32. SOPHIE
It had been a week since that council meeting. The one where Sophie had gone a little over the top with threats against Vestes. A little? Maybe a lot over the top. She was just impossibly tired of all the politics. The dry-as-a-wall characters that often made up council members. Why were they always old . . . and annoying?
The cool water of Sophie’s courtyard pool surrounded her in a perfect cocoon of calm. She stayed underneath the surface of the water for just a moment before lifting herself up, floating freely on her back. It was a tiny pool, but it was the perfect place to be when the sun burned bright, and the air was thick with humidity.
A knock rapped against her front door. The sharp sounds bolted her upright. Quickly, Sophie sent a tendril of her mana to the front door but found no one there. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
Sophie pulled herself out of the pool and quickly dried herself with a wave of her mana. Ever since Ash shared his memory of her father with her, mana came much easier. Sure, the remnants of Kaine still stuck around making her wince every now and then, but her mana was hers, and hers alone.
She jogged to her front door and pulled it open. On the floor lay a golden envelope. Sophie stepped out for just a second to survey the pathways surrounding her villa. There wasn’t a trace of disturbance in any direction.
Weird.
Cautiously, she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Black ink painted across the piece of parchment.
Shit.
It was a letter from the council. Flustered, Sophie speed read its contents.
Double shit.
Sophie thought the whole idea of her being an infiltrating spy had blown over. Evidently not. Even worse, they wanted her to take a truth serum before the entire council to “make sure” she was not a threat to the Godlands. Today. In two hours.
“And to think I was going to spend the entire day sunbaking and bathing,” Sophie muttered. She took a moment to take measured breaths and calmed herself. Then she looked up to the sky, damning all the Fates. Heck, she wasn’t sure if looking up to the sky was even relevant anymore given that the Fates lived somewhere in the Godlands . . . she’d have to find them and give them a mouthful for the lousy cards they dealt her in this lifetime.
Moving swiftly to her room, she donned a loose-fitting linen jumpsuit. Pants would be the wiser choice today – in case any fights broke loose. Sophie rushed out the door with the council letter in hand and ran to the black-doored villa just three doors down from hers.
She rapidly knocked on the door, sweating from the humidity that hung in the air and the nervousness the letter had triggered.
Come on. Please be home. Please be home.
“It’s my day off, Sofreya, leave me—” Ash started but then noticed the golden envelope Sophie held out in front of her. He eyed it. Then he eyed her, his smoking eyes burning a trail of heat wherever they went. He took the envelope from her hands, stepped aside and held the door open for her. He wore white linen pants and no shirt, his six pack on full display along with a tattoo of intricate swirls that extended from his arms down and across his chest. The sight added another point to the list of things that were making Sophie nervous right now.
Ash quickly shut the door behind him.
Cal jumped up from the couch with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. His flaming tail wagged furiously as he waited for Sophie to greet him. Sophie quickly obliged the hellhound before turning back to Ash. “Read it,” Sophie said, as she paced across his living room.
Ash pulled out the letter, his face expressing no emotion whatsoever. When he was done, he looked back up at Sophie.
“What do you think I should do?” Sophie started biting the bottom of her lip. Of course, she was a mess of anxiety, nervousness and annoyance. Fine, the council wanted her to take a truth serum but what questions did they have planned for her? How were they going to spin it their way? Vestes was a slimy slug at best, and there was no doubt in her mind that he had something malicious planned – the slimy types always did.
Cal joined Sophie in her pacing. He was prancing like some sort of show horse with his beady loving eyes looking up at her. “Buddy, we’re meant to be angry right now. Not happy.” Sophie sighed, looking at the pup and wringing her hands through her hair.
Cal huffed a puff of smoke, narrowed his eyes and continued pacing with Sophie a little more angrily.
Ash scoffed at his hellhound. “At least we know where his loyalties lie.” Ash shoved the letter back in the envelope and tossed it on a small table he had by the door as if it were junk mail. He moved to a small bar he had with assortments of alcohol atop it. As he passed Sophie, his white wings bristled.
Sophie’s heart fluttered at his proximity.
Ash proceeded to pull out two glasses, pouring an amber liquid in both. He turned, handing one to Sophie before clinking their glasses. He took a sip. Sophie followed suit.
This isn’t looking too good.
Sophie perched herself on the edge of the couch, Cal following her every move. Ash had his hip leaning against the bar, pants hanging devastatingly low, showcasing a sinful V of muscles.
Is it getting hotter in here?
