Page 131 of Kissed By the Gods
But it isn’t. The Veil rips us back.
Dear Mother,
I found Ryot sneaking into the priests’ sacred library again, for the third time this month. That boy would choose a book over breakfast, I swear it. Like every mother, I fear the day the gods might call him to become Altor. Who would wish that life on their child? A path paved in war, shadowed by death, starved of love. If the summons ever comes, the only thing Ryot will miss more than his sisters is his books.
With all my love,
Calisandra
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
LEINA
I land hard,flat on my ass on the hard rock.
I’m not surprised to find myself back on the same outcropping of stone where I first stepped into the Veil. That part, at least, is reliable. No matter what chaos I wade through on the other side, the Veil always returns me to where I began. It’s the one constant I can count on.
Well—that, and the exhaustion. It’s a kind of exhaustion that goes deeper than swinging your scythe all day, reaping wheat. Or swinging your scythe all day, reaping death. It drags at me, makes me beg for oblivion.
But this? This is different. I rub my chest where my heart hurts, and Vaeloria nuzzles her snout against my chest, like she’s trying to ease the hurt, too. Sweet Serephelle, I sawLeo.
The Elder taps his charcoal against the paper, his brow crinkled in concentration. I think I’m one of the only people in the Synod who gets to see him like this, unguarded, human, and terribly brilliant.
“Well, you did not make it to the rock,” he confirms. As an afterthought, I look dazedly at the rock I’ve missed by a length no longer than my leg.
But I saw Leo.
The Elder doesn’t look up from his scratching notes. “Where did you go?”
I clear my throat. I’ve not lied to him before, but I’m also not ready to tell him this. “I’m not sure,” I say. Not quite a lie.
But not the truth either. The charcoal scratches against the paper, he stops writing so quickly. He knows.
The discomfort hangs between us, but I don’t change my answer and he doesn’t push me for more.
“I think you need to rest,” he says finally, nodding firmly. “Yes. You need a break from the Veil.”
Relief wars with a need to keep going. What if I could go to Seb, next?
“I don’t have time to rest,” I tell him, sitting up and crossing my legs. He tosses me a carafe, and I drain it.
“Time spent in rest is not lost. It is the foundation upon which strength is built.”
“Oh, my gods,” I say, water spewing out of my mouth with my laughter. “You have to stop with those.”
The Elder gifts me a full grin, and it’s a tapestry of movement. His eyes crinkle up into little crescents, made more prominent by the wrinkles across his forehead and the exaggerated crow’s feet at his eyes. The wrinkles around his mouth deepen, tracing the history of the countless smiles that came before. It lingers as he slides his book closed.
“Go rest, Ward Leina of Stormriven. That’s an order. Tomorrow, I want you to join Ryot again. You haven’t had enough time in flight maneuvers and weapons training. We’ll break from Veilwork for a time.”
My heart slams against my chest. Ryot. No matter how hard I’ve tried to find him in the Veil, tried to dream of him since he’s been gone, there’s been nothing. “He’s back from Selencia?”
“Yes.”
That hurts, more than I want it to. He didn’t come looking for me? I jump to my feet.
“What was his report on Selencia?”
“He hasn’t given it.”
