Page 170 of The Gods Veiling
Everyone acknowledges me in some way.
Home sweet fucking home.
Here we come.
Thayla
23
What the fuck?
Monsters, undead gods? What does that even mean? The Abandon?
Shit…that’s why they’re called the Abandon brothers. Not because they were abandoned. Well, not entirely. They came from this place.
I try to pry my fingers from Riven’s death grip, but he tightens them. “I need both hands to wield this sword, Riven.”
“Just another minute. Your chaos tastes so delicious tonight. It’s addicting.”
My breath rushes out of me. I have no fucking clue what that means but if it helps his power that’s literally cocooning me, so be it.
I’m trying my hardest to put on a brave face, but my insides are rebelling. That anger I felt at Mellcom attempting to spill the guys’ secrets and manipulate me into being mad at them is swiftly being replaced.
Despite the adrenaline and distraction our few minutes of flight gave me, everything in me is slowly easing into uncomfortable fear. It was one thing to train and fight against men, now godly beings. But monsters?
The way the guys are acting isn’t helping.
I’m not claiming to know everything about them. I obviously don’t. I do know their habits well enough to know the situation we’re finding ourselves in is fucking them all up.
Creed’s dramatic entrance into my bedroom wasn’t out of anger. It was panic. It was written all over his face and the tremble he didn’t even notice in his own voice. Amick did a complete one-eighty. His anger is a foreign concept. I think even to himself.
Riven, regardless of the little comments he’s made, is in complete control of his emotions at the moment. And Kyzen…hasn’t cracked the first smile since after I controlled the lights in the kitchen.
This place that we’re about to step into did some damage to my Valtrue. Damage they’ve been avoiding talking about, understandably, but after this, they’re going to be forced to. Not necessarily by me, but we won’t be able to ignore this and pretend this didn’t happen. They can’t continue to leave me in the dark after this.
Which means, I’m going to have to be honest too.
Fuck, this night sucks.
“Ready?” Creed barks.
I can’t form words like the others, but I don’t have to. Riven drags me along.
The power embedded in the barrier glides over me as we step through. I wait for the uncomfortable tugging against my skin to come, but it never does. Warmth surrounds me, making it easier for me to breathe, and my shoulders loosen as the seconds stretch on.
That weirdly glorious sensation leaves me just as fast as it came, and dread fills my stomach.
Time doesn’t seem to be different from our side to this one. It’s still the dead of night, but everything I lay my eyes on is also dead. There’re no lively woodlands, no thriving community, or gorgeous buildings. It’s been obliterated to rubble and dust. Once upon a time, glorious structures may have stood, but not anymore.
Distant shouts, grunts, and growls fill my ears, and slowly I search for the sound. Just like Creed warned, probably one hundred feet, if not less, in front of us, there’s a battle raging on.
I freeze, but Riven jerks my hand. My body moves with his unconsciously as our boots pound against the dirt-covered ground. A couple of strides in, he releases me, and my arms start pumping to keep pace with them.
The sound of swords being unsheathed surrounds me the closer we get to the battle lines, but I can’t look at any of them.
The…beings were growing closer too, stealing every ounce of my attention. They have many similarities to gods. Chiseled muscles, fluid movements, and even intelligence in their eyes and actions from what I can tell.
The black seeping from their foaming mouths and the dark streaks flowing under their pale skin, though, make it glaringly obvious they’re no longer god or man.