“Look. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt a little but, the more you lean into the truth serum, the less painful it will be.” Ash shrugged his shoulders, taking another sip of his drink.
“Painful? What do you mean painful?” Sophie gaped.
“Veritas, the truth serum, is the burning sword of truth. It’ll rip through your memories to extract the truth and it’ll leave you nauseous for a little while. Nothing major.”
“Have you tried it before?”
“Yep.” The p popped as Ash paused. “And I’ll do everything in my power to never be exposed to it again.”
“You call that nothing major?!” Sophie jumped up from where she perched and began pacing again. A spark of fear flashed in her chest. If Ash was a war-hammer hulking god who never wanted to be exposed to Veritas again, then what did that spell for Sophie?
“Like I said, lean into it and it won’t hurt so bad.” Ash put his glass of whiskey down and moved to Sophie, placing two sure hands on her shoulders. “It’s not like you’ve got something to hide, Sofreya.” He smiled showing off his two damning dimples, really pulling out the charm to make her feel better. It didn’t.
Sophie’s eyes widened. She was so not ready to be laid bare in front of a group of grumpy old males. Well, Diafonia and Dikastis weren’t old but that wasn’t the point. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be scared. I have nothing to hide,” Sophie said, a little too panicked as she pressed her lips into a thin line.
Ash leaned back and folded his arms. He raised a brow. “Wait, why did you say that like you actually have something to hide?”
“I don’t have anything to hide! Can’t you just pull rank and tell them to fuck off?”
“I can, but they’ll be on your tail until Vestes gets what he wants.”
Ash was right. Damn it. “Fine. I’ll rip off the Band-Aid.” Sophie sighed, gnawing at her bottom lip. She paused in her tracks. She turned to Ash again who now wore a devilish smile. He was revelling in her nervousness and worry.
The audacity of this overgrown pigeon.Sophie narrowed her eyes at him.
“Come on, I’ll take you there.” Ash reached out with his hand for her to hold.
Sophie pouted her lips, resigning to the fact that the council’s request was not really a request but an unavoidable order that would be more beneficial for her than detrimental – as annoying and inconvenient as it may be. She took Ash’s hand, and he pulled her toward the front door. As they walked out of his villa, he manifested his white loin-cloth uniform to replace his long linen pants. Sophie swore she caught a flash of butt cheek as he did.
“If I were you, I’d try to stop drooling. The council already thinks you’re a spy, let’s not add sexual deviant to that list,” Ash said all too calmly.
Sophie gasped. Before she could muster a smart remark, he wrapped his arms around her waist and catapulted them into the air.
They landed on the other side of the Isle of Deos before the council building. On the outside, it looked like a white marble courthouse. The scales of justice were sculpted into its front, and giant marble pillars lined the entrance. Marble statues of gods from all realms lined the top of the building.
Sophie ran her fingers through her purple hair, taming it into something presentable after having flown via carrier pigeon. Sophie snickered to herself at her new description of Ash.
Ash raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Sophie tried to hide her smile. “Nothing.”
Ash shook his head at her before leading the way to the interrogation room. They walked side by side, through a hallway featuring elaborate painted portraits of generations worth of head of councils and their families. They stopped in front of black double doors. A golden plaque above the door stated, Interview Room A.
A knot of nervousness lodged itself in Sophie’s chest. She looked up to Ash to find his turquoise smoking eyes dancing with mischief. He’d managed to keep her laughing and groaning in annoyance the whole way here and she appreciated it. “Wish me luck,” Sophie sighed. She’d need luck and more to survive this torture, she thought.
“I’ll be waiting outside for you.” Ash smiled, leaning into the space between them. Subconsciously, Sophie began to lean in too. It was like they were two magnets being pulled closer and closer. Before she knew it, Ash pulled back, opting to give her an awkward punch on the shoulder as if to say, Good luck, buddy. Go get ’em, tiger.
Sophie raised an eyebrow at the awkward exchange but before she could say anything, the door to the interrogation room opened on a phantom wind. With her head held high, Sophie marched into the room. It was circular. Tables circled the entirety of the room, fashioned like an amphitheatre. In the centre sat a lone chair. The councilmen sat all around the closest circle of tables.
Sophie scanned the occupants and immediately regretted making eye contact with Vestes.
Fucking hell.
A sneaky, slimy smile plastered itself across his wrinkly pointed face and next to him sat Cessair, the rotund councilman who supported Vestes’s idea to interrogate her. All around sat another eight council members who Sophie didn’t care to learn the names of. Diafonia and Dikastis weren’t present.
