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CHAPTER TEN
The moment we exited the short, dimly lit hall on the other side of the bathing chamber, conversation ground to an utter halt in the antechamber.
Everyone froze as Reaver flew in behind me and soared upward, landing atop the gleaming cherrybark oak credenza, precariously balanced on its thin top. Well, everyone except Jadis.
The little draken scrambled across the chamber, darting past the oval table on a raised dais framed by two shadowstone pillars. She ran straight for where Reaver had perched himself, arms outstretched toward him, her small wings fluttering wildly and lifting her a few inches off the floor.
Ash swooped down and picked her up before she started scaling the credenza. She responded with an unhappy shriek. “Here,” he said, giving the underside of her chin a rub. “You can see him better up here.”
Reaver huffed as my gaze bounced over familiar features, seeking out a vibrant redheaded goddess. Everyone was there except Aios. Things had gotten strained toward the end of our conversation, but I didn’t think she was angry or upset when she left. Where was—?
All at once, those seated stood, their faces becoming blurs as they lowered to one knee, folded their right palms over their chests, and flattened their other hands against the floor. Heads bowed, one after another in a wave. Every single one of them.
Heart stuttering, I jerked back. “What is everyone doing?”
“We are bowing,” Rhahar answered, “to you, meyaah Liessa.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Warmth crept into my cheeks. “Or call me that.”
Beside him, his cousin’s head tilted slightly, revealing a hint of one rich, deep-brown cheek raised in a grin.
“It’s tradition to greet the Primal of Life in such a ma
“Gods are supposed to bow to any Primal, which none of them do for you,” I pointed out.
A clawed hand fisted in Ash’s hair, tugging strands out of the knot at his nape as he said, “That’s because I don’t require it of them.”
“I don’t either.”
“You’re different, liessa.” He reached up and gently pulled Jadis’s claws free of his hair. “You’re the true Primal of Life. This is how they honor you whenever you enter the same space as them.”
“I’m not different.” I threw up my hands in frustration and turned to them. “You don’t have to do this—wait.” I spun back to Ash. “Are they supposed to do this every time I enter a space?”
Jadis let out an angry screech.
“Yes,” Ash stated, catching Jadis’s hand as she made to go for his hair again.
“Oh, no. Nope. We are not doing this every time I enter a chamber,” I told them, horrified. “I will lose my mind.”
“Please, don’t do that,” Saion said. “We’ve already dealt with one supreme ruler who wasn’t quite right in the head.”
Someone who sounded an awful lot like Bele chuckled under her breath. My narrowed gaze swung toward the dark-haired Primal goddess.
“You know,” Ash drawled from behind me, “all you have to do is command that they don’t.”
I opened my mouth.
“But perhaps you should give them permission to rise first,” he tacked on.
I slowly turned my head to him. “You couldn’t have reminded me of that at the begi
“Perhaps.” He once more tugged Jadis’s hand free of his hair.
“I hope she pulls out every single strand,” I hissed.
“Godsdamnit,” Rhahar groused.
“You know what I always say,” Saion replied, each word rolling off his tongue with an unmistakable undertone of amusement. “A wise man never makes the same bad wager twice.”
My mouth dropped open. “You two bet again on how long it would take before Ash and I started arguing?”
“More like Saion is stealing money from his cousin again,” Bele retorted.
“Oh, my gods.” I pinched my brow, briefly closing my eyes. “Why are you all still bowing?”
“You haven’t given them permission to rise,” Ash commented.
“For fuck’s sake,” I snapped.
“Language,” Ash whispered as he passed me, stepping onto the dais. He placed Jadis in one of the chairs at the table. “There are younglings present.”
“How about you go—?” I cut myself off as two wide, sapphire-blue eyes appeared above the back of the chair.
Clutching the sides of the chair with incredibly small, clawed hands, Jadis chirped, and I heard something that sounded like…wee.
“Can the true Primal of Life get tension headaches?” I asked of no one in particular as Ash motioned for Reaver to get down. “Because I really think I’m getting one.”
“It’s not likely,” Bele answered, her voice trembling with restrained laughter as Reaver pushed off the credenza, extending his wings to slow his descent. “But not impossible.”
“Can we rise yet?” Theon asked from where he remained, kneeling beside his twin sister.
I sighed heavily. “Yes. Please. You all may rise.”
“Thank the Fates,” Saion muttered.
My lips pursed. “And I command that none of you bow to me just because I enter a chamber.”
