Page 168 of The Gods Veiling
Amick’s sitting in the chair closest to the door with Riven beside him. Mellcom and Jeremiah are on the other side, leaving the middle seat, directly across from Thayla, open for me.
The carriage jerks as Fausta takes off, but the silence is more jarring than the movement. Thayla refuses to look at the two gods across from her, while they won’t look anywhere but at her.
My skin heats with a mixture of feelings about that.
“We’ve been here a month, sweet T, and you haven’t come to see me one time. I’m hurt.”
Our heads slowly turn toward Jeremiah. He’s too busy staring at our Binder to see the warning flowing off us.
“I unfortunately see you every day, Jeremiah.”
“Aww, come on now, you know what I mean.”
Riven leans forward, smiling and rubbing his thumb across his lips as he stares Jeremiah down. “Well, I don’t know what you mean, Jerry. Please, do explain to the carriage this little inside joke you have with our Binder.”
A cruel smile spreads across Jeremiah’s face, but it’s not pointed at Riven. It’s still on Thayla. My fingers twitch with the need to grip my sword and ram it through his throat.
“She may beyourBindernow, but she was more than that for me. She was mine. Always will be, right, sweet T?”
Thayla’s body goes rigid as Kyzen slowly looks around her to stare at the obviously stupid and arrogant god. She doesn’t respond, but her eyes shut down in a way I’ve never witnessed before. The desire to kill him right where he sits is scripted across her smooth, unwavering face.
It’s a level of calm you only reach when you’ve decided someone’s fate for them.
Quicker than I can react, the carriage doors swing open and Jeremiah is being lifted by the collar of his armor. The winds whip through the small space and the piercing sound nearly blocks out my bellow.
“Amick, put him down.” I slam my hand against Mellcom’s chest as he rises to his feet. My look alone has his eyes narrowing, but he doesn’t push me.
“Do you see the ground, Jeremiah?” Amick’s tone is the same as always, but the red that’s crept from his neck to his face tells a different story. “No, you don’t. Because we’re thousands of feet in the air. How long do you think it’ll take you to hit the dirt beneath us?”
Riven claps and kicks his feet like a child who had too much sugar as Amick forces Jeremiah to lean over the threshold of the open doors. “Gods, this is the best day of my life.”
“Given your silence, I’ll take that as you don’t know. Not surprising in the least bit. The answer is less than a minute. That minute will feel like eternity as your life flashes before your eyes. I imagine there won’t be much for you to reflect on, given that you are a self-absorbed, pathetic man. Not even worthy of the title god. It’s pitiful that you didn’t heed the two warnings I gave you. I never give a third. I don’t have the patience for it.”
Amick releases him and his bellow echoes through the small space.
It’s abruptly cut off when Kyzen’s power bursts free and the next thing we know, a still screaming Jeremiah is plopped on his ass on the floor. Mellcomquickly reaches down and snatches him up, shaking him until he comes back to reality.
“You fucking psycho.”
“I’m not the psycho of our Valtrue, but my tolerance for you has reached its limit. My brother obviously saw fit that you should’ve been saved, but don’t mistake that for me holding the same opinion.”
As collected as he always is, Amick walks over to Thayla, where she’s staring at all of us, wide-eyed. He offers her his hand and with the slightest tremble, she reaches for it.
I bow my head and close my eyes as he takes the seat Kyzen had been occupying and pulls her down.
He rarely loses his cool.
He has an aversion to touch.
He’s changing right before my eyes.
“We’ll be there in two minutes. The last thing we need to do as soon as we arrive is explain to Gladian how one of his Valtrue members didn’t survive the trip. They still have to survive what we’re about to face,” Kyzen says as he takes Amick’s seat.
“You know something I don’t understand.” Mellcom’s voice has a calculating ring to it. It isn’t cocky like his little friend’s, but the hair on the back of my neck stands at his pitch.
I slowly observe his calm face, while Riven snorts. “I imagine there’s a whole list, Golden boy.”
He hums, roaming his eyes over us before settling on Thayla. “Possibly, but in this moment, I’m failing to understand the heightened protectiveness and jealousy coming from the four of you over Thayla, when you’ve all failed her so miserably.”
