Page 102 of King of Knights

“Yeah, I returned this book to the Hall of Sirens twice. It’s come back to me again and again. Venus says it’s because I didn’t learn what was needed.”

“Can she read the text as well?”

“No, she doesn’t understand this one. Some of the others, yes, but she doesn’t know this one. I was confused when she said that because it was clear to me.” She shrugs.

I look at the page and begin to read. “The other creation. It was the fire sirens,” I say.

“Yes, your father’s first sibling was identical to him, but in the feminine form. Her name was Güç. Güç loved the form of the phoenix.

“Sirens aren’t all female. History, humans, you know the deal. They made them female in their stories, paintings, and tales.

“Güç fell in love with a siren your father called a friend. His name was Yakisikli. Because of him, sirens waited at the gods’ feet. Especially Güç and Tanri, their creator and Yakisikli’s lover.

“This is how my bloodline came about. I’m a direct descendant of the first fire siren born to Güç and Yakisikli. You said my blood was unique and felt closer to being like yours. That’s why.

“But that’s not all. There’s a part that I’ve been trying to figure out. Not that I can’t read it. It’s just the way it’s worded, like a prophecy. Hold on, let me get back to it,” she says, speaking quickly in her excitement.

I’m still stuck on the accords. Some of the anger I have for my father recedes as I think he could have abandoned us to keep us safe.

My uncle was an evil bastard. If faced with the decision to give up my family to lock him away, I would have made the same choice for the greater good.

The evil in the world today comes from him. Even locked away in another realm, his essence pours through. Tainting everything it gets near like a toxin. He’s a gas that won’t go away.

“Got it,” Ray says, grabbing my attention and pulling me from my thoughts of my father’s actions.

“Here, it says… the one true god cannot interfere in the fate of his born offspring, but his wisdom will wait them out. The sources will release the seed of darkness and the true god will exact true punishment as the tables are turned.

“Some will return to the hand of their creator; others will be exposed. The war begins with a son. The son of a king is freedom of the kings and a release from the past. As the phoenix rises, so will the son and all order will be restored as the war of the gods is done.”

Ray looks up at me. “What, what’s wrong?”

“Our source stones. I think my father has tried to tell us this all along. He’s been coming. We are to fight the war of the gods.”

* * *

Ray

“Focus, Ray. You can do this,”Blossom calls out.

I grunt and stand back up, shaking it off. I’m trying to focus, but my mind is still reeling from what Kendrick said earlier. A war is coming and we’re to fight in it.

I’m an accountant. How am I going to fight in the war of the gods? Give it two more months and I’ll be showing again.

When is this war coming? Like, seriously, is it too late to go back to my old life? Never leaving the house and not having friends is starting to look a hell of a lot better than fighting a war with gods.

Fire siren or not, I’m not about that life. Not when it comes to fighting gods. I’ve never so much as had a fight.

“I can barely form a weapon at will,” I murmur.

Jewel attacks, sending me flying back onto my butt. I don’t even get a chance to counter the attack. Forget about drawing a weapon.

“Yeah, I’m gonna sit this one out,” I mutter to myself.

Blossom and the others offered to spar with me. They’ve been pushing me a little harder than my sisters or the guys. I’m starting to get so frustrated. I growl as I take the hand Manisha offers me.

“Can I offer a suggestion?” she says.

“I’ll take all the help I can get.”

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