Page 36 of The King's Weapon

"Unfortunate but not surprising." Fynn didn't bother to hide the disgust in his voice. "The people of the mainland tend to look down upon him. And to them, I suppose, they have a good reason to, for he and many of the other gods do not get along. But that is a story for another time. There's another story that I wish to share." Fynn cleared his throat. "Thousands of years ago, when the gods walked on human soil, he fell in love with a mortal—"

Kallie couldn't stop the laughter that slipped from her lips. "Like most of the stories it seems," she mumbled. From the corner of her eye, she saw Graeson staring at her with an amused expression. She shifted.

"While that might be a little true," Fynn said, "don't all great stories involve some sort of great love affair?"

Kallie thought about the goddess Sabina who had been betrayed by her lover, and bile began to build in her stomach. "If you're foolish enough to love," she said.

Pity flickered in Fynn’s gaze, but Kallie did not want his pity. She didn't need it. Nor did she need love in her life. The love from her father and friend was more than enough.

"Then call me foolish," Fynn said.

Dani groaned, and for the first time, Kallie agreed with someone in this group.

Hiding her grin, Kallie shifted in her spot, attempting to make the ground less rigid. She let her fingers graze Graeson's. The top of his hand was warm, soft. She let her touch linger there, and his head tilted down to their hands. But to her surprise, he didn't move away. Not until a pop from the fire sparked did Graeson pull his hand free.

He crossed his legs in front of him and cracked his knuckles. And without the warmth of his hand beneath hers, Kallie's palm grew cold. Something within her pulled at her that Kallie didn't recognize. Ignoring it, she shoved it down.

"Fynn, let Graeson tell the story. He knows this one better than you do," Dani said.

Scoffing in disagreement, he leaned back onto his palms. "Fine. Be my guest, Gray."

Graeson sighed but despite his previous refusal, he cleared his throat. The fire sparked again. When he spoke, his voice took on a different tone, one that was ethereal and ancient. "A long time ago, a group of gods entered the mortal world. Pontanius, the youngest of the gods, was among them."

"Obviously,” Kallie mumbled, throwing a nearby twig into the fire.

Graeson stared at her, then continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "But he was not like his siblings. While the other gods wanted to use their godhood to trick and deceive mortals for their own benefit, Pontanius wanted to get to know them, understand them. To live among them in harmony. So he decided to abandon the other gods, and he ventured to an island off the Northern coast."

"But why did he view mortals differently than the others?" Kallie asked. She had not heard anyone paint Pontanius in a positive light before, nor had she heard of a god caring about mortals.

“Before some of the gods had decided to visit the mortal realm, Pontanius often spent his days alone. When the idea to visit came about, he sprung for the opportunity to find companionship among the mortals. He had thought he would find what he had been looking for among them.” Graeson paused, waiting for Kallie to interrupt again. But when she didn't, he continued, “Pontanius arrived on the island and was in awe of the way the people interacted with one another. He had never seen anything like it, neither in his realm nor on the mainland where the rest of the gods were. The people on the island were kind. They didn't fight over the land, they didn't hoard food from others. They lived as one.

“Upon Pontanius' arrival, he disguised himself. Although humans were built in the shape of the gods, the features of gods were starker, sharper, and would, as a result, appear strange to the mortals. Pontanius did not want to be treated differently. He had already seen how the humans either worshipped or feared the gods on the mainland. He did not want that for himself. Therefore, he transformed his appearance, dulled it.

"He met a small farming family who offered to house him in exchange for manual labor. In the early hours of the day, he helped tend to their crops. During those mornings in the field, he grew close to their daughter, Alisynth. She was beautiful, strong, and intelligent. Alisynth showed him what it meant to truly live. After a while, he grew to care for the daughter. And soon enough he learned that she too shared his feelings. While most would have been ecstatic that their love interest returned their feelings, Pontanius was frightened. Before, hiding his identity felt natural, a necessity even. But if he wanted to pursue a relationship with the mortal, he knew he needed to be honest with her."

Graeson’s words floated in and out of her head, pieces of the story never truly reaching her while her mind drifted. It wasn't that Graeson was a poor storyteller. On the contrary, the inflection of his voice was right, but the story wasn't right for Kallie. She wanted to hear a tale about an individual growing into their strength. Holding onto it and never giving it up for someone who would no doubt betray them. She didn't want to hear about a mortal woman falling for a god who lied to her, who was more powerful than she was. She didn't want to hear about how the god inevitably sacrificed some part of himself to be with her. Or how he created a divide between himself and his kind because of her.

And to make matters worse, she found no messages hidden within the parts of the story she heard.

Kallie rested her head against the bag behind her as the heat of the fire made her eyelids heavy.

Tomorrow, she would change tactics. Tomorrow, she would take the reins and lead them where she wanted. She was done waiting. She would stop pretending to be the daft princess in this story.

Chapter11

Screams ripped from her lungs,tearing her throat apart.

Her palms were sticky from the warmth of someone's blood. Her breaths were short as the heat of bodies pressed against her. She wanted to throw up. She just might.

"What happened?" A voice asked. It felt far away but close all at once making her head spin.

People moved around her, their movements scattered, but she couldn’t see them. Darkness consumed her vision.

"What's going on?" Another person asked, his voice heavy with concern.

Her breaths were coming quicker, sweat beaded on her forehead. Her heart felt like it was going to break through her ribcage. She thought back to her lessons.

She had prepared herself for attacks, for fights. Her coping mechanisms had been ingrained into her brain since she first started having panic attacks when she was younger. She needed to slow down her breathing, gather her senses. Regain control over her body. She began to count with each breath she took.

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