9. Theos
Chapter 9
Theos
O nce Maeryn and Kiera are sequestered away in the bathing chamber, I call for another Terra to clean up the mess they made of Ruen’s bedroom. Though I have no qualms about leaving him to take care of the filth himself, Kiera’s been sleeping in there for the last several nights, and knowing what will happen now that she’s awake … well, none of us want her to be far away. The room beneath ours is too much distance now.
Silence reigns between Ruen and me as the frightened little Terra tasked with the cleaning duties comes in, moving like a wraith as he flitters back and forth between the room and out of it to retrieve more supplies. Each time the door opens, the stench wafts out, and my upper lip curls back. I do not miss that smell—the scent of dirt and other things I’d rather not mention. It reminds me too much of my time in the facilities where the Gods—or rather, Atlanteans as Caedmon had revealed—stick the children that don’t immediately portray abilities.
The second the Terra has finished his task, the door snicking shut behind him, Ruen breaks the quiet. “We’ll need to tell her what to expect when she comes out.”
Casting a look over at him, I let my gaze trail down the hollows of his cheekbones—deeper than they were three days ago—as well as the shallow bruises beneath his eyes. Three days she’d been asleep. Three days we’d made excuses to the God Council. Had she not woken up today, I fear we wouldn’t have been able to hold them off much longer.
“She’ll feel betrayed.” By the Gods, I feel betrayed. When Caedmon had sent us a note after our return saying that he would take care of the consequences of Kiera’s brimstone removal, I hadn’t expected that he would tell the God Council about her. None of us had.
Ruen reclines in the chair and stretches his neck back as he props his legs up on the edge of his reading table. “I know.” He exhales the words.
I turn my head as the sound of something upstairs greets my ears. Watery splashes? The dull murmur of voices on the other side of the door trickles down to me, but I can’t pick out what the two women are saying. A thought occurs to me and I scowl, realizing that I’ll likely have to call the Terra back to clean the bathing chamber once the two of them are done. After the women are done washing themselves, it will likely smell of the vile concoction I’d thought I’d forgotten from my childhood.
I inhale sharply, trying to drag calm into my lungs, but all I get is the reminder of sickening mud and shit scent of that stuff. Shaking my head, I stomp towards the fireplace, ripping an iron poker from its holder alongside it and jabbing it into the logs with vengeance. The wood cracks under my powerful thrust and breaks in half, embers filtering up the chimney as the crack rebounds around the room.
“We need to be careful while the Gods are in session,” Ruen says slowly.
Jab. Jab. Jab. “I know,” I snap. I break the large remains of the log in the fireplace into several more pieces before reaching down and snatching another from the nearby pile—stacked neatly against the stones. I toss two into the mess. More ash and red embers emerge, fading quickly after a moment before flames erupt over the new dried wood.
That’s just what life is, isn’t it—you think you can overpower it with help, and then, eventually, the pain eats away at them too. With disgust, I slam the poker back into its holder and reach up, cupping my hands over the mantle as I force myself to stare into the crackling flames that roar to life.
“Where the fuck is Kalix?” I ask.
Silence greets my question and then the telltale sound of boots hitting the floor hits my ears as Ruen drags them off the table. I glance back once as he bends and snuffs out the half-burned candle with two fingers. The single trickle of smoke flitters up as he takes his hand away and then blows to the side, smacking into the pile of books he’s been poring over during the nights we’ve waited for our—well, I don’t exactly know what the girl is to us, but I do know that Kiera means more than any other woman has before. Not just to me, but to Kalix and Ruen as well.
Kalix isn’t bothering to deny it. He knows he’s obsessed. I’ve seen the way he looks at her—a mixture of curiosity and excitement thrumming in his gaze. A shiver chases down my spine. That look from him is rarely a good thing. Ruen is different though. I don’t even know if he realizes that he follows her with his eyes whenever she enters a room. He tries not to, but I’ve known him long enough to know when he’s truly not interested and when he’s forcing himself not to be.
With Kiera, Ruen is always forcing himself to look away. That, more than anything else, is telling.
“He sent me a note this morning,” Ruen finally says, responding to my question.
I straighten away from the fireplace, turning, but not stepping away as I face him. “And?”
Ruen’s brows pucker as he frowns down at the open book on the table before lifting his blue gaze to mine. “His serpents have confirmed that the Gods are in the Academy—Tryphone as well as Azai.”
“We knew that already,” I grit out. “Caedmon said as much.”
More and more, I am quicker to anger. That’s what happens when everything you’ve ever known is turned on its head. Cursing silently, I drag a hand up my face and shove back the longer locks of my hair, pulling them away from my face as I stalk forward.
“What about the notice we got this morning?” I demand. “The summons?”
Ruen’s lips curl down at the corners. “The summons is still in place, once she’s—” He pauses and looks up as the door opens above our heads. Long silver hair, wet from the bath, flitters over the railing as Maeryn leads Kiera into Kalix’s room. A moment later, the two of them are in the bedroom and the door shuts behind them. Ruen blows out a breath. “Once she’s done with Maeryn, we’ll tell her, and then … we’ll go before the Gods.”
I curse aloud this time, the word ripping free from my throat. “What was Caedmon thinking?” I don’t know who I’m asking. Ruen is just as likely to know as I am and I know nothing.
“I don’t know,” Ruen says regardless.
I close my eyes, blocking out the sight of him and the room. Even still, I can hear the sounds of the women above, and the lingering scent of the sweet herbs and soap from our bathing chambers filters down to erase the last of the mud scent from the concoction Maeryn insisted on. I inhale it deeply, letting it calm my frayed nerves.
Deeper and deeper we go into this rabbit hole. No weapons. No choices. Just three blind mice following after a fluffy tailed assassin who’s done nothing but lie to us for months. I can’t even help it anymore. Knowing that she lied, knowing the real reason why she came to the Academy makes no difference. Still, I want her. I crave her.
“Caedmon won’t let her die,” Ruen says a moment later, but even he doesn’t sound convinced.
After a breath, I open my eyes and settle my gaze on his. “No,” I agree. “He won’t. He wants to use her still.” To kill Tryphone, the King of the Gods.
I don’t know all that Kiera has been through, but it feels cruel to ask that of her. Why her? Caedmon said she was of Tryphone’s bloodline. That means that Tryphone has a child out there somewhere.
My hand drops away from the top of my head and I stride forward until I’m standing next to Ruen’s reading table. My hands land on the table before him. The white blond strands of my hair fall back into place, partially obstructing my view.
“Whatever happens,” I say quietly, distantly aware of Maeryn and Kiera moving about in the rooms upstairs, “she stays with us.”
Ruen doesn’t even hesitate. He jerks his head in a nod.
“We’ll tell her about the summons, but she won’t go alone. We are with her,” I continue, “all the way.”
Beneath the dark wash of fabric he wears, Ruen’s shoulders tense. “Yes,” he agrees, despite the shift. “We are with her.”