Page 13 of The Blood of Gods and Monsters

I don’t get anything. In fact, I’m more confused than before I dragged him up here. I shake my head. “How am I supposed to know what questions to ask to get the answers I need?” I demand. “I don’t have time to unravel your ridiculous word puzzles to get to the truth. The longer I remain at the Academy, the more danger I pose—” I cut myself off, remembering what Kalix and Ruen had insinuated and even demanded before I’d come away to speak with Caedmon alone.

“The brimstone…” My words drift as my hand reaches up and touches the back of my neck. “If it’s removed, my Divinity?—”

“Magic,” Caedmon corrects quietly.

I shoot him a look. “No offense,” I tell him, “but it’s a little difficult to spend twenty years calling it one thing only to be told that it’s something else entirely and change my terminology in a single night. So, I think I’ll continue to call it Divinity.”

His smirk turns more genuine. “Fair enough,” he says with a head tilt. “Continue. What about the brimstone?”

I lick my lips nervously as the brimstone beneath my skin seems to heat at my touch and remembrance of it. It’s been there for so long now that it’s easy to forget it exists for long periods of time.

“If I remove it, my abilities—my Divinity—it won’t be hidden anymore,” I guess.

“If you’re asking,” Caedmon starts, “then yes, that is correct. Removing the brimstone that binds you to Ophelia is akin to removing the mask you’ve worn for the past ten years. It will become obvious to all that you are not mortal—if you prefer the terms of this world.”

I bite down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. Rarely have I ever let myself hope, but now, disappointment wells within me—a testament to how much hope I’ve held out for having it removed. I close my eyes as they begin to burn.

“I see.” My shoulders sag. “Then I suppose I should keep it.”

Caedmon clicks his tongue and my eyes open again, surprised by the noise. His brow puckers and his smile is gone as he looks at me. “I will take care of the consequences of your Divinity, Kiera,” he says quietly. “If you want the stone removed, then remove it.”

I straighten. “Can I? Is that the right question? Can I remove the brimstone without being killed for defying the Gods and hiding my existence?”

Caedmon’s smile returns and spreads over the lower half of his face. “That,” he tells me, “is the right question, and my answer is yes. Do you want it removed?”

As much as I want my next breath, I think to myself, but as my lips part to say as much, the sound of pounding footsteps up the staircase stops me and I turn as a hard hand raps upon the closed door.

“Kiera.” Ruen’s dark voice comes through the wood. “Enough. Come out here. I’m getting that fucking thing removed if I have to hold you down and cut it out myself.”

Caedmon is across the room in the blink of an eye, startling me. I recoil from him, my hand snapping to my hidden blade in an instinctive response. Caedmon holds a hand out to me, though, staying my movements as he turns and opens the door.

“I think that’s quite enough, Ruen,” he chastises. “It’s not like you to interrupt a private conversation.”

“It is when the one in that conversation is a liar and a traitor.”

My eyes widen at Ruen’s cold response.

Caedmon opens the door wider until both Ruen and I can see each other. “That is quite ironic coming from you,” Caedmon replies just as coolly before he gestures to me. “There. As you can see, she’s quite alright and our conversation is over. You may take her downstairs to get the brimstone removed.”

Ruen glares at Caedmon before reaching through the now open doorway. His fingers close around my wrist and he pulls me, quickly but firmly, out into the hallway. Neither of the men says another word as Ruen turns and leads me back the way we came. Distantly, I’m aware that Caedmon follows us, and as we near the doorway that leads into the back rooms, I note that Madam Brione is gone.

Regis stares at me as we pass him. I stay quiet as Ruen gently nudges me back into the rooms and then locks his attention on Ophelia. With her arms crossed over her chest, she doesn’t wilt under his scrutiny. Instead, she straightens away from the table and steps towards the Darkhaven facing her down. The blood in my veins chills at the look she gives him back.

It would have had me shrinking away in memory of all the times I’d been tied to a chair and forced to endure her brand of education if it weren’t for Ruen holding me in place.

Ruen breaks the silence. “The brimstone,” he growls before tightening his hold on my wrist and pulling me in front of him. “Remove it,” he orders. “Now.”

Now that Caedmon has said that doing so won’t ruin all of us, I decide that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. “And why do you think I’ll do something like that?” Ophelia finally asks.

Ruen releases me to step around me, his massive frame larger than hers, his stance menacing. “Because if you don’t, I will sever your head from your shoulders and it will become a moot point,” he states calmly as if he’s saying nothing of importance instead of threatening the woman who’s kept me tied to her as a blood contracted servant for a decade. My breath catches in my throat.

“We don’t have time for this,” Theos snaps. “Do it, woman, or my brother won’t be the only one to force your hand.”

My head turns and my gaze meets a familiar set of green irises. Kalix is staring at me with all the subtlety of a hungry lion.

Ruen doesn’t turn around or acknowledge Theos’ statement. Neither does Ophelia for that matter. The two remain standing before each other, eyes narrowed. Finally, Kalix breaks our connection and moves further into the room, drawing all three of their attention. As if they were all aware of him but quietly ignoring his dark shadowy presence until it became more of a threat.

“You will remove that abominable stone in her neck or I will remove yours from your body,” Kalix tells her with a cold, almost deranged smile. “It is your choice, but you should know—I hope you fight. It will make killing you all the more pleasurable for me.”

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