Great, the only council members that have their heads screwed on right aren’t here.
“You are five minutes late,” Vestes drawled. “Sit.” He pointed to the lone chair that sat in the middle of the room.
Sophie obeyed, though not without glowering at everyone present in the room to show them how annoyed she truly was.
“Ahem, Taranis, leaving so soon?” Vestes was absolutely delighted with himself.
Sophie whipped her head to the door where Ash stood, his back slightly turned as if he was about to leave. Ash turned slowly back to the room and Sophie swore the air grew thinner as if all the moisture in it had been sucked away. Gone was the playful Ash that carried her across the Isle. In his place was the being that everyone feared.
Sophie examined the room carefully. Everyone except Vestes averted their eyes. Afraid. She couldn’t help but let out a small smile.
“I am not needed here,” Ash stated, his deep voice rumbling in the room.
Without a word, Vestes sent a small rolled up piece of parchment across the room toward Ash. Her best friend snatched the parchment out of the air and let out an annoyed growl.
“Zeus has requested a member of the Tienthan be seated at this hearing should important information regarding the borders between realms come to light,” Vestes said a little too quickly.
Sophie rolled her eyes. This day cannot get any worse.
“Get on with it then.” Ash stalked down the aisle, his steps measured and painfully slow as he planted himself among the first ring of seats with the council members. A predator. The council member directly next to him looked downright uncomfortable.
Fucking fantastic. Not only did Sophie have to sit through an interrogation with these sad sacks, she had to lay herself bare in front of Ash and while she felt safe with him, she had no idea how Vestes would spin the narrative.
Vestes smiled conspiratorially and cleared his throat. “Sofreya Brighid Taliesin, daughter of Danna Taliesin”—her mother’s name came out with a hiss—“you are brought forth before the council today to speak your truth. The answers we seek to pull from you, can and will be used against you in this realm and any realm beyond. Do you understand this?”
“Yes,” Sophie said, her voice firm and confident, though her knee trembled just the slightest. She wouldn’t let them on to how nervous she really was. She pulled her chin up just a little higher and she swore a spark of challenge lighted in Vestes’s eyes.
“By the power of Veritas and the gods that be, the words before me shall only be spoken truthfully,” Vestes announced. He waved his hand and a small glass cup appeared in Sophie’s hand. In it sat a shot of glittery black liquid. Sophie lifted it to her nose. It smelled sweet and sour all at the same time.
Bottoms up.Sophie gulped down the black glittery truth serum. Veritas, Ash had called it. The grit of it travelled down Sophie’s throat, cooling everything inside her.
Oh, it’s not so bad.
False. It was bad. Really bad.
A burning sensation that rivalled molten lava started at Sophie’s throat then worked its way into every single fibre of Sophie’s being. The Veritas burned like a phoenix, twisting through her blood, seizing her throat until it became numb. Sophie sputtered and coughed violently. It took her a few seconds, but she managed to right herself in the chair, staring at Vestes with as much hatred she could possibly muster. Perhaps if she stared hard enough, he would feel the burn of Veritas too.
“We will commence with a few standard questions for calibration purposes,” Vestes smiled. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to read. “Are you the daughter of Danna Taliesin and Lou Taliesin?”
“Yes.” The words flew out of Sophie before she could even think about what she was going to say.
What the fuck?
“Does that then make you a half-breed, of the Godlands and of Faery?”
So it’s going to be like this, huh?
“Yes,” Sophie gritted. Half-breed wasn’t her preferred term for it, but sure.
From the corner of her eyes, Sophie spotted Ash. He moved onto the next tier of seats to sit directly behind Vestes. His face glowering, promising pain like a storm cloud waiting to strike.
The head of council pulled at the collar of his shirt with a trembling hand and shifted the list of questions closer to his chest. Satisfied with her answers, Vestes continued his line of questioning. “Why did you come to the Godlands?”
Sophie’s skin was now on fire, and she wasn’t even resisting the effects of Veritas. “I was brought here by Acheron. He heard my call for help.”
“And now that you are here in the Godlands, what are your intentions?”
“I have no ill intentions. I’m here to harness my powers and will return to Faery once I do.”
Vestes took his time to write down a few notes. “Are you aware of someone named Kaine Dormarth Aaryn? And if so, what relation does he have to you?”
Sophie had a sinking feeling that she was falling straight into the clutches of a very meticulously laid-out trap. She looked to Ash, managing to find him in the chaotic burn of her skin. His face was stern, watching her intently. What was he thinking?
