Chapter 25 The Warlord
The Warlord
“Has he taken a Vessel yet?” Kaos’ gravely voice boomed.
I was incredibly grateful for the Air Wards placed both around the study and on the windows that led outside.
Without them, someone would not only be able to hear his voice, but would inevitably see him, especially with the way the afternoon light illuminated my office.
I sighed, rolling my head as I contemplated my answer.
Kaos started randomly appearing here ever since he and his sister, Solace, took over the rebellion’s camp in the south.
After spending so many millennia in solitary confinement on Meru, Kaos was rather chatty—a fact that was both a blessing and a curse.
While I was able to glean vital pieces of information that I would have otherwise been blind to, the god seemed to like to hear himself speak.
Hubris, I suppose.
“Truthsayer, are you listening to me? I asked if the General had taken a Vessel yet?” He was growing impatient with me the longer I held onto my own secrets. I had to waylay him as long as possible, had to keep my plans locked in my mind.
Otherwise, everything would be for naught.
Ellowyn’s trauma and torment.
The broken relationship with the man who was once more brother than friend.
The fraying alliances.
The death and sacrifices.
The blood that would run red through the streets of Vespera.
None of it would matter.
I can give him this piece of information.
For both of our plans, it appeared Rohak needed to take a Vessel. It was just unclear who the Vessel was supposed to be.
Perhaps a visit to Jarius is in order.
The very last remaining Keeper was locked away in a secret room beneath the street that connected the manor to the Academy. At one point, it held the Matriarch’s father but with his passing, it stood empty. Until I found Jarius and he offered himself willingly.
That part still confused me.
After what I did to the Keepers, no one should offer themselves willingly.
There has to be more at play than I don’t know about.
The thought made my head pound.
Kaos growled slightly, and I sighed.
“No, he hasn’t,” I said tiredly before sinking into a chair, a fresh glass of whiskey in my hand. “Whiskey?” I asked the god.
Kaos strode to my bar cart, eerily silent, as he measured himself a healthy pour of Hestin’s finest. I grumbled beneath my breath, annoyed that he took so much of what little remained. After the shit show in Katiska, I doubted the distillery would supply me any more barrels.
I could just force them.
If they were even still open.
Disgruntled and annoyed, I took a small sip of my drink, rolling it around my mouth and letting it sit on the back of my tongue so I could relish in all of the flavors.
Something I wouldn’t be able to do soon, and not just because I was rapidly consuming the final barrel.
Kaos looked at me expectantly with those unnerving, pure black orbs.
Everything about him was black, his appearance almost void-like; if he stood in the shadows, he’d be undetectable.
His skin an obsidian so complete it was almost the color of his eyes.
He wore his black hair in long dreadlocks—a choice that surprised me the first time I saw him decades ago.
Nothing about him had changed since that fateful first meeting.
He even still donned the same black leather armor that eerily made no noise when he walked.
Kaos was a giant of a man, and it always surprised me how silently he could move when he wanted.
Perks of being a god.
My eyes focused on my ancestor—the god whose powers I descended from. Though, my magic was significantly less potent than his original descendants, and it was clear that we’d also lost a magnitude of abilities throughout the centuries. Like teleporting.
That could have been so handy, I thought wryly.
Kaos was still staring at me, his eyes unblinking.
“What?” I finally asked, exhaustion lacing my tone. I’d never had the same respect for the gods as Rohak. Though maybe in this moment, I should show a fair bit of deference.
My eyes quickly took in the tight set of Kaos’ shoulders and the nearly murderous glare on his face. In fairness, he always looked murderous.
“Have you no respect for your sire?” His voice rumbled through my study, and it took all I had not to roll my eyes.
“Oh, let’s cut the theatrics, please. I’m your descendant.
Your last descendant. You and I both know you aren’t going to do anything to me.
Not only does it derail your plans, but it would leave you vulnerable.
Is that really something you want with your sister so .
. . focused on her own goals?” I waved my hand at him as I spoke, my third glass of whiskey loosening my tongue.
Maybe I should ask Rohak how to be more pious. If we ever speak as friends again . . .
I knew isolating him in Hestin without any contact from me would damage our relationship, possibly irreparably, which was only made worse after my dismissal today and act of ignorance regarding the state of Elyria.
