s a good goal, Kiera,” he says. “A good goal indeed.”

Chapter 7

Kiera

“We’re here.” The carriage stops and Regis gets out first, flipping up his hood to keep his head from getting drenched in the rain. He reaches back automatically and for a moment, I stare at his upturned palm. Then with a sharp look up at him, I deliberately ignore it and jump down the stairs to the ground myself. He curls his fingers back into his palm and lowers his hand with a smirk. “Alright then.”

“You should know better,” I tell him as I move towards the door of the building we’ve stopped in front of. “I’m not one of your bedmates.”

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