Page 15 of The Gods Veiling
I’m being left all over again.
Mellcom’s and Jeremiah’s faces are set in grim lines while Lambrit’s is full of worry as he watches his family embrace me. This is the first time and probably the last, his parents put aside their differences concerning me.
They’ll really never forgive me for what I have planned.
Especially if I fail.
I fight back the tears that want to fall. They blur my sight as I stare unblinkingly at the three of them standing on the platform. My ears ring with the internal scream I’m bellowing.
“No,” Laney cries. I glance down at her as her arms tighten around me to the point they’re constricting.
My hand moves mindlessly as I rub the back of her hair. Reality is setting in for her and as much as I want to tell her she still has me, I’ll look after her, I can’t. It’d be a lie. I’m getting Lambrit and myself out of here as soon as this is over.
“Laney, sweetheart, you have to let her go.”
My body trembles at Mrs. Armend’s words. Her face has taken on a deathly pale color and her hand is trembling slightly against mine that’s petting Laney.
“Why does she—”
“Thayla Godrun.” The Chancellor’s voicethunders.
The hint of annoyance in his tone snaps my attention to him. I find him, the four men on the platform, and the entire crowd turned in my direction.
Was I freaking out?
Was I screaming out loud?
Why is he calling my name and staring at me?
“Thayla, you must go.” Mrs. Armend’s words are firm as she pulls Laney out of my arms. My hands reach out to wipe her cheeks, but Mr. Armend stops me.
“Go…go where?”
I must have hit my head this morning in training. Everything is sluggish, and my mind can’t catch up on what’s happening right now. There’s a whistle blowing in my ears, and I’m lost in the sea of stares focused solely on me.
“You’ve been chosen.”
Chosen.
No. No, I have not. I didn’t enter.
I’m not sure if I spoke my denial out loud or if I took a step away, but Mr. Armend snatches me around. He forces my feet to work as he drags me until I’m stumbling on the path made for the Chosen to walk down.
I don’t have to watch him to know he’s returned to Mrs. Armend and Laney’s side. Her cries and questions are loud.
I’m shaking like a leaf hanging on for dear life during a storm. The pressure behind everyone’s stares builds. At any moment, I’m going to be buried alive under the weight growing on my shoulders.
I search out my best friend, then my brother. He’s the one I’ve run to for everything for twenty years. He’ll tell me what to do. He’ll know what’s going on.
The depths of his hunter green eyes are where I always find comfort and reassurance.
Right now, they’re shattered.
Unease fills my stomach. The longer I search, the more I see.
A small chuckle, covered by a cough, has me moving my attention to the other side of him. The pleasure written across Jeremiah’s face seals what I already know on a soul level but refuse to accept.
Mellcom won’t meet my gaze again. He doesn’t have to, though. Guilt is scripted across his face. He can’t hide from me.
