Page 31 of The Goddesses' Gifts

Then came the thump-thump of Emma’s blessing. The sullen little monster recoiled and withdrew its claws … for now.

I tore my gaze from the gates and glanced at Lobikno. There was dull weariness there in his eyes—haunted by his own memories, no doubt.

“We should get some sleep,” he murmured and retreated farther into the shadows of the pre-dawn forest. “No good now.”

The sound of his voice grated my nerves, but the small, barely rational part of me knew he was correct. We needed food and rest before setting out to destroy our older brother. Rushing in would not bring Ozanna to safety.

We camped in the forest, well beyond the patrols. There moss grew thick and dense beneath oversized fern fronds, carpeting the ground for as far as the eye could see. If not for the chill, we could have slept comfortably without our bedrolls.

Once settled a reasonable, safe distance from one another, I resituated the scrap of Ozanna’s kerchief to lay closer to my face and pulled my silver chain out from under my shirt. All the ornaments and beads on it carried subtle magic charms, created years ago by my adoptive father. There was a cloudy green crystal that, while it didn’t render me invisible, would keep anyone perceiving me from realizing that they did. Lobikno was too far away to benefit from the effect, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. I activated the charm with a touch of my will and waited for sleep.

The burning, writhing thing in my chest settled too. It curled around my heart and slumbered, reluctantly accepting the necessary rest after it’s chastising. Irnon’s gift had not been an easy companion, but once Lobikno explained what it was, I was able to … not reason with it, but redirect it with the help of Emma’s blessing.

Dealing with the conflicting energies was exhausting in every sense, but at least that meant sleep came easily.

We rose at dusk, ate and warmed up our cold, stiff bodies before approaching the gate.

The bitter, angry creature within me made its churning presence known, but stayed its claws. I found myself energized. The promise of an end to this nightmare propelled me forward. There was no doubt or hesitation in my step, because Irnon’s gift had disposed of them. It approved of my plan, which naturally meant what I was about to do was immoral. It also whispered promises of power, a boon to my natural abilities if I allowed it to sate its bloodlust. While I didn’t trust that it could follow through on those promises, I hoped it might at least provide a placebo effect.

So, I let Lobikno lead the way to the clearing outside of the gate. His plan for a duel was better than anything I’d considered, the only flaw being which of us would issue the challenge. He wouldn’t be swayed on the matter, so I hadn’t tried. I just had to hope he could forgive me.

With the moment upon us, the vicious little monster in my chest twisted and bared its teeth, urging me to let go of my restraint, to draw my sword and cut down everyone between me and my mate. I found myself stalking Lobikno instead of following him.

The sentries at the gate watched our approach, waiting for us to get close enough to identify. They went for their weapons when they realized who we were, and the moment Lobikno took a breath to call out, I snaked my arm around his throat and cut off his air.

“Tell Dulanzo that Lhoris is here to challenge him!” I blurted before Lobikno could shake his surprise and slip from my grasp. I released him and met his gaze when he spun to face me, mayhem burning in his eyes. I shrugged. “I never agreed to anything, brother. I’ll soften him up for you if I don’t win.”

Lobikno shoved me, spat on the ground, and proceeded to curse me up and down in three different languages. Once he’d said his fill, he walked away, chest heaving. He stopped a dozen yards away and turned his face up to the fading sky and started a breathing exercise I’d once taught him. Long slow breaths in, long slow breaths out with pauses between.

The clawing monster in my chest railed at the thought, so close to our goal, and tried to take my mind. It felt like a smoldering coal behind my eyes, but Emma’s power thump-thumped once more and the pain receded. I rolled my shoulders back and tried to relax the tense set of them. It took some time for the breathing to combat the discomfort driving me to recklessness, but the fire behind my eyes gradually settled to something I could think around.

With Irnon’s gift quelled, it was just a matter of waiting for Dulanzo to respond to my challenge.

CHAPTER 15

ZELFEK

Dulanzo was nothing if not methodical. It was a contrast to the erratic nature of his day-to-day behavior, but one could always count on older creatures to have habits. The way he undid the minds of his little pets hadn’t changed in a century. Study the elfess, find the weakness, exploit it to create another one, and another, then pretend to be the balm for the wound he’d inflicted, only filling the cracks in her spirit to push them open wider. He’d sew self-doubt from within, then make her hate and love him, slowly twisting the two together—somehow tricking her into believing it meant she hated herself before abandoning her to the rest of the males.

And that was just the beginning.

The when and how of his habits may be unpredictable, but the why was always the same. In duels, he would find a way to distract his opponents second. Particularly if they were the official witness from another house. Because this was in-house, he wouldn’t have to try very hard. I was all but certain that he would order me to challenge Lhoris when Lobikno offered his own. Not because he trusted me. No, he would want me to be just as distracted as Lhoris. He’d also want both of them to think I was still towing the line. I’d burned Lobikno too often in my struggle to climb the ranks that he would be suspicious, but Lhoris would know better. That is if he wasn’t being driven mad by Irnon’s gift.

So, when Dourlak’s aide woke me in my chambers to say that Lhoris was issuing the challenge, I was stunned. I thought furiously about how to convince my oldest friend and adversary that he could trust me while I threw on my leathers and made my way up to the main cavern. But I was exhausted after days of heightened paranoia and stress. My mind was clouded with personal revelations half realized. I was just going to have to wing it. Maybe I’d just have to take the opportunity to kill Dulanzo myself … but Bhekna was right; I was unwell, and I could only lie to myself so much about why I’d decided to treat my cousins like cat’s paws to get the deed done.

I met Dulanzo leaving his own quarters. My elder cousin was immaculately groomed, as always, and in his leathers. He hadn’t donned those since going to collect Lhoris from the woodlands.

I didn’t have it in me to greet him with even a false smile. What I wanted to do was beat his head against the stone until his brain dribbled out of his ears. Instead, I offered him bared teeth and a surly grunt.

“If it isn’t my trusted second,” he replied with a broad smile. “You don’t look nearly as pleased as you should considering this drama is drawing to a close.”

“It doesn’t change anything,” I grumbled as we strode down the corridor to the main cavern. “The dead are still dead, and there are always more to follow.”

Dulanzo’s expression shifted to a harsh mockery of a grin. “So, it worked,” he said just before the great bell started clanging, forcing us both to stop in our tracks and wince before he summoned silence.

Dulanzo startled me by slipping an arm around my shoulders. “You know, you tipped your hand by overselling his unimportance,” he all but purred into my ear, much closer than necessary.

I shoved him away and clenched my jaw. He laughed at me.

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