Page 14 of Of Wind and Terror

I try to envision these “puppies,” but my mind instead conjures up images of Runt, the pacon I found and saved. An intense yearning threatens to bowl me over.

I miss him.

And, strangely enough, I miss the other inhabitants of theSpringCourt too.

Like Serena and Cayetana.

Like…Blaze and Treyton.

Who would’ve thought I’d miss the antagonistic, insanely possessive Fall Prince and the charming, narcissistic, womanizing Springone?

I shake my head once to get myself back on track. There’ll be time to think about the princes later.

Right now, I need answers.

My nerves are frayed, and tension threatens to lock all my muscles together. There’s so much I don’t understand, and I have the distinct impression that’s intentional. Everybody wants me to be left in the dark. Doing so keeps me pliant and complacent.

But no more.

I give Aleksander a look—one that eloquently states not to mess with me—and he blows out a breath.

“I’m sure you know that elves don’t worship the same gods and goddesses that you do, right?” Though he phrases it as a question, he doesn’t wait for me to respond before continuing. “And that’s true, to an extent, but not the whole truth. You see, we do believe in Gaia, but she’s not the only goddess we worship.”

I frown at him.

Sure, I know that some territories have temples dedicated to lesser gods, but in the courts, every fae believes that Gaia is the supreme ruler of all.

Is Aleksander saying that the elves worship lesser gods?

Which ones?

Aleksander chuckles and stares at me out of the corner of his eye. “You know, I never really had to tell someone the origin story before. Everybody in Amorite has been taught this stuff since we were children. Even those who don’t believe know the gospel.”

Do you believe?

But I don’t ask that question, mainly because I don’t know how to articulate it through hand gestures and facial expressions.

“In the beginning, there were two deities who loved each other very much. They decided they were going to show their love by creating a world dedicated to it. A world that we now call home. Those deities were named Order and Chaos.” Aleksander glances at me once again, as if to make sure I’m following the conversation.

Order and Chaos?

I sift through my meager memories of religion, trying to remember if I ever heard of these gods before, but come up blank.

“They worked together to create a world that would thrive. A world that is capable of balancing light and dark, good and evil, order and chaos. You see, cherub, every facet of the universe must be balanced. When there is sunlight in the world, there also must be shadows to create darkness. And when it’s night, Order will add stars to the sky to create light.”

He scratches at his jawline, where there are the subtlest beginnings of stubble. “Order and Chaos quickly discovered that they couldn’t rule this paradise alone, so they created others—gods and goddesses who would become the ones we worship today.

“One of the first was Gaia, who was put in charge of every living thing, from the plants that sprout from the ground, to the creatures that fly in the sky, to the fae and elves and giants that walk this earth. But where there’s life, there also has to be?—”

”Death,” I mouth in understanding.

“Thanatos,” Aleksander agrees with a sharp nod. “He controlled all the things that died. The wilting flowers, the predator eating the prey, sickness and disease.”

For some reason, Aleksander’s words conjure up memories of one of my last conversations with Calan. He was discussing with me all of the reasons he loves the Winter Court. I thought a land characterized by snow and ice would be a kingdom of death, but Calan told me that winter was actually the beginning of life.

“Order and Chaos were pleased with the world they created, but everything changed when Chaos began to question his role. How could chaos exist, let alone thrive, when the fundamental ideals of balance ensured there would always be order? They fought, and we were told their battle was so intense that the precarious scales shifted.

“Gaia and Thanatos, desperate to keep their world alive, decided that the only thing they could do was get rid of their parents before they could destroy everything once and for all. But of course, they couldn’t kill them, because doing so would upset the balance. So they did the next best thing…”

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