Page 110 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

“Your point?”

“Islor has only ever been interested in Islor, and you believe your way is the only way.” He smirks. “I know what I need to of your fates, but I do not concern myself with them. Kier follows the way of Udrel.”

“And which way is that?”

Tuella emerges from her corner. “The way of shadow and light. Our beliefs are rooted in that of balance, both that which we can see and that which we cannot.”

A vague explanation, but my curiosity is piqued. “If I recall my childhood teachings about Kier—which you assume I have had none—that was not always the case.”

“That is true,” King Cheral admits. “Once, long ago, we were influenced by our neighbors to believe differently. Mordain’s wielders used to arrive at our shores to educate us on the way of their creators. And most in Kier welcomed such notions. But these fates of theirs who grant children connected to the land’s power have never bestowed Kier such consideration, have never given us an opportunity to converse with them, to ask them for gifts. So what reason would we have to honor them with sanctums and statues made of precious metals and stone?”

“Islor has not seen a caster born within its borders in two millennia either.”

“And yet you still bow at their feet,” Tuella asks. “Why?”

Her question gives me pause. “I suppose because they are all that we have ever known.”

“And now that you know me?”

“Honestly, I do not know what or who you are.”

“That is understandable. Not everyone in Kier has embraced the way of shadow and light yet.”

“And if Udrel’s conjurers aren’t born by the grace of these fates’ power, how do you exist?”

Her small smile borders on smug. “We are chosen.”

“Chosen. By whom?”

“By the light.”

I shake my head. “Listening to you speak, it is as if I am looking outside at that sky that is clearly blue, and you are insisting it is green.”

“And yet both our convictions would be equally strong.”

Something tells me I could talk in circles around this one and never get to the center unless she wishes me there. But I need answers. “What do you know of our fates and what is happening in my realm?”

She glances at King Cheral, who nods once, as if granting permission.

“The balance has shifted. I felt it even before your blood moon, but since that night, light and shadow both radiate, almost as if in competition with each other.”

“What does that even mean?”

Worry pinches her features. “I do not yet know, except to say there is much shadow and also much light. Too much of either does not allow balance.”

King Cheral sets his mug down. “I received word from my general. The day after your Hudem, as you call it, his scout spotted one of those scaly winged beasts landing in the plains, at the site of the battle.”

A change in subject. Fine. I can’t understand what this bloody conjurer is talking about, anyway. “What did it do here?”

“Besides swallow a horse nearly whole? Nothing. But a male and a female flew within its clutches. They searched the bodies thoroughly and then left with a soldier.”

“Alive or dead?”

“My scout did not specify, other than to say they seemed very interested in that one in particular. I wonder why that is.” He watches me evenly as I process this bit of information.

Could Zander and Romeria be looking for me? In that case, who would they have taken? I know who I would collect—the male who knows me better than myself in some ways. Kazimir. But there would only be one reason to take him—if he was alive to give answers.

“I suppose it is a good thing they didn’t continue farther east. They would have happened upon your Kierish army. Imagine the destruction that beast could cause.”

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