But everything had to happen in a certain way at a certain time to ensure that the gods—both the one sitting across from me and his delusional sister—failed.
Fuck, it was all so exhausting.
Kaos finally huffed once before draining his glass of whiskey in a single gulp. My nose wrinkled at the action, so reminded of my own proclivities even just a few months ago.
But so much had changed since then. I’d rarely found time to sit, let alone enjoy a glass of my favorite spirits.
The lack of relaxation, increased plotting and planning, and complete reduction of sleep caused me to lose a significant amount of weight. I’d become irritable, or more so than usual, and was constantly worried—the furrow in my brow now a near-permanent fixture.
“I thought that was the point of sending him to Hestin.” Kaos was focused on Rohak, my previous slight ignored for now. “Send him there, force him to draw exponentially from his reserves. Then force a Bond on him when he returns.” Kaos practically growled the last part.
“Yes,” I sighed, rolling the back of my head against the chair. “But it failed, obviously. I’ll . . . orchestrate something else. It’s only a matter of time. He’s fought it for years now.”
I hated giving this much information to Kaos, but he’d be able to sniff out even a trace of a lie, which was something I absolutely could not afford.
Kaos grunted.
“And the artifacts?” He tried to school any interest or urgency from his voice, but I could hear it plain as day.
I smiled internally, not daring to let him see my reaction.
I’d set Faylinn on a variety of tasks—lots of different translations of ancient texts in addition to children’s books.
She never batted an eye, just did what I asked, though I knew the variance in literature confused even her academic mind.
Sometimes, the secrets of the world were hidden in the stories meant for our youngest generation, allowing them to pass through time undetected as nothing more than fables and tales. It’s how Faylinn discovered the Life Bonds, after all.
It was only a matter of time before she discovered the location of the artifacts and my motivations for Life Bonds. I knew she wanted that information, but I was keeping it tight to my chest at the moment.
She’d find out soon enough. I just had to lead her there in my own time.
“Nothing yet,” I intoned, thankful that she hadn’t come across or translated anything that could be remotely construed as the location of one of the three godly artifacts in Elyria.
They were the last tethers of the gods to this plane, and I knew Kaos was sweating over their existence.
If the artifacts were eliminated, the gods have no ability to enter Elyria.
I’d eventually discovered that Fate kept them sealed on Meru since the gods’ creation. But, when Kaos and Solace went to find the artifacts for the three remaining deities, they were mysteriously absent, his half sister’s runes marked all around the area.
So many moving parts. So many puzzles to solve.
“Why are you so incompetent? We cannot let Solace win,” Kaos hissed, and I slowly pulled my head from where it rested against the chair back to fix him with a glare of my own. It wasn’t on the same level as the gods, but I was known to strike fear into the hearts of men with one simple look.
The inability of my eyes to stay focused in one place for an extended period of time added to that visage, I was sure.
The perks of having a god in your head.
“I’m aware of that, Kaos,” I replied coldly.
Kaos scoffed with a roll of his obsidian orbs.
“I’m not sure you’re aware fully of what she plans to do.”
“Are you?” I countered and saw that I struck a nerve.
Ah, so dear sister hasn’t been including Kaos in her plans.
That worked better in my favor.
Deities were much easier to eliminate individually. If they were a united front, it would be nearly unfathomable to eradicate them both.
Not impossible, but would definitely come with a lot more bloodshed and maneuvering. I just had to ensure that it stayed that way.
I kept my face carefully blank—I didn’t need Kaos knowing how gleeful I was over that particular piece of information.
Kaos froze for a moment, his large body going eerily still, before he rose from his chair in an abrupt yet fluid motion.
“I must go. The next time I return, I expect your lackey to be Bonded. And I expect the location of at least one of those artifacts. Preferably mine,” he ordered before disappearing from the room, seeming to fade into nothing as shadows dark as night enveloped his form.
They dissipated a short time after, revealing an empty space and used whiskey glass.
I sighed, pushing up from my chair, and grabbed his tumbler. There was still a thin layer of Hestin whiskey at the bottom, and I tossed it back.
Can’t waste good alcohol.