Page 102 of The Blood of Gods and Monsters

This is—My thought is disrupted as Tryphone begins to speak.

“Welcome, children.” Tryphone needs no added Divinity to reach the highest of the stands. Even from as far back as we’re sitting, the sound of his deep voice reverberates as if he’s merely a few feet away.

“We’ve gathered you here today,” the God King continues, “to bless you, our glorious blood.”

The softness with which he speaks is unsettling. Kiera bumps into me and I glance down. Her face has me releasing my arms from their position and reaching for her. All of the color has drained from her cheeks and her eyes are glassy, her pupils dilated until only the thinnest ring of gray color is still visible. Her whole body goes rigid, and her throat bobs as if she’s fighting back the urge to throw up.

“Kiera?” She doesn’t seem to hear me, swaying a little in her chair before going rigid once more. Lines of pain strain around her eyes and mouth. Ruen’s head snaps to the side and Kalix leans around me.

“Where’s Maeryn?” Her question confuses me, but the way she says it—with swallowing breaths and stilted syllables—concerns me.

“Kiera, do you need healing?” Is that why she’s asking for Maeryn? She doesn’t answer. I put my hand on her arm. There’s no reaction. Her breathing is shallow and uneven.

My eyes flick up to meet Ruen’s for a brief moment, but his expression tells me he’s just as confused as I am.

“We are so proud of the Academy of Riviere,” Tryphone’s voice cuts through whatever we try to say to her next, his volume growing as if he knows we’re not paying attention to him. I have to bite back a snarl of annoyance.

Cupping my hand against Kiera’s cheek, I turn her head towards me. Her gaze is unfocused. “We need to get her out of here,” I say.

“We can’t leave,” this from Kalix.

Whirling in my seat with a few choice curses on the tip of my tongue, the moment I spot his hard features, I know he’s not saying as much to piss me off. I follow the direction of his eyes. The Gods are watching us.

Not as if they are scanning the crowd and peering at each section of students with the false pride in Tryphone’s tone. No. They’re watching us.

Tryphone. His Queen, Danai. Azai. My upper lip curls back at that last one. My father’s interminable gaze remains unflinching. I can’t tell if Dolos is as well, his dark swath of physical oppression keeping me from seeing past the barrier, but I have no doubt if the God King is fixated on us then so is he.

“Dead men…” Kiera’s whisper has me looking back at her. “Dead men,” she repeats. She tries to get up, but just as quickly slumps back into her seat as if she has no energy.

“Dead men?” I look at Ruen, but he simply shakes his head.

“Not here,” he says, lowering his voice even as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.

“Run … trapped … darkness…” Kiera’s voice is unsteady, but at least it’s quiet, barely loud enough for us to hear. “Truth … taboo.”

She’s breaking down and though I can understand the stress of what’s been going on getting to anyone, now is not the fucking time.

“What caused this?” I ask, directing the question to Ruen as he gazes down at her with furrowed brows.

Indigo eyes meet mine and the world begins to blur. I don’t move as he weaves his illusion, around and around, like cloth curtains separating us from the real world, hiding what’s happening—both the conversation and Kiera’s shaking—from prying eyes and those of the Gods.

“The Gods are sending students to Ortus Academy,” he admits once he’s comfortable that we’re not going to be overheard here. Sweat beads break out on his upper lip and his brow. Dimly, I recognize that it’s likely Tryphone’s power pressing down that’s making him work twice as hard to keep up the illusion. It’s time to talk fast.

“Why would that make her like this?” I nod down to the woman between us. She’s not screaming or crying, but Kiera’s head is somewhere far away. I don’t want to admit it, but she reminds me of … me. In that dark room before my brothers had found me.

“There’s more to it,” Ruen says. “She talked with Regis and we think that the son of the Underworld is working with a God. They probably know her secret and about all of our connections with her. We were hoping to leave before they called us, but it just happened and?—”

“Enough.”

As if he simply put his hand through the surface of a pool of water and snatched us from the depths, Kalix’s voice cuts through the illusion. In an instant, it’s all gone. I blink as chatter rises up. Others are standing, talking animatedly as they leave their seats and begin streaming towards the exits.

“What…” I look around. “What’s going on?” My gaze falls on Kalix, on the hard set of his grinding jaw.

At my side, Ruen uses his hold on Kiera to get her to her feet. Her lashes flutter against her pale cheeks and when she lifts them again, her pupils are back to normal. She frowns and then looks at him first before turning to me and then Kalix.

“What … happened?” Her voice is thready, as if she’s just woken from a long deep sleep.

Fuck me, but I recognize that tone. Closing my eyes, I shove back the awful memories of that dark room and the following weeks, months, and years after I’d been freed. Dark places. Weight on my chest. Unable to breathe.

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