Page 66 of A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness

Curiously, though, I turn back to the girl. "How do you know?" I ask.

She doesn't look at me but instead continues facing the row of thick tree trunks in the nearby distance. "I always wondered what it would look like," she replies, her voice almost squeaky with its natural pitch. "A place that even the Gods didn't care to rule." When she turns to me, it's with big brown eyes so wide and swallowed by her pupils that it makes my heart jump a bit. She looks both scared and in awe. "I never knew it could be so beautiful."

I want to respond, to tell her that no matter how pretty a place may seem, the danger within can often ruin that image. I don't. I can't. Before I manage to recover, she walks off, joining a few other Mortal Gods in the vicinity. I watch her go as I sense the Darkhavens draw nearer.

"She must be from Perditia," Theos says.

"Why do you think that?" I ask, though I can guess. She didn't look familiar and surely had she been at Riviere, I would have seen her before now.

Theos' golden gaze meets mine. "Perditia is a mountainous region," he says. "They have no forests nearby and many Mortal Gods sent there have never left."

Oh. I suppose her wonder at the forest makes sense now. Still ... I pity that today's ceremony will likely destroy any lovefor this place she might have held previously. Because today, we hunt the Hinterlands for the Gods' prizes.

I hope we can all survive it.

As the lastof the fog rolls away, the God Council comes into view. All of them save for one—the most important one. Tryphone is strangely absent, not that it stops Azai from stepping forward and trying to claim his space. He ignores the fact that Danai, God Queen is there, and stations himself in front of the others.

I could laugh.

Without Tryphone leading them and with Caedmon locked away in secret, the three women who stand behind Azai are likely far more powerful than the man they allow to think leads them. They stand behind him like mothers watching a child take charge with the safety and protection and none of the consequences of his actions. Perhaps it's always been that way for Azai, or perhaps he’s just a greedy bastard.

A hand slips into mine, scarred fingers curling around mine, and I squeeze them back, assuring Ruen that I’m fine and so is he. We all are. For now.

“Welcome to the Hinterlands!” Azai’s booming voice captures the attention of all who made it through the Void. The students drift closer.

“Today marks the day of the first Hunt since the Gods entered this world,” Azai continues.

My gaze moves away from him to the side. The Gods don’t stand on a hastily built dais but on a rocky stone that juts out of the ground at an angle. To either side, both Zalika and Nubo stand with their legs shoulder-width apart and arms claspedin front of them. The sight of them reminds me of what I’d overheard before being rescued by Makeda. When we return to Ortus, I will have to send Regis a note. It’s clear that Nubo is likely the man Carcel is working with, though the reason for it is still a mystery.

I narrow my eyes on the man, trying to see the skeletal frame of him beneath his skin as I had the night before. One would think the light of day would reveal all, but it appears that for this man, the sun is a cloak as much as the clothes on my back.

Reaching down, I curve my fingers around one dagger weighed down at my hip. The familiar handle of a weapon under my grip is reassuring even if I know that today will be anything but.

“As you well know,” Azai says to the crowd of rapt listeners, “the Gods have chosen not to invade the Hinterlands and you may have wondered why.” One corner of his mouth curves upward as he unfolds his arms from across his chest and plants both hands on his hips before continuing. “There is but one reason: Benevolence.”

I snort. I can’t help it. The very thought of someone putting the Gods together with the term ‘benevolence’ is nothing if not an amusement at best and a lie at worst. As eyes the same color as Theos’ meet mine over the various heads of the students and narrow, I can guess that Azai knows what I’m thinking. I pull my hand from Ruen’s to put it to the back of my neck and crack it to the side.

“There are many creatures that lie within the domain of the Hinterlands,” Azai continues. “Beautiful and dangerous as they are, all that reside within Anatol are our children.”

I bite down on my lower lip to keep from laughing. Azai’s gaze sharpens on me with a keen look and I can’t help it; I lift my free hand and give him a little wave. Behind him, I spy Makeda’s expression. Her lips pinch together and she turns away as hershoulders shake. Gygaea just glares back at me as Danai stands between the two other women and sways from side to side as if she doesn’t even realize where she is.

Azai bares his teeth and several students to the front of the crowd all take an instinctual step back. “We have forbidden the act of dwelling and hunting in these lands because the creatures that live here are more than just ordinary,” Azai continues, his tone sharper than it had been. He sucks in a breath and slowly releases it. I watch as his entire body goes lax, and this time, when he smiles, it’s with cruel intention. His eyes stay locked with mine as he speaks. “Today, it will be your responsibility to track down these creatures and kill as many as you can.”

One brave student close to the front but not quite in front of Azai raises an arm and Azai’s gaze snaps to the man. “You,” he says, pointing.

“Y-yes, My Lord,” the student, a burly man with hair cut close to his scalp and broad shoulders, replies. He looks strangely familiar, but I can’t quite place him. “May I ask—if it would not offend—what prize will we receive from hunting these animals?”

Azai’s smile widens. “Prize, you ask?” He strokes his golden beard, decorated and woven with beads today. “Well, for one, these animals will grant all who take their lives heightened abilities.”

A surge of voices rise, excitement flowing over the students at this news. A chill creeps down my spine and I say nothing as I cross my arms back over my chest and watch on.

“Yes,” Azai says thoughtfully and then nods as if deciding something. As he opens his mouth, his next words boom out once more over the assembled students. “The one who kills the most creatures and brings us their corpses will receive the special favor of the Gods,” he announces.

My stomach drops out from beneath me. “Kiera?” Theos’ curious voice is on my right. I shift uncomfortably on my feetand glance over my shoulder at where the opening to the forest looms.

Azai’s laughter brings my head back around to find the God of Strength with his hands still on his hips but his head thrown back in amusement. “You find that acceptable, yes?” He straightens and all nearby jerk their heads in acknowledgement.

I take a step back, closer to the woods. “Shall we take advantage?” I hear Kalix ask.

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