7. Thayla #2
We have so many similarities and just as many differences.
“Are you and Anylah really my parents?”
The question slips out before I can stop it. Silence slams into the Court. He rears back like I slapped him.
Beside me, Riven chuckles. “Well, that wasn’t on our list.”
I ignore him.
“Yes,” Val says, strained. “We are your parents. By blessing and by blood.”
By blessing.
I hate the way he said that.
“That’s right. The Valories promised to bless you with me if you gave them your unyielding loyalty,” I mutter.
Meridamus clears his throat. “We were under the impression this meeting would remain practical.”
Heat creeps into my cheeks. I drag my attention away from Val.
“I just wanted to prepare myself for when the Goddess of whatever crosses that barrier in Oddian and crashes into my life.”
Meridamus’s lips pinch tight. He rocks on his heel, then glances at Val, who drags a hand down his face.
“Your mother isn’t a goddess,” he says so factually it takes me a moment to process it.
Unfortunately, his eyes hold truth and my Accord doesn’t stir when I call it forward. Honestly, I don’t know if it would stir against him or not. It did with the others. So, surely he’s no different.
“Why would the Valories allow a Beginning God to have a child with an ungodly being?” Amick asks, scowling. “They know the dangers of that.”
Val tilts his head, considering whether to answer. Or maybe he believes he doesn’t owe Amick an explanation.
My eyes narrow in clear warning.
Don’t be a dick to my men.
“There was no danger,” he finally says. “The moment you were born, I took your power with my Binding.”
A shiver slips free before I can stop it. I lock my fingers behind my back before they start shaking.
He used his Binding to take my power. Power that could’ve…
You know what? Never mind.
“You’re both still in possession of your Bindings?” I ask.
Meridamus snorts. “Of course. We’d never lose such a thing.”
I sense the dig aimed at Derivius and my glare sharpens.
“Good. Hand them over.”
“Now, Thayla—”
“No.” I wave Meridamus off. “We’ve been tasked with gathering the Bindings. Something I know you’re aware of. If we’re discussing where everyone stands moving forward, then let’s discuss it. I believe you’re here to help us and handing me those Bindings would be a big help.”
Meridamus holds my gaze for a tense moment. A smile creeps across his mouth.
“Well, there’s the Accord in her.”
I don’t shift.
Thank the stars Riven and Derivius don’t react either.
“Tell you what, Thayla girl. I’ll hand my Binding over under one condition.”
“A condition?” Kyzen asks.
“Yes,” Meridamus says. “This is a mediation, is it not? There should be compromises and agreements.”
It takes everything in me not to pop off at his smart-ass tone. Ungodly Meridamus was different. This version is…a smart-ass.
“What condition?” I ask.
He nods toward Val.
Unease flickers across Val’s face as he studies my pissed-off expression.
“We want to do what’s best for you. Train you. Work with you on your powers. Teach you things you won’t get from a book. And, if she’s willing, I’d like to work with Ms. Andino as well.”
My suspicion flares.
“Did you have something to do with our pairing and her domain being under you?”
“No. I swear I did not.”
My eyes cut to Derivius. He shakes his head.
Fuck. So she’s always been touched by the Gods Binding.
“What if I don’t want to train with you two?”
“Then we’ll hold onto our Bindings…until the time to hand them over comes,” Meridamus says.
My jaw clenches.
The desire to tell him to fuck off is strong.
Working with them gives them far more access to me than I ever planned.
What’s just as strong is my want to give this to Yemi.
She’s been alone in her domain for so long.
If she was that excited about his book, she’d faint at the offer of working directly with the God of Boundaries.
Gods damn it. I hate this. I hate the feeling crawling beneath my skin.
They stood somewhere together, talked about how this would go, decided what they thought was best for me without ever speaking to me.
My stomach twists. They’re dangling something genuinely valuable in front of me, and part of me already knows refusing would be stupid.
My fingers curl tighter.
I don’t want them to be useful. I don’t want them to be right. I don’t want to need anything from either of them.
The realm doesn’t care what I want. They obviously don’t either.
“Fine,” I mumble. “You hand over your Bindings now, and I’ll train with you. I won’t make that decision for Yemi, but I’ll talk to her.”
They glance at each other.
“Then we’re in agreement,” Meridamus says, arching a brow.
My nostril twitches as I call my Accord forward and slam it into him. He and Val both widen their eyes as it locks around the three of us.
“Happy?” I ask.
They nod.
Power pulses through the Court as their hands glow. I hold my breath as the Bindings materialize in their palms. They stare down at the powerful little shits like it physically hurts them to let go.
Fucking gods.
