Page 62 of Gods' Battleground

She glowered at me.

“Any objections?”

No one said anything, which had to be a first for this chamber.

“Awesome. We’re agreed. So moving on to the next order of business,” I said silkily. “My sister Bella. As I wrote in my report,she played a pivotal role in this latest endeavor. So that’s why both councils are going to issue her an official pardon for her unfortunate involvement in recent events.”

“Unfortunateinvolvement?” Saphira repeated. “She killed numerous gods, Leda.”

“And conspired with the traitor Ava,” added Violet.

“Because she was cursed. She wasn’t in control of her actions,” I reminded them. “But now she is. Bella’s broken the curse. She’s no longer any threat to any of you. So you’re going to issue her a pardon—or, better yet, a letter of thanks for her help on Midnight.”

“Preposterous!” Sonja exclaimed.

Why was it always Sonja? Seriously.

“We will issue the pardon,” Grace told me, “but certainly not a letter of thanks.”

I didn’t expect anything else. Deities didn’t thank anyone for anything. They considered it a show of weakness.

After their quick agreement to Bella’s pardon, the gods and demons just as quickly dove into a heated argument over who got to send how many soldiers to me at Midnight Castle. I totally expected that from them too. Which was why I was leaving.

“Where are you going?” Sonja demanded. “We are not finished here.”

“Well, I am,” I snapped. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep or a decent meal in weeks, so I’m going now. Feel free to continue bickering all you want after I leave.”

CHAPTER 22

THE PERFECT PARTNER

Iteleported out of the council chamber before anyone could drag me back onto my ugly, uncomfortable throne. I was hangry as all hell and in no mood for deity theatrics. Luckily, Calli had the cure to what was ailing me. She was making pizza tonight.

“Mmm,” I sighed, inhaling the sweet aromas of freshly baked bread, tomatoes, and garlic.

I grabbed a pizza roll off a side table in the front lounge. Pizza appetizersanda pizza main dish? That was one of the many reasons I loved Calli.

“Hey, save some for the rest of us,” Zane chuckled as I loaded two more pizza rolls onto my plate.

“Hoard or starve, dear brother.”

“Yeah, that was pretty much the family motto growing up in this house,” he said, grabbing a bunch of pizza rolls for himself.

After that, the two of us didn’t do much talking for a while. We were too busy eating.

“How are you feeling?” Gin asked Bella.

The two of them were standing with Tessa and Harker on the other side of the lounge. Apparently, they hadn’t seen the pizza rolls yet. Zane and I exchanged glances, then divided theremaining rolls between our two plates before anyone else got them.

“I feel amazing!” Bella sang. “When the sun came up this morning, I didn’t become the Monster.” She turned to Harker, beaming. “The ring worked.”

Tessa snatched her hand to get a closer look at the ring. “Wow, now that’s a ring!” She glanced at Harker. “And you made this?”

“I did.”

“Homemade engagement rings,” Tessa said, nodding. “I sense a new trend.”

Bella was so distracted by Harker that she didn’t even notice Tessa’s teasing comment. The two of them couldn’t take their eyes off each other. They looked so happy and smitten and adorable.

---