Lean into the truth. That’s what Ash had said.
A flicker of hesitation was all it cost to launch her into a coughing fit before she answered between breaths, “I am aware of Kaine. We had a brief relationship during my time in Faery. I once thought we were fated.” The words felt like cinders leaving her mouth. Rigid, dry and bitter.
“Are you also aware that he is the prophesised Breaker of Realms?”
Sophie’s eyes flicked to Ash’s. His wings bristled the slightest as he sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, looking angry as fuck. Did he know this too?
Fuck.
The truth serum pierced a burning hot lance down her throat as Sophie fought against the next few words. “Yes, I am aware that he is the Breaker of Realms.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
It was only a recent revelation. If she had known back in Faery, then perhaps she would have been able to stop him. She would have. She was sure of it.
A murmur erupted from the council room.
Sophie swallowed deeply, trying her best to lean into the ways of the truth serum. The more she tried, the more the invisible daggers that prettily lined her neck seemed to close in. The blades were sharp. The pinch of their tips against her delicate skin, torturous.
Vestes paused to write more notes down. “Are you aware that there has been a breach along the eastern borders of the Godlands?”
“Yes, I am aware.” She was telling the truth, but it felt like her own lips were betraying her.
“Given your intimacy with the Breaker of Realms, would you say he has the power and capability of infiltrating the Godlands?”
Sophie ground her teeth, hot tears starting to well in her eyes. She knew what picture this was painting, and she hated every ounce of Vestes for it. She spat out, “He is blood-oathed to Queen Calliea and may have connections to the Shadow Realm through her. He is strong. With his new blood-oath he may be capable.” The thing was, she didn’t know for sure. She knew how strong he was but had no idea how his powers had progressed since she left Faery.
“Now, the council are aware of the situation that has transpired in Faery and the throne’s connections to the Shadow Realm. Given this, why has the Breaker of Realms taken the blood-oath?”
“To gain more power.”
“Why?”
“To start a war.”
“Why? Or rather for who?”
Sophie took in a deep breath. Vestes wasn’t playing fair. He fucking had her exactly where he wanted her. And Sophie, in all her stubbornness, fought against the truth serum with every single piece of mana inside her. She wouldn’t let Vestes win. No fucking way.
That’s when Sophie landed in a different realm of pain. Needles piled haphazardly into her stomach pierced through the organ walls, splitting cell by bloody cell. Her skin ripped apart as the needles wormed their way through her pores. This was the effect of Veritas. The effect of telling the truth. Sophie tried to push through the pain, and she knew she was wailing now. Pained, whole-body-convulsing sort of cries. Had she just fallen off the chair? She couldn”t tell. The chokehold of pain stopped for just a second, just enough time for her words to tumble out on a pained whisper, “For . . .”—Sophie sniffled— “. . . me.”
The room erupted.
“Spy!” A plain-faced councilman stood from his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at Sophie.
She could only see their outlines from where she knelt on the ground. This was the ground right?
“Traitor!” another councilman shouted above the raucous that had set ablaze across the room.
No. No. No.
“Settle down!” Vestes roared above the pandemonium.
CRACK.Thunder, loud and deafening, shook the room – Ash’s warning. Sophie pushed herself farther into the ground, hands cradling her ears. Loud. So loud.
A moment passed before the soft murmurs of the council returned. They had already drawn their conclusions. She was a traitor in their eyes. To them, she was well aware of Kaine’s powers and capability. To them, she already knew he was the Breaker of Realms and that she of all people, his lover, was the one who beckoned him to wage a war against the Godlands.
Sophie dared to lift her head from the ground, forcing her eyes open through the pain.
“Answer me this. Do you still care for this Kaine Dormarth Aaryn?” Vestes’s serpentine smile brought upon the dawn of a dark violence Sophie never knew she possessed. If it wasn’t for the truth serum that seemed to hold her in place, she would have gone hell for leather. She would have launched herself at him, a possessed demon, ripping his head off by the might of her own teeth. Consequences be damned.
“You’re skating on thin ice, Vestes.” Ash’s voice was low. Threatening. His arms were crossed as he stood a few paces behind Vestes.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, the head of council warned, “I’d be careful if I were you, Taranis. It might look like you care for the enemy.”
Vestes was right. Damn him. Sophie tried to meet Ash’s eyes, but he was avoiding hers. Instead, Ash let out a strike of lighting. Nothing but simmering anger and annoyance upon his face as the room flashed brightly.