I step forward as they do, taking Meridamus’s first, ignoring the prideful smirk on his face. A gasp threatens to escape when Val’s fingers brush mine as he passes me his. My spine tingles so sharply my back nearly bows.
I backpedal immediately.
Derivius claps once, loud enough to snap the tension.
“Well,” he cheers, “this is already going significantly better than I expected. A touch awkward and some aggressive diplomacy, but no violence, so this is a grand start.”
Riven scoffs. “These fools just failed a test they didn’t know they were taking.”
Val and Meridamus narrow their gazes at him. Those features fade when they glance at my blank stare.
“I don’t like being manipulated into a situation I don’t want to be in,” I say, then starshoot the Bindings to the house.
“V, there are two Bindings in Amick’s bedroom. Will you get them and put them with the others, please?”
“Of course.”
I hold my hand up, stopping Val and Meridamus from speaking.
“You both could’ve handed them over in good faith and with no strings attached. That isn’t the approach you decided on. You deal with the consequences of that decision.”
“Thayla, please. That wasn’t what I was trying to do.”
“No?” I tilt my head. “You weren’t trying to find a way to force me to spend time with you since Derivius clearly told you I didn’t want that?”
“No. Not force or manipulate. Encourage. Offer.”
“Then why didn’t you just encourage and offer?”
His mouth opens and closes repeatedly. Eventually, he scowls at Meridamus like this is all his fault.
“What? Did you tell him there’d be consequences? Did you warn him I’d say no?”
“Yes,” Meridamus admits.
“Well, then you’re an idiot.” I shrug. Riven giggles at the offense on his face.
“The whole point of this meeting was to see how we could work together. Me avoiding you two is irresponsible, given everything going on. We wanted to know your roles and how you planned to help us. If you had simply offered to train me, I might’ve said no at first. Then I would’ve gone home, talked to the guys, realized I was letting my emotions get in the way, and made a different choice. Now I don’t have a choice at all.”
The realization settles over both of them. Val’s eyes shatter. Meridamus rubs the back of his neck.
Lesson learned. For all of us.
“Amick, Kyzen,” I mutter, asking without asking for one of them to take over.
“When do you plan on making your return known to the realm?” Amick asks Val.
He exhales, long and slow.
“I haven’t decided. It won’t be impulsive or without reason. The longer Kira doesn’t know I’m back, the better.”
Understandable and an advantage.
The last thing we need to do is provoke the God of Obliteration into doing something rash. Like destroying the Godsdawn looking for him.
“What happens when the seven replicas reunite with the original Gods Binding?”
They blink repeatedly like Amick’s question was the last thing they expected. He notices their hesitation and keeps going.
“Will it strip your power?”
“Yes and no.”
“We’re not doing that,” Kyzen says, staring Meridamus down. “You won’t be vague with us, and we won’t be vague with you.”
Val steps forward an inch, inclining his head. “It won’t strip the powers we were created with, but it severs our direct connection and the boost we get from the Gods Binding. We’d have to go to the original Binding to wield it.”
“That means no more manipulating Valtrue pairings or releasing and taking power away on a whim,” Creed grunts.
“Correct. We’d have to lay our hands on the original Binding,” Val says.
I subtly cut my eyes to Derivius.
He knew that. That’s why he did what he did. He stole Sabe’s Binding so she had no access to the original. Only the knockoff Veil in the Abandon.
“Tell me, ol’ Boundaries,” Riven says, “have you always guarded the original Binding?”
“Not around the clock, but yes, over the years. I only came physically if I sensed Kira pass through the barrier. I arrived the other night when I felt you all pass the first door.”
I didn’t need his timeline, but the back-and-forth makes sense.
Too much sense.
“And after you abandoned our dear sweet Binder, did you come back every time our father summoned us?” Riven asks.
“I did.”
“So you skipped right on through Oddian without—”
“Riven,” I mumble, shaking my head. He sucks his teeth and lifts his hands.
I know he means well, but I’m not opening that line of discussion any further.
“It was him,” Kyzen says, pointing at Val but staring at Derivius.
“You’ll have to be more specific, my boy. Good ol’ Val has done a lot of things,” Derivius says, winking at him.
Kyzen scoffs. “When Harriseen sent the correspondence requesting Thayla be banned from the quest, I asked you if you thought he’d sent a message to our father. You said you’d know if he did. It was him. He would’ve relayed it to you.”
“Ah.” Derivius’s teasing smirk shifts into guilt. “Yes. Val’s barrier is rigged to notify him of all things Kira related. And all things Tha—”
“Enough, Chaos.”
I cross my arms.