Page 77 of The Sun God's Prize
“Do not,” she says.“For it was Theille who murdered our God in cold blood and tried to take the life of your true heir, Sheelan, the first Sun Goddess.”
They stare at her, no one moving, stunned by this reveal.
When the first guard lowers his weapon, dropping to one knee at Sheelan’s feet, he’s not alone for long, the contingent of guards doing the same automatically, obeying her where they should be following their Sun God’s commands.They know the truth, then.Already knew it.Theille’s coup only succeeded without Sheelan to challenge it.
She hasn’t even said a word, and she’s already won.Though her silence has ended.
“My brother is infected with a madness that corrupts him,” Sheelan says, so much sorrow in her voice that I have to fight the impulse to reach for her.But she is their ruler’s daughter and clearly far more respected than Theille.I have to give her the chance to let this play out.“He murdered my mother the day he was born and did the same to our father with a blade he wielded himself.”She’s weeping, I can hear it in her voice, even if I can’t see her face.“As he would have killed me then and there.Most likely, he had the archers slain so they couldn’t share the truth.”Her head bows.“Your Sun God is dead by the hand of his heir.”
Hepha speaks next.“You must rule us, Daughter of the Sun.”Her voice throbs with passion that her veil hides from view, her sisters immediately crying out in agreement.
“Lead us, Sun Goddess,” they shout as one.
Theille vibrates in rage so powerful that it’s smothered his ability to speak, this mutiny not at all what he expected.
But his denial is thin and pathetic as he stomps one foot on the dock.“I WEAR THE SUNBURST,” he screams into the dawn.“I AM THE SUN GOD.”
Sheelan’s hands twitch on her skirt, the only sign she makes of her anxiety.Not that she can hide it from me.I feel it through the kinspark.“You came to find me personally,” she says to the guards.“And brought him with you.Didn’t you think that odd?”
If there is any doubt remaining, it’s washed clean by her question.“Against our better judgment,” the guard nods.“And yes, I did.As the story he told of the war queen’s daughter.She is impressive,” he bows his head to me, “but she is not immortal.”
“Theille needs your Goddess dead before she can spread the truth of what he did,” I say, interrupting without apology.“Are you going to allow him to destroy you and finish what he started?”
“Company,” Hepha says, the black-armored warrior’s voice thundering in challenge.“Guard the Sun God.Sisters of the Order of Dominae.”They all salute.“Attend your Goddess.”She takes a single step as she turns, placing herself between Theille and Sheelan.
As her fellow order assassins close in around us, and the guards do the same.
“Divine One,” Hepha says over her shoulder.“Your orders?”
Sheelan doesn’t hesitate.“Seize the murderer.”
They move at last, the guards of the Sun God, stepping in around Theille, now holding him under threat of their weapons.He’s spluttering, face twisting in hate, when they disarm him, Theille clawing at his own armor as though he’s been possessed by something that’s trying to fight its way out of him.
Which he has.I can finally pity this child, who is no match for the tainted power that drove him to kill his own father.I wonder, if he survives, if he’ll live to regret what he’s done.
The guard commander ignores Theille, turning to salute Sheelan.“Most Divine,” he says, “forgive us our doubt.”My kinspark waves that off.“Allow us the honor of escorting you back to your temple before you have us slain for our misdeeds, as is your right.”
“No one else is dying today,” Sheelan says in a soft, sad voice.“And I’m not going back.Hepha.”The warrior woman turns to Sheelan, who is already spinning around to look up at me, cheeks free of tears, but an aching sadness in her eyes that I feel clearly through the connection that binds us.“I can’t kill him.”Is she telling me so?Or does she mean that for the black-clad assassin?
No.She’s asking my permission to let Theille live.“He’s notmybrother,” I say.“He didn’t killmyfather.”
She nods, a small motion, before turning back to him.“Where is the Overkingdom Chancellor, Hallick?”
Theille’s still spitting and spluttering, so Hepha speaks for him.
“Fled, Most Divine,” she says.
“And the princesses of the northern lands?”I shouldn’t care about them.They’ve never cared about me.But I feel an odd sort of responsibility for them that’s as ridiculous as it is real.None of them orchestrated a bit of this, only following orders, what they were taught, how they were raised.
“Remain,” Hepha says.
“Send them back to the north,” Sheelan says.“Safe to their families.”She stares at her brother.
“And the false God?”Hepha’s righteous anger rings in her voice.None of them like him.He’s given them an excuse to make an example of him.
“Send him to the underworld,” Sheelan says, firm and quiet.“And bring me a ship to sail upon.”
“Sun Goddess,” the guard says, distress darkening his face, Hepha’s dark eyes also tight, her only show of concern.“You can’t leave us.Not now.”
