Page 213 of The Gods Veiling
He crumbles to all fours while his weapon crumbles to pieces.
My heart hammers and body thrums with the desire to run straight for the healing villas, but I pull my shoulders back. With Amick and Kyzen at my side, we leave with our heads held high and make sure every Defender and god otherwise in here sees our unwavering place.
Our Valtrue, especially our Binder, is not to be fucked with.
I give in to my desperate desire as soon as we make our way out of the exit of the Court.
Kyzen and Amick sprint in stride with me the entire way to the healing villas. None of us speak until we race into the halls and find Riven pacing. Then we all talk at once.
“What’s going on?”
“Is she okay?”
“Who’s working on her?”
His eyes swirl like a fierce whirlpool coming from the depths in the Lost Sea. “She passed out as soon as we left the Court. I couldn’t get her to wake up. That one girl who almost gave her an orgasm and a couple of others are in there now. Is Gladian dead?”
“No, he’s not. You know I can’t do that, Riven.”
He releases a single, dark laugh as he takes a dangerous step toward me. “You can but didn’t.”
“You and I know good and well what me killing a Domain God would do. They’d strip our powers, possibly for good this time. Then we’d be easy pickings. Think with some fucking sense right now.”
His chest rises and falls. The rapid motion makes me look at his clothes. Even though they were chest to chest, her blood is still clinging to him. It’s everywhere.
That’s when I notice the trail on the floor leading under the door. The sight makes me sick and feral.
“What caused this?” Amick asks low.
I ball my fists so hard, the sound of my knuckles cracking echoes around us. “From what I gathered, it seems her power settled and unleashed in the Court.”
I grit out what I was told and what I assume happened. It’s easy for me to piece it together. Thayla’s nothing if not protective and ready to stand for what she believes is right in a heartbeat.
No one says anything, then Kyzen starshoots away.
I close my eyes to force them from white to gray. This situation is one with the power to push us all over the edge.
It isn’t a moment later, Kyzen is reappearing, escorting Yemi by her arm up to us with her cousin right behind him. Judging by her bruised face and only one fully opened eye, I’d say the blanks I filled in for what happened are spot-on.
“I’ll go do as you said when I know she’s not in any sort of trouble. Thayla said she was going to talk with you all, but you’re acting like Yemi’s about to be punished.”
“The only one about to be punished is you, Havar, if you don’t go get the fucking Veilatara and carriage I told you to. Yemi’s not in trouble. She’s about to get healed and tell us what happened. Now go.”
Very smart thinking on Kyzen’s part. Not that I’m surprised, but it occurred to him faster than it did for me that when Thayla can leave, she may not be able to walk. She’s not going to allow us to carry her through the Godsdawn, though.
There’s a tense beat of silence as the four of us stare Havar down and Yemi nervously takes in each of us. “Go do as he said, please.”
He sighs, glances at her, all of us, then her once more before turning on his heels and leaving.
Kyzen removes his hand from her arm and steps out of her space. “What happened today?”
She shifts nervously on her feet. “What did Thayla tell you?”
“Yemi, we just need you to please—”
“No, no, no. There’s no sense in coddling her, Kyzen. Dear sweet Yemi,” Riven singsongs, making her pivot anxiously toward him. “Whatever happened to you caused our Binder, your Attending God’s power to settle and come out in, I’m sure, a blaze of glory that we all missed. What we didn’t miss, though, is how her back was torn to shreds by Gladian’s whip. So you have three seconds to tell me what happened to you so we know if it was our Valtrue or theirs who stepped over the line first. Then I can react accordingly.”
Her face becomes horrified. It seems it’s at that second she realizes the blood on him, on the floor, and how Thayla is missing from this discussion. Her head shakes back and forth repeatedly as she looks at me.
