Page 156 of Grave Situation

“I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, your father didn’t hesitate to get involved, although the way he tells it, he was reluctant and felt pressured by his brother. Kathion said he hinted at coercion, though nobody really believed that.”

I don’t either.

“His involvement mainly seems to have been hiding an army of zombies on his estate and providing occasional funds for Domys and his cadre of priests.”

My gag reflex kicks in, and I clap a hand over my mouth as Jaimin hurries over to lay a hand on my back. The nausea instantly recedes, but the feelings that caused it remain. Thereare zombies at my childhood home? In the fields Tia and I explored as children? I could never be glad my sister is dead, but I’m grateful she was spared this knowledge. It would have hurt her so badly.“The staff? And the workers? Are they safe?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Kathion to find out. Is your father the kind who’d allow…”

“He’s too fond of his comforts to allow himself to be inconvenienced,”I say bitterly.“For that reason alone, I don’t believe he’d deliberately allow the staff to be harmed.”But surrounded by zombies, the risk of accidents is very real.

“I’ll have Kathion find out,”Master promises.

Something tickles at the back of my mind.“Master, tell me about these priests. Are they renegades?”

“Not according to your father. He claims that the convocation of temples supports their efforts.”

I hang endlessly in the pause between seconds, trapped by time itself as I struggle to process his words. The convocation supports this. The same convocation that declared me outcast and killed my sister.

My father and uncle have been working with the people who murdered Tia.

Leicht’s earlier comments about grief, sins, and guilt flood back to me. My father has been harboring zombies. He’s betrayed his queen, his country, and the rest of the continent. By association, he’s guilty of Tia’s death. And now, weeks later, he claims to be so overcome by remorse that he raced to Harfarin to confess?

“Tell Kathion not to believe my father’s sudden change of heart. Whatever prompted him to go to court, it’s self-centered.”My chest feels tight. This… this would have killed Tia. She still believed, deep down, that Father isn’t a bad person.

“Kathion knows your father well,”Master advises.“He’s already questioning him again, and the dragon rider has goneto do reconnaissance over the estate.”He hesitates.“I’ll update you as things progress, but Talon… this changes everything. We thought the secret to unlocking your godhood was at your home. If it’s overrun by zombies, the chances of you being able to find it are slim.”

I swallow, trying to keep my demeanor calm.“I know, but I need to go there anyway, especially now. There’s time to consider options—we won’t even reach the mouth of the river for another two days. Unless… Do you think I should take Leicht and fly?—”

~No~

“No!”Master echoes the stone.“Not until you’ve regained your godhood, at least. Leaving your companions behind while you’re still so vulnerable would be a mistake.”

My head spins with exhaustion and new information.“Then it will be weeks before I get there.”

“We may be able to trim a few days off the trip, at least. What does the stone think of me commandeering a naval ship for you?”

I blink, but before I can ask, the stone gives its opinion.

~Yes~

“It agrees, but Master?—”

“There’s a navy yard at Trijmbin. I’ll reach out to the court mage in Camblin tonight and make the arrangements for you to meet them there. It will be a faster journey, and you’ll have trained fighters with you, at least.”

“I need to tell Jaimin what’s happened”is all I say. I don’t even know how to respond. It was one thing to request an escort for a short time in Lenle, but to borrow a whole naval ship and crew for weeks, if not months?

On the other hand, if Iama god, that gives things a new perspective.

Master promises to check in at dawn, then cuts the connection between us. I can sense that Leicht is busy talking to other dragons, so I turn to Jaimin, who’s back in the bed with me, his concerned gaze fixed on my face.

“Tell me,” he says, and I do. Then he folds me in his arms and holds me as I weep.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Two ragged days later,days of near-constant contact with Master as he and Leicht update me on what’s happening at the estate, of worrying for those who should have been able to rely on my family for safety, of grieving for the father I thought I had—pitiful as he was—we sail into the harbor at Trijmbin. Master followed through on his promise, and our instructions are to head directly to the naval yard, where a clipper is waiting for us and there’s moorage ready for Peiris’s boat.

As we sail past Trijmbin proper—the yard is a mile from the small city—I notice a dragon circling some ways inland, and the remnants of smoke hazing the air beyond the town.

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