Chapter 34 Thayla #2
I cross my arms as I glare at Derivius. “Really? You’ve been ignoring my ass for days. Now you just pop up. That means bad news.”
His smirk isn’t mischievous in the slightest, which is the biggest indicator that what I said is true.
“I apologize. I was trying to locate my dear friend Consequence, but he’s avoiding me at the moment.”
“What’s in your hand?” Amick asks, not giving Derivius or me a chance to say anything else.
Granted, I didn’t notice anything in his hand. I was too focused on staring at his eyes. Namely, his black eye. My heart hurts now that I know the truth of how that happened. I’m sure he and Creed feel awful about what they accidentally did.
“This,” he says exasperatedly as he taps the parchment on the counter, “is the bad news. The Goddess of Seduction sensed her Binding again. K sent me a decree ordering me to come see if you’ve located it.”
“Well, tell him fuck no,” Riven says.
“I can’t do that, son. If I tell him no, he’s sending out guards to accompany you because he knows the Binding is on the move.”
“And if you tell him yes?” Amick asks.
Derivius’s lips pinch together. “Then you have a week from today to meet him at the barrier. In good faith, he’ll cross over to our side.”
“The barrier? Why would we meet him there and not at his temple? And what does the side matter?” I ask.
Amick’s features harden as he keeps his intense gaze on Derivius.
“He can’t harm us in his temple. It’s written in the arrangement they made for us.
There are no rules if we step through the barrier to the Abandon.
It’s one of the many reasons why we don’t like to go and fight unless necessary.
If he were to catch us, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
He’s trying to intimidate us. Show us that the barrier doesn’t truly keep him from reaching us and he’s always been the one to decide to stay on his side. ”
Derivius nods once. “He’s testing us. He wants to see if we all followed the rules he laid out.”
“Well, you definitely have. You knew the whole time where it was but didn’t tell us.” I scoff.
“Correction, I did not know where the Binding was. I can assure you, if I did, I would’ve retrieved it way before now for myself. I knew the God of Discovery was alive and hiding somewhere, and he could find it.”
Well…that proved to be true.
Amick’s anger grows swiftly, burning through my soul like a poison. It’s so much easier to spot his over everyone else’s. It’s a sensation he’s not used to feeling, therefore it’s far more potent to me.
This whole situation has thrown his carefully crafted plan right out the window. Our what would’ve been over a month timeline of him observing the Binding and figuring out how to release the power, just got chopped to a week.
If he doesn’t or hasn’t got the answer from his book on the Binding by now, I don’t know if he’ll be able to at this point.
My harsh exhale makes my lips flap together, and everyone’s gaze moves to me.
“So what do we do now?”
“We go home and use our time wisely. Havar, go hook the Veilatara. We’ll be flying.”
Amick’s command cuts through the living room like a sword and my chest burns as though it struck me. I watch his back as he stomps past Derivius, and into our room. He slams the door so hard I jump, then take a step in that direction.
“Give him a minute,” Kyzen mumbles as he latches onto my wrist.
“He’s mad. Like really, really mad. I’ve never felt it so intensely.”
“Yeah.” He sighs. “I know.”
“I’ll go warn Gladian,” Creed grunts, sparing us a glance before following behind Havar out the door, then Yemi and Sevryn quietly excuse themselves.
I playfully push Lambrit when he murmurs I’m welcome for the swim lessons back in the day and Rose gives me an apologetic smile that I wave off as they disappear down their hall as well.
I wonder if they’re about over this adventure yet.
“Riven tells me you went overboard. You doing okay?” Derivius asks as Kyzen and I join them in the kitchen.
Riven’s sweet and innocent smile isn’t going to work on me. He’s still in some shit.
“I really think you gave me Riven’s nickname and honestly, I should be calling you that. All you Beginning Gods do is stir some shit up.”
He tosses his head back, laughing, but I see through it. His blue eye is lacking its twinkle like when we had to go to the God of Obliteration’s temple. He’s just as worried as my men seem to be.
“I’ll admit, we do have a history of that. Hopefully, that will come to an end soon enough.”
Yeah, I don’t have a joke back for that. I really hope it’s the case as well.
“Are you flying back with us?” Riven asks.
“No, I’ve got to get back, unfortunately respond to K, and inform the stronghold. I don’t want my silence to be considered rebellion.”
The three of us grunt at that and he responds with one of his own.
“You all travel safe and I’ll see you in a week’s time if not before.”
