Page 127 of The Gods Veiling
Finally, she turns the controls on the lamp just as I showed her. Her eyes flare with excitement, then she cuts it off properly.
I hum. “Very good, Thayla.”
Her body falls still. Her eyes widen, causing her pupils to dilate a fraction. That’s both a physiological and psychological response to a number of things. Interest, anger, fear, attention, surprise, and even arousal.
Given the subtle intake of breath and the reddening surfacing again from her chest to her cheeks, I’d presume either anger or arousal. The latter in this scenario doesn’t make sense to me, but she’s not having an outwardly negative reaction either.
I’ll be more observant of what’s happening around us if it happens again so I can see what triggers that response in her.
“There’s no specific time frame as it’s unique to every god. It’ll depend on your domain, the amount of power released, and your body’s acceptance of the changes. The more power released, sometimes the longer it takes. My brothers and I received a significant amount this Veiling. That leads me to believe more than the average has been released for you.
“As for signs, you’re already exhibiting them. In the healing villa, your eyes were layered rings of gold, green, blue, and brown. Now they’ve merged into a multitude of colors. I can spot at least five different ones, now including a darker, almost black shade. They resemble stained glass. That’s a change that represents your sight sharpening.”
“You noticed the colors of my eyes?”
“Of course. Also how well you’ve healed. Your skin is flawless, and I’d imagine it’d be quite smooth to the touch—”
“Aww, Candyman, you’ve noticed my skin as well?”
I’m going to figure out why in the realm she calls me that.
She smirks once again as I ignore her and carry on with what I was explaining. “Given today’s display of your fighting abilities, the natural heightened strength gods have has already begun settling in as well. The way you handled the number of opponents, all of whom can access their power already, was very impressive.
“Another telling sign, it’ll be the most prominent that your power has come forth and settled, is the actual use or you’ll experience the sensation of it. It can be described as tingling, numbness, or pressure building in a specific area of your body. As an example, my power resides mostly in my mind. My head can grow heavy when I use too much of it at once.”
“Is that painful for you?”
“Painful, no. A nuisance at times, yes.”
“So for now, it’s a waiting game. You said actual use or sensation. So I’ll be able to feel it?”
“Absolutely. You may experience a vibration throughout your whole body or maybe a warmth spreading. It’s typically comforting and natural, but obviously a different sensation than one you’ve ever felt before. Depending on what your domain is, it may trigger an event, or it may just be something you subtly experience on your own.”
“Great, so something bad could happen,” she groans and places her face in her hands.
I lean against my desk and cross my arms. “Do you have a reason to fear that’s what will happen?”
“I haven’t had the greatest start to my time here, so I’m just basing that on the pattern so far.”
“That’s a fair assumption, but patterns aren’t definite. Their sequence can be broken at any time.”
A deep sigh falls from her lips and her shoulders sag. “Let’s hope so. The last thing I want is for something to happen and all of the Godsdawn look at me like I’m crazy. I feel like I’ve got enough attention on me already.”
“That’s inevitable given your relationship with us. Riven’s already claimed the title you fear, so it’d have to be something truly catastrophic for you to take it from him.”
Her long hair drapes across the back of the chair as a laugh belts out of her. The sound has my chest pulling tight and I rub the spot to examine why that continues to happen. It’s an unfortunate side effect of our Pairing that I’ve been experiencing constantly lately.
None of my research has found any mention of physical reactions to being marked and paired. The Valtrues’ accounts I’ve gone through express a subtle feeling that a connection to someone has been made, but it was during the initial marking, then disappeared after that.
This reminder has been constant, with no sign of lessening.
As the noise around my room fades, Thayla rotates her head, getting a good look at my space. She’s quiet in her appraisal and I give her another moment to indulge.
“Was there anything else or did you have any more questions?”
“Why did the four of you react the way you did today?”
“What do you mean?”
