Page 30 of Awariye

Then they both looked at me and nodded, encouraging me to pray. I'd been so engrossed in Awariye's voice, having their attention turned on me was startling.

"H-hallo," I stammered, then froze up, realizing that Wren and Awariye could sense something that I couldn't, that clearly they knew the gods were here right now, and if it had been left to me, I'd have no idea. I had no choice but to shoulder those insecurities aside for the moment and leave them to look at later.

"My name is Igor. My best friend Kristoff prayed to you, I believe. If you would like me to, then I...ahm...I could bring wine and bread for you, and light incense, and..."

I trailed off as my mind lost all words and I proceeded to freak out. As a human and a warrior, I thought of myself as the top predator unless I was caught unawares or outnumbered. But if these gods were actually listening to me speak right now, they were enormous. That knowledge made me lose my nerve. If I said something wrong, they could squish me like a bug.

"And you'll pray to them," whispered Wren in encouragement.

I jumped. "Ach-ja genau, I will pray to you and try to listen. I don't know what I could say that would be interesting to you, but—I'll stop talking now. Thank you for your time."

In fear, I checked with the mages and found them both with their eyes lidded. I realized they were listening, so I breathed deeply and tried to calm myself and listen too. No way could I hear anything with my heart pounding like this.

When my nerves finally stilled, I could feel the power of the lanterns filling the chapel. It was a wonder that they were willing to share this space, but since their mage Wren was already dedicated to his Celtic gods before he met the lanterns, maybe that only made sense. I was too familiar with the customs of the Abrahamic faiths, of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, since they were still quite popular. But theirs was a jealous god, and as far as I knew, said god did not allow for plurality like this. Yet even in these Danubian lands, there were already multiple iterations of Jesus—the Alpine Christ, the Christ of the Forest, and the Christ of a Thousand Ages—so maybe even Christian faith was branching like a tree these days.

With a jolt I realized my mind had quickly wandered astray, so I brought my thoughts back and tried to listen again, the task proving harder than I'd anticipated. I reasoned that even if they didn't want to tell me something, they could at least see me right now. They could see I was a warrior, in love with the bard before me, even if said bard maybe didn't fully know yet how much. They could also see Kristoff in my past, how I had loved him and he'd protected me from the beyond until I'd learned how to fight without him next to me on the battlefield.

They would then see the person I fought for: Ulbrecht, the king of these Danubian lands. Ulbrecht's ferocity had brought a rare and young peace to our blood-soaked soil, and he fought with the backing of these lantern gods on the table before me. Ulbrecht fully believed—had been convinced by the mountain mystic that brought them here—that if he fought with everything he had, gave it his all, then the lanterns would at least honor us by watching, and their power might aid us in protecting this peace for a little longer.

If the Gaulic gods invoked in this chamber now wanted what they saw in me, then in great humility I would pray to them and bring them things. I just hoped they were the ones Kristoff had prayed to, and that they wanted to know me too.

The sounding of Awariye's harp brought me out of my meditative state, so I quickly mentally closed the prayer with a thank-you while Wren cycled through the last steps of the ritual to close the space.

Once finished, my lover whipped around and smiled at me, filling me with light and joy. "That was a good introduction, Igor! Now we can see what they do and if they want you to continue."

"How do I know it worked?" I asked, unsure.

"Your life will get worse," Ulbrecht tossed in, catching me by surprise.

At my questioning look he smirked. "Trial by fire: karmic culmination. If the gods see that you're willing to work hard on a spiritual path, the first thing that happens is any unaddressed baggage you've been carrying around with you and refusing to look at will smack you in the face. Get through that baggage, however, and then you're ready."

"The path opens before you," both Awariye and Wren said at the same time, clearly quoting an instructor of theirs at the monastery, then giggled.

I shook my head with mirth and found Ulbrecht smiling at the two friends with a pleased look. These two were good for each other, and I couldn't be happier that their paths had crossed this winter.

Ulbrecht opened his arms and Wren sat next to him, then promptly squeaked when Ulbrecht relocated him to his lap. The two cuddled and watched the lanterns, but I surmised it was only a matter of time before Ulbrecht scooped Wren up and carried him off to their bedroom to ravish him.

Awariye appeared at my side, his harp packed away. He took my hand. "Want to go for a walk outside?"

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

IGOR

"Ineed to spend more time outside and refill my stores," said Awariye, breathing deeply and inspiring me to do the same.

We'd bundled up and gotten Awariye into a borrowed set of snow boots so we could tromp around in the forest and not get cold or wet. I'd wanted to hold his hand, but it was just cold enough that he crammed his mitts in his pockets, his breath puffing out in a white mist. He'd said he needed time in nature, but he was still recovering, so I planned to keep a close eye out in case his energy waned.

"I have done my prayers," I began, "but now I want to talk about you."

He quirked a brow at me. "Oh?"

I chuckled at him, then calmed as we hiked further into the woods. "What do you dream about?"

"The hot stud in my bed," he replied immediately, making me laugh and throwing me off.

"Nein-nein," I protested bashfully. "I mean, what do you dream about for your life?"

He sobered at that, looking far off, though at least he seemed to be seriously considering the question. "I can't afford to have dreams, Igor. I nearly starved to death a few weeks ago."

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