He starshoots out, leaving the three of us standing here, staring at the spot he just was.
Despite how casual the two of them look on the surface, their unconvincing smiles can’t hide the tension that’s coming from them. It’s growing and spreading through my chest, adding pressure to my own.
“I’m going to go check on the o wise one.”
“No, you’re not. Leave him be and let him pack by himself. He’s got a lot on his mind.”
“Kyzen’s right. Besides, you and I are about to have a little talk about pushing him to the point he blabbed out Yemi’s business before she had a chance to say anything.”
He groans dramatically and tosses his hands in the air before stomping to the table. “I’m about to go jump off the ship.”
He can try if he wants to.
I’d dive down the depths and drag his ass back up.
Gods, I can’t believe I missed our house so much.
Don’t get me wrong, the carriage was incredibly impressive and truthfully, it wasn’t bad sharing a bed and a room with the guys.
Well, I mean, the sexual tension that almost strangled me to death every night was rough, but other than that…I actually really enjoyed it.
If I snored or made any other embarrassing noises in my sleep, no one called me out on it.
The three-hour flight home was uneventful, seeing as everyone kept to their own rooms, except for Kyzen, Riven, Creed, and me. Amick didn’t emerge until we landed right in our front yard.
It kind of choked me up watching Lambrit and Rose walk away hand in hand. The time we got to spend together was a lot like old times, but even better since I got to watch his relationship grow right before my eyes. Every day they woke up, looking at each other a little more lovingly.
That shit was so sweet.
Havar said he’d return Seismet and Verlet to the meadows alone since we had precious cargo, but Yemi and Sevryn insisted they join him since Collum would be returning Fausta.
I’m not entirely sure how their conversation went, but Yemi shot me a wink when I stared at her, so I took that as everything’s okay.
I flop back on my bed and stare up at my canopy that really doesn’t resemble the clouds now. As petrifying as the Lost Sea was, the boundless sky above our heads was breathtaking.
I’ve already unpacked, aka, thrown my shit on my closet floor, and now I don’t know what to do with myself.
Would I seem clingy if I went and sat on one of their beds and watched them properly unpack?
Probably not but…which one?
The smile that takes over my face as a knock at my door echoes through my room is embarrassing. You’d think after the amount of time we just spent together, we’d need a small break, but nope. It seems like an hour is our cap.
I do try to gain some control over my cheeks as I hop off my bed and make my way across my room, but it only shrinks a little.
Until I pull the door wide and it sinks.
“What’s wrong?”
The tension in Kyzen’s shoulders, plus the balling of his fist in his pants pocket is a dead giveaway that he’s about to say something I don’t like.
“Amick wants to talk to us.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yep.”
The sad smile he gives me sends panic surging through my body.
“Is he about to break up with me?”
His face flinches and he jerks his head. “What? No, absolutely not.”
“Then why the hell did you look at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“There was…pity in your eyes. I didn’t like that one bit.”
“I…” He grunts, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean for that to be the look. I’m not looking forward to this conversation. It’s been one thing after another and a night with nothing would’ve been nice.”
That’s very true.
I release a heavy breath and link my fingers through his. “Then let’s go discuss whatever it is we need to discuss, then we have a night of nothing.”
He squeezes my hand back as we make our way down my hallway.
The second I step into the kitchen, I sense my Valtrue keenly.
Although I can’t sense him intensely like the others yet, Riven’s the embodiment of boredom. He’s lying on the couch, playing catch with a pillow.
Creed’s annoyance is obvious enough with how he’s banging mugs around, but the rope connecting us tells me just how aggravated he really is.
Kyzen’s nerves, on the other hand, are playing tug of war in my chest. It’s as if he’s trying to pull his feelings back, but he can’t completely.
Amick…is anxious.
There’s still a hint of anger lurking underneath, but what’s most potent is his anxiety. If he keeps pacing the way he is in front of the fire, he’s going to create a trail on the floor.
I caress the strand that connects me to him softly, and his head whips up, right at me.
“We need to talk.”
“Yeah, Kyzen informed me. Everything okay?”
His mouth opens and closes, but instead of actually answering, he holds his hand out toward the middle cushion.
It isn’t until I round the couch that I notice the illusion cube sitting on the ottoman and my gaze bounces from it back to him.
“Is this conversation about the Binding?”
“It is.”
“Here.” Creed grunts as he starts passing out drinks.
When he gets to me, I raise a brow. “Whose cream did you use?”
“Riven’s.”
“Yum. I love how sweet it is.”