“So, Miss Taliesin, do you or do you not still care for the prophesied Breaker of Realms?” Vestes continued smugly, leaning back into his chair, clasping his hands together.
The council members stirred in their seats but waited eagerly for Sophie to answer the question. Sophie knew the answer that would tumble out of her mouth unwillingly. She hated Kaine with every atom she was made of, but somehow, the tiniest morsel of her still cared for him. That tiniest morsel in her still believed that Kaine was salvageable. That tiny morsel was convinced that she must have seen something good in him. It was a tiny, insignificant morsel, but the truth serum couldn’t tell the difference, could it?
Sophie let out a gut-wrenching wail, her back arching terribly, as the invisible needles passed through her skin. Sophie let the pain ebb away before she breathed in deeply, wiping the snot from her face. She hung her head in defeat. “I do.” As the words left her mouth, she only cared to find Ash. She looked up to see him standing very still, his arms crossed and his face a stern mask. She tried to speak again, to explain, but there an invisible force that held her jaw in a vice. It had to be Vestes. It had to be. Someone wasn’t playing fair here – not that fair was a term that could ever be used in this room.
Sophie tried to pry her mouth apart again, but all that escaped was a garbled cry.
What was Ash thinking? Sophie wiped her tears with back of her hand. She so badly wanted to yell out that she didn’t carefor Kaine like that.
“Then answer me this, demigoddess.” The word was poison on his tongue. “Are you . . . his spy?” Vestes was barely holding back a triumphant smile.
The pressure on Sophie’s jaw ceased, allowing her to rasp, “No.”
A confusion of murmurs flooded the room.
Sophie started again, breaths dry and ragged. “N-” She gripped the arms of the chair again as the invisible vice wrapped around her jaw, sealing it shut.
Vestes quickly stood, his eyes scrunched in confusion for just a millisecond. He wasn’t expecting her to say no. He thought he had her. He really thought he had her.
Not that it mattered.
With a poise that only came with perfect practise, Vestes righted his bony shoulders and plastered on a sickening smile. “Well, well. It looks like the Veritas has worn off.” His voice was a guillotine through the room. “I think we have enough to mark you as a reasonable suspect. As it is not hard evidence as such, we will be keeping a close eye on you. You have been warned, Miss Taliesin.” Vestes neatened up his stack of papers as a smug smile appeared on his pointed face. “The truth has set you free.”
A small glass of clear glittering liquid manifested before Sophie. An antidote. She fumbled for it like a crazed animal and downed it. Splashes of the antidote dripped down the sides of her mouth. The vice grip that the truth serum had over Sophie’s body relented. Sweating, fear-struck and nauseous, Sophie fell to the ground with a soul-cleaving cry, her face scratching against the carpeted floor. She felt like absolute shit, as if she’d been trampled over by a thousand arions. Her stomach lurched. Her vomit spraying across the interrogation room floor in chunks. Wiping the remnants of bile from her mouth, Sophie looked up and locked eyes with Vestes, promising him that he would suffer the most gruelling, torturous death by her hands and her hands alone.
Fucking cunt.
Vestes’s smug smile faltered just the slightest before switching his gaze to the rest of the room. The councillors had already begun to leave. He gathered his papers hurriedly and rushed out of the room without so much as another glance in Sophie’s direction.
Sophie lay on the floor for a while longer, trying to catch her shaky breath. Her limbs were leaden, her head was spinning uncontrollably. Though through her tilting world, she heard the beat of his strong wings before she saw him crouched before her, mere inches away. Sophie averted her gaze, embarrassed and unsure, tucking into a tight, messy ball of a being. She didn’t want him to see her like this.
With warm fingers, Ash brushed the sweat, tear and bile-slicked hair away from her face. The light of the room washed over her eyelids the same time her skin washed over with the anticipation of what he was going to do next.
To her surprise, he traced her jawline with a gentleness that no warrior should possess. It only made her shy away, scrunching her eyes as if she could make him disappear.
I don’t want you to see me like this.
But it seemed that Ash did. He lifted her chin, brushing the pad of his thumb in encouragement. “Sofreya.” His voice was soft, hushed. He waited for her. He waited until her eyes softened and fluttered open to look at him.
There Ash was. A glint of concern in his eyes. He let go of her chin. “Can I please take you home?”
The polite, patient, please broke her. Of course he could. Sophie tried to speak but all she could muster was a pouted nod as tears found their way down her face again.
Without another word, he moved to pull her into his arms, held her tight against his chest and carried her out of the interrogation room.