Page 65 of The Gods Veiling
Two have their lips pressed in flat, serious lines. The other two are wearing something akin to smirks. Since they haven’t opened their mouths and said anything stupid, I can’t spot a single flaw in any of them for now.
Their honey skin, height, and features resemble each other’s. They’re most certainly brothers, but there are distinct differences I pick out immediately.
I settle first on the one on the right, whose smirk seems more threatening than welcoming. There’s wildness surrounding him that makes my stomach do flips. I get lost in the divide of his eyes. In one, the rich burgundy is overwhelming. The promise of either the best or the worst time waits in the depths of that color. The other is the opposite. The icy blue is like floating in the clouds. Peaceful.
Great. Every time I look at those two-colored eyes, I’m going to think about the god who got us all in this situation.
The smirk beside him says something different. There’s a reassurance to it like he’s trying to say, “I mean you no harm.”
Which I don’t trust whatsoever.
I can’t decide if his short, wavy hair is black or midnight blue. The way the light from the window continues to reflect off it seems to make it change from the dead of night to right before daybreak. His dark navy irises have bright white rings around his pupils that I can’t stop staring at. The stress on his forehead smooths out the longer I gawk, and his posture gradually relaxes like he was only tense because he thought I’d attack.
He may be getting ahead of himself.
Maybe it’s from the lack of food since breakfast, but when I move to the next one who has a calculating look about him, my mouth waters. Not because of his attractiveness…not entirely, anyway.
His short layers are swooped back in a perfect flow of melted cocoa. His citrine yellow eyes remind me of the sweet edible crystals that recipe book from the nonmagical realm taught me how to make.
Judging by the seriousness across his face, he’d be delighted to know I’m comparing his features to sugary treats.
The last one is a whole different kind of beast. I can’t decipher if he’s preparing to toss me over his shoulder or stand guard between his brothers and me.
Our gazes lock in a battle of wills. It takes an immeasurable amount of strength for me to stand toe-to-toe with him. None of his features register in my mind. I’mtoo focused on keeping him from seemingly peering inside of my soul and ripping all my secrets out from under me.
“What did you do in the Gods Veil?”
The malice seeping from the High Chancellor has my attention shifting to him and my fists shake at my sides. I’ve had enough of him today. After what just happened in the creation of his question, I’m in no mood to deal with him.
“None of your business.”
The room falls eerily still and my skin heats with the attention solely on me. The High Chancellor meets my stare and moves closer. His footsteps thunder around the room and my body tenses in warning. A small chuckle floats through the air, and I want more than anything to see who it was that made that slip of a sound.
“You listen to me, you foul, ignorant, peasant girl—”
He’s lost his fucking mind.
“High Chancellor, if I may.” Chancellor Ellian steps forward. He doesn’t necessarily stand between us, but he’s definitely positioned his body at an angle that semi-blocks me. “I believe we should allow her Valtrue to speak with her and we go converse with the gods. If it is their will for us to know what took place in the Veil for young Ms. Godrun, they’ll tell us.”
The High Chancellor shakes where he stands before seeming to remember himself. The change in his mood gives me whiplash. “You are right. Her Valtrue is responsible for her, and they can get down to the bottom of this.”
My teeth grind together as he speaks of me like someone who’s now owned.
He faces the men. “Let it be known that just because she is your Binder, she will not get preferential treatment. She has been nothing more than a nuisance since the Veiling in Oddian and it will not be tolerated. See to it that she gets in line, or I will see to it the gods and the Valories take care of her.”
He commands the other Chancellors to leave. They do so with no hesitation and bow to both him and the men.
All of them—my Valtrue, I fucking guess—dip their heads in understanding.
Something inside of me snaps.
It’s not that I expected them to defend me or anything. They don’t know me, but I would’ve taken them not responding at all over them agreeing to that shit.
Great. I’m stuck with four men who probably love and worship these assholes in power.
Just as the High Chancellor reaches the door himself without even a backward glance, my blood boils over. “Oh, High Chancellor.”
My condescending sound has him sneering at me over his shoulder. I let a vicious smirk cross my face. “Make sure while you’re conversing with the gods aboutme,youthank them for that extra power you keep syphoning from the Veil. I’m sure they’d appreciate your gratitude and your forward thinking with bringing your concerns about me to them. When I pray tonight, I’ll make sure to ask for forgiveness. For both of us.”
