Page 119 of The Gods Veiling
Those are the last words shared between the two of us as the five of us remaining face off against the ten of them surrounding us. I give one appreciative, sparing glance at Creed for his shout of a warning. He doesn’t return it. There’s a fierce scowl spread across his face.
My mind empties as my body starts to flow in the all-familiar movements. The cries of pain, grunts falling from lips, all of it becomes an intimate melody that I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of dancing to far too many times.
As another female drops by my hands, the dead weight of a body crashes into me, nearly knocking me off my feet. I’m quick to balance myself back out but flinch at the red pouring from Leah’s nose.
Jay cries out as she drops to her knees to check on her. I’m too slow to snatch her back up.
A foot collides with her face, just like she’d done to the girl who attacked me.
That was far too fucking personal.
I spin out of the way when I catch sight of a sword coming toward me in my peripheral. Unfortunately, I turn right into a fist.
The strike across my cheek instantly splits the skin and my blood trickles down my face. Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I stagger and force my mind to stay vigilant.
You’ve been hit harder than that. Pull it together.
I shake my head and watch as if in slow motion as the last of the girls from my group drops to her knees. She cries in surrender, but the goddess prowling toward her doesn’t stop her steps.
She raises her wooden sword high and slices it down across her face.
The whimper from the poor girl’s lips as she hits the dirt in a cloud of dust makes me see red. I pull my shoulders back and stand straight as the one who struck her down after she begged for mercy turns to me.
The remaining four females join her at her side, and I immediately know this is the strongest female in the Defender Designation.
“You must be Thayla.” Her tone completely contradicts the stern set of her brow. It’s sultry, even, and full of confidence.
She’s also breathtakingly beautiful, but the glint in her eye is cruel.
“That would be me. You are?”
“I’m Mara. I’m a part of the Lead Valtrue.”
“You’re going to have to be more specific than that for me. I don’t know anyone just yet.”
That’s obviously not the answer she wanted. Her face clouds in disgust and she looks down at me like I’m a waste of her time. I guess I’m supposed to know exactly who she’s talking about.
Granted, I do. I just didn’t want to feed her cocky, self-centered attitude.
“Gladian, Chasin, Mellcom, and Jeremiah are my Valtrue. They informed us all about you.”
“That’s great. We’re going to be the best of friends then.” I smile and hold my arms out, indicating for her to bring it in for a hug.
She doesn’t like that either.
A hysterical laugh sounds from behind me. I’m not dumb enough to check and see who it was. Plus, I’ve already memorized it. I’m sure the psycho of my Valtrue does find it funny I’m offering her a hug at a time like this.
“They told us—”
“Listen, I’ve got to be honest with you. I really don’t give a fuck what they had to say. Nor do I care to hear it. I think you should form your own opinion about me rather than listen to either of them. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, I’m sure, so we should get off on the right foot.”
I point my sword between her and me, but a sigh leaves my lips as she shakes her head almost disappointedly.
I’ll take that as a no.
“You need to learn your place and standing within the Godsdawn. If what they said is true, you have to face that reality.”
Her words may seem like helpful advice, but the threat she’s making is clear. What she really means is, learn my place with her.
