Page 153 of The Last One
“There’s ‘divine favor’ in there, too, you know.”
“Yeah.” He rests his head on his hand.
“Are you planning to finish the prayer?” I ask, eyebrow cocked.
“Mmm…no.” He squints into the sky. “I want to linger a bit at my favorite part, since the gentle Lady is beside me now and I’m just a reach away.”
“Is this a request for my divine touch?” I ask. “Does this mean you now believe in me?”
Jadon closes his eyes, but his smile remains. “I’m not allowed to believe in you.”
I turn onto my belly and hold my chin in my hand.
“Remember?” he says. “You told me to be the nightstar? ‘It slows the realm and allows life to flourish. Be the nightstar.’” And now, his eyes stay fixed on that nightstar.
My heart pounds in my chest. “You still remember what I told you?”
“Even after days of fighting and burnu and searching and dark, dank caves…” He nods. “I think about it at the start of a new day, and I think about it before I close my eyes to sleep.”
A hot flush sweeps from my chin to my scalp as I watch him a moment more. Like I’m trying to memorize his face. Once I’m satisfied, I lie back to peer at the sky again.
So tranquil here, right now. There’s room for my thoughts to become beautiful lace—a silken web strong enough to hold all my contemplations for at least a day before the winds rip it apart. I turn my head to Jadon and study his face.
Is he experiencing the same smeary peace? Here we are, under a sky thick with worlds, a sky as wide as all the seas. Spears of wispy clouds drift from the hills, and wildflowers across the field sway in the breeze.
I use one finger to pluck flowers from the earth without touching anything, and with just a thought, I arrange those flowers into a circle and make them twirl slowly in midair. The nightstar douses the petals in soft, pearly light.
Jadon whispers, “What a trick.”
Smiling, I watch the flowers spin and twist.
“I meant it when I said I’d swim the Sea of Devour,” he says.
“And I appreciate your willingness to help me,” I say, “but you need to take the girls back to Pethorp.”
Jadon grimaces. “But that means, then…you’ll be alone.”
I shrug. “And I’ll be able to handle it.”
“Goddess or not,” he says, eyebrows crumpling, alarm now in his tone, “you shouldn’t travel by yourself. For protection but also companionship. That’s a long distance to be alone.” His thoughts are scrambling.“So stubborn.Don’t let her win. Say it again. Tell her again.”
I lightly swipe a wildflower back and forth beneath my nose. “Who’s gonna join me, then?Youcan’t. You’ll have to take care of Olivia once we reach Weeton.”
He watches the twirling wildflowers. “Unless… What if we go to Weeton as planned? And instead of the girls and me heading to Pethorp, we travel with you to Mount Devour?”
I rub my chin against my knuckles, thinking. “While I’m eager to have your company, it’s dangerous. Not for you. Maybe not even for Philia. Olivia, though? She isn’t cut out for crossing a sea that’s more acid than water. And by then, I’ll have my amulet. That, combined with my clothes… I should be all right. I’m agoddess, or did you forget?” I let the flowers suspended in midair flutter to the grass around us.
He twists his lips, not convinced. “Mmm.”
“Look at this.” I shift so he can see some of the symbols embroidered on my vest. “See these markings?” I lean closer to him and whisper, “Shh. They’re magic. They’ll protect me.”
He squints at my vest and then my pants. “Really? I don’t know about that.”
I fake-gasp. “You doubt the talents of the immortal tailors who crafted this very garment?”
“Mmhmm.” He jams his lips together to keep from laughing.
“Eagles and circles.” I tap the collar of my vest and trace the barely there embroidery. “Means perfection and spirit.”
