Page 25 of Gods' Battleground

“And on top of all of that, she is a telepath,” I continued. “So any way you put it, according to the gods’ laws, she belongs to me, not you.”

Faris watched me for a few long, silent moments. Finally, he said, “You play the games of gods well, child.”

He almost looked proud of me. Of course that emotion was buried deep beneath all the distaste and annoyance. But it was as good as I was going to get from Faris.

I shrugged. “The games of gods are always pretty much the same story, whether they play out in the ballroom or on the battlefield.”

I’d known Faris would never back down on the Vertigo subject, at least not as long as we had an audience. He had to save face, to maintain his kingly, godly reputation.

“Very astute of you, Leda,” said Faris. “Perhaps you will make a decent deity after all.”

I was almost touched by his statement. But mostly I was worried. Very worried. I didn’t want to get so wrapped up in deity politics that I started to act just like them. I wanted to be myself.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” I said brightly, “I think I’ll go join my family for waffles in the canteen.”

Faris cut me off before I reached the door. “This isn’t about waffles.”

I nodded, grinning. “For me it is. Ilovewaffles. Especially with raspberries on top. And lots of whipped cream too.”

His eyes drew together. “I know therealreason you stole Vertigo from me, and it wasn’t just to annoy me.”

“I think you underestimate how much fun it is to annoy you,” I said flippantly.

Faris ignored me. “You are going to use Vertigo to find your sister Bella.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s the only reason I agreed to go after her in the first place. We’ve already been over this.”

“So you have learned where your sister is.”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Bella is on a world called Midnight,” I told him. I didn’t see any reason not to.

“You cannot go after her,” he said. “You have duties here. You can’t just run off whenever you please.”

He was giving me the I-am-your-king-and-father stare, but I wasn’t backing down, not when Bella’s life was on the line.

“Saving Bella is important,” I said. “And actually, you should want me to cure Bella. As long as she remains cursed, she can kill any one of the gods with a simple snap of her fingers.”

“And if her curse isn’t curable?” he countered.

“I refuse to give up. And I’m not going to. In fact, in just a moment, you’ll bebeggingme to go after Bella.”

“Oh?” Faris replied, amused. “And why is that?”

“Midnight, the world Bella’s on, it’s in the Veil, which I seem to remember is a region rich in immortal treasures and artifacts. The Night Prince has a vast treasury of Immortal knowledge. So what do you want to bet that he has something—a journal, amap, something—that could lead us to new, untapped sources of Nectar and Venom in the Veil.”

Faris perked up.

I gave him a smug smirk. “I told you that you’ll be begging me to go after Bella.”

“I do notbeg. Icommand. And I’m commanding you to travel into the Veil and find new sources of Nectar in this magic-rich area.”

“Sure thing, Pops,” I told him with a solid pat on the shoulder.

He looked like he’d tasted acid. “Your behavior was absurd for an angel. It is even more deplorable for a goddess.”

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