Tightly braided hair fell back as Lailah lifted her head. Gri
“Meyaah Liessa,” Bele tacked on.
“Now you’re just trying to a
Adjusting the sheaths on her forearms, Bele lifted her head. “I would never—holy shit, your eyes.”
“Are beautiful,” Ash said—or warned—from where he was pouring whiskey into two short glasses, his voice lowering the temperature in the chamber by several degrees.
Essence throbbed throughout my body. “If that was supposed to be a compliment,” I told him, “it sounded more like a threat.”
“Yeah, it did.” Bele leaned against the table.
Ash arched a brow, not denying it.
“But they are really…” Bele trailed off as Ash’s icy stare shifted to her. “Amazing. They are so amazing.”
I stared at her.
Saion approached, brows pinching with curiosity as Reaver watched with keen alertness. “I’ve never seen eyes like that.” He glanced at Rhain. “Have you?”
The auburn-haired god shook his head. “I have not.”
Everyone was staring at me, and I, well, felt like throwing myself onto the floor and pretending I was still in stasis. “Ash thinks it’s because I was mortal. But yes, they are super unique and weird—”
“And beautiful,” Ash repeated.
“And,” I stressed, “we are going to stop talking about my eyes now.”
Saion opened his mouth as he lifted a hand. Rhahar dropped coins into his palm. “Never mind.” Gri
“And you have no idea how happy I am to be making really bad bets,” Rhahar added.
I laughed. “I’m only partly sorry to be the cause of you losing money.”
“I’m not at all,” Saion called as he moved to stand behind a chair.
Rhahar flipped him off.
“We are glad you have returned to us,” Theon said, and then his gaze darted to Ash. “And to him.”
My breath snagged, and all I could do was nod.
“Not to sound repetitive,” Lailah said, “but I, too, am glad you returned to us.”
I smiled and felt a knot of emotion clogging my throat as Ash watched quietly from where he stood a few feet back, not interrupting but also not straying too far. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you’re alive and shit,” Bele shared. “Just thought I’d say that since everyone else is.”
I gave her a thumbs-up as Lailah stepped onto the dais. The goddess paused to give Jadis a quick pet where the draken still watched from behind the back of the chair. “Where is Aios?”
“She pla
Concern rose. “Is there something wrong?”
“Other than how disturbing it is that one is expected to push a nine-pound-plus babe out of an area nowhere—”
“Please, don’t go into any more detail.” Theon held up a hand, and Rhain grimaced.
Bele smirked. “Anyway, being a goddess of fertility and such, Kye likes to have her around. Makes his life easier.”
That was a relief. I guessed.
“I, too, am glad,” a quiet voice came.
The muscles on the back of my neck tensed as I turned to Rhain. The reaction had nothing to do with how things had started with us. From day one, Rhain had been wary of my presence, but when he’d learned about my original plans, his distrust—and dislike—had been all too apparent. I didn’t hold any of that against him. If I had been in his shoes, I would have felt the same way. But the way he looked at me now made me want to make a quick exit out the balcony doors. It was the warmth in his hazel eyes that had nothing to do with the aura of eather behind his pupils or the reason behind Rhain’s change of attitude toward me as he extended his hand.
My chest spasmed when my gaze met his. Breathe in. I stopped myself before I let that dread spark into something bigger and nastier, forcing myself to hold my breath as Rhain clasped my forearm. Now was not the time for any of that. “Thank you,” I managed, fixing what I hoped was a normal smile on my face as I grasped his forearm in return.
“Whoa.” He blinked several times. “Got a nice little charge with that.”
“Sorry?”
“Don’t be. Weirdly felt kind of good.” Rhain’s gaze held mine and then darted away as he bowed curtly. Pivoting, he joined the others.
Ash lifted Jadis from the chair and placed her on the floor. Crouching, she eyed Reaver with narrowed eyes as her tail swished back and forth like an irritated feline.
A heartbeat later, she launched herself off the dais and crashed into him. The older draken squawked, but all Jadis did was press her little head against his and then scramble back onto the raised floor.
“Okay, then,” I murmured, glancing up.
It took a moment for me to realize that all of them were waiting for me. Blinking, I got my feet moving and went to where Ash had pulled out a chair at the head of the table.
Molten, dove-gray eyes met mine. “Your seat, liessa.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as Reaver followed, this time brushing his head over Jadis’s.
“Why does he get to call you that?” Bele asked, adjusting her forearm sheaths. “And we don’t?”
Ash glanced up. “Because she enjoys it when I call her that.”