Page 93 of A Reign of Storm and Madness

“Why can’t I?” I demand. It’s become increasingly clear to me that there is no client. Everything Ophelia has done to put me in the path of the Darkhavens has been a test—one that I have miserably failed.

“Run off?” he clarifies, brow puckering in confusion.

“Yes,” I snap. “You know as well as I do that it would be better for me if I were to just leave. Then there would be no chance of discovery.”

Theos’ brow eases and he gives me a pitiable look that makes me want to punch him in the face. I rip my hand away from his and curl my fingers into the fabric of my cloak to stop from doing just that.

“Kiera, it’s too late for that; you know that as well as we do. The Gods have already noticed you. Your presence would be missed and they would track you down. Take it from someone who knows—Ruen is well aware of what will happen if you disappear. It’s why he refused to let you come by yourself.”

“Ruen knows, huh?” I laugh bitterly. Something cracks in my chest. Fear and something else—an emotion I can’t name. I stare out the window unseeingly. “What does he fucking know but how to be a pampered son of a God?”

Theos’ body goes rigid at my side. “There is a lot that you don’t know about us,” he murmurs. His voice is so quiet that it almost gets swallowed up by the repetitive creaking sound of the wheels of our carriage turning against the cobblestone streets. “We might all have the same father, but we’ve all had different upbringings. I never knew my human mother, but Ruen and Kalix … they did. Kalix lived with his until she died, and Ruen…” The hesitation in his voice causes me to finally glance back at him.

“Ruen’s mother what?” I ask, cursing my own curiosity.

Theos shakes his head and frowns. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have started that—it’s not my story to tell, but you should ask him about it sometime. He might tell you. You have more in common than you think, especially now that we know you’re an undocumented Mortal God.”

I cross my arms over my chest and the carriage rattles as it turns a corner, careening a bit too close, and my side slides into Theos’. He catches me and I pull away again. My attention falls away from his face, back to the window and the passing buildings and streets, lit by gas lamps.

“When we get to where we’re going, I want you to stay outside,” I say, changing the subject entirely. “I told my brother that one of you knew this morning and he wasn’t happy about it. When I tell him about everything…” I bite down on my lower lip, worrying it between my teeth before releasing it when I taste blood. “I need to talk to him alone.”

“Ruen said there was a device that made it difficult for him to hear you today,” Theos says. “As long as you make sure that isn’t a problem, I will let you go in, but make no mistake, Kiera, I will enter if I think you’re trying to run away. You come back to the Academy with me after all of this—that is non-negotiable.”

Everything is negotiable, I think snidely, but I don’t dissuade him. It’s not worth the argument. “Fine.”

“Fine,” he shoots back.

The two of us fall back into silence and it isn’t until the carriage reaches its final stop, as close to the slums as it dares get that I haul myself out of my seat and open the door before either the driver or Theos can get to it. I jump out onto the street, my booted feet cracking against the sidewalk and cobblestones. Theos is quick to follow, the burn of his attention searing into the back of my head as if he half expects me to bolt any moment.

I won’t. No doubt he and his brothers predict that I’ll try to run soon. If I choose to do so, it’ll be when they all least expect it.

“This way,” I say, gesturing over my shoulder as I curl two fingers and urge him to follow me.

We take the long path since there’s no real time limit on this trip now. Dawn is far off. Theos trails me silently, an ever-present shadow as we curve through streets and alleys. We move down long darkened roads with only one dim gas lamp to illuminate the faces of buildings and anyone who might be hiding in the shadows. The shadows grow closer, giving me hints as to which ones to avoid and which ones are safe. Some of the slum streets have no lamps at all or if they do, they’re cracked and broken, untended for what seems like a long time.

“Fuck!” Theos curses and jerks back, jumping nearly three feet away from me as a woman tosses something wet from a window, nearly dumping it right on top of us. He covers his mouth with his hand, eyes widening. “Is that fucking piss?”

I shrug. “Not all of these buildings have indoor plumbing, Master,” I reply curtly before walking away.

He curses again, quieter this time, but the sound makes my lips curve the smallest amount in amusement. Theos doesn’t say another word until I raise my palm and press it back against his chest as we turn down the street of Madam Brione’s shop and boarding rooms. He stops.

“What is it?” he asks, gaze flashing around our surroundings as if seeking out a threat. I roll my eyes again. If anything, we are the most threatening creatures on this street. Even drunk or angry, no human could truly take us—despite what Regis had said before. I’m convinced that the man he killed can’t have been a Mortal God. Either that or Ophelia had given him a brimstone blade. Though, why, I wouldn’t know or understand. They’re expensive enough as it is and rare to attain. I shake my head, that’s just one more thing that I’ll have to discuss with Regis when I get inside.

“We’re here,” I tell Theos before I point to an alley across the street. “You can wait there. I’m going inside there.”

Theos looks to the alley to the front of the shop that I gesture to and then back to me. His expression hardens. “Don’t use that device, Kiera,” he reminds me. “If I feel even the smallest bit of suspicion, I’m coming in.”

My shoulders tense and I throw them back, turning to face him fully. “You will not,” I grind out. “You will stay in that fucking alley until I come get you. This is not a game, Theos. You might be a spoiled Mortal God used to training for entertainment purposes but this isn’t playtime. I won’t use that damn device, but you don’t get to dictate to me either.”

Golden eyes flicker black and then back to gold. Theos doesn’t reply for several long moments. Then, as if testing or tempting me with his actions, he takes a step away and then another and another, until he’s almost swallowed up completely by the shadows of the alley I’d told him to stay in. Just before he disappears from my vision altogether, I hear his last words.

“Don’t deceive us, Kiera. You won’t like us when we’ve decided to keep something as ours and it tries to run away.”

Thorns of anxiousness prick at my insides. Us, he had said. Not just him. I bite down on my lip again and once more, I taste blood. This time, I don’t stop. I lick the blood from my mouth and turn and stride into Madam Brione’s shop.

Chapter 47

Kiera

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