Chapter 36 Thayla
Thayla
“Well, you weren’t who I was expecting to see when I got out of the shower.”
V hoots, stretching his wings out as he gets comfortable in the middle of my bed. He’s in his adorable, smallest form. Anytime he’s that size, I completely forget he’s an ancient, incredibly powerful, secret-keeping being.
“If I shift into the size of your men, will that remind you?”
I snort, then tilt my head. “Shit. Can you really get that big?”
“Bigger.”
“Damn, V. That’s like, terrifying if I’m being honest.”
“Don’t stroke his ego.”
My body freezes for a moment before I sprint to my windows and crack open the curtains.
“Did you move closer to the house so I could hear you?”
Seismet’s huff filters through my mind and I strain my eyes to see into the dark forest. “Yes. This is getting tiresome.”
“Patience, old horse.”
“Listen here, you—”
“Enough, no arguing in my mind right now. What’s going on? There’s a reason you’re both here right now when I was getting ready for bed.”
“I’m only here for silent support.”
I cross my arms and turn back to stare at V since he’s the only one I can actually see.
“I had something I wanted to add to our discussion tonight and something I wanted to talk to you about. I asked the boys to give us a minute.”
I groan and flop on the bed beside him. “Start with adding to our discussion. I can tell by the way you said that I’m not going to like our talk.”
“Probably not, but it’s time you knew.” He waddles closer to me, and I can’t help but run my fingers down his feathers. He’s just so cute.
“Damn it, V.” I hiss and snatch my hand back after he pecks the shit out of me.
“I am not cute. I’m a formidable creature who’s traveled the realms and led many to greatness.”
“You can do all that and be cute at the same time, you know.”
I clutch my poor finger as I sit up, cross my legs, and listen to Seismet laugh. At V or me, I’m not sure.
“What I wanted to add is, and I’ll relay this to Amick as well, I believe it’d be best, when you attempt to release the power from the Binding, you do so in the sacred hot spring.
Since the Goddess of Seduction is seemingly keeping a close eye on the activity of her Binding, no doubt attempting to see if you all tamper with it like you were told not to, I believe the power of the hot spring will obscure it. ”
“Can it even get wet?”
“It was thrown into the sea, Thayla girl.”
“Oh shit, yeah, obviously. I blanked on that bit from Doren. Who would just throw something like that in the sea?”
I chuckle and shake my head. That’s absolutely crazy to me.
“Your parents.”
My laugh dies on my lips as though it was sliced by one of Creed’s swords.
Instant. Cold.
My head jerks in denial before I can even process what he just said to me.
“What? No, they didn’t.”
“They did. On my arrival home two hundred and twenty-five years ago, I was instructed to give the Binding to your parents to guard and keep safe. They did so, for a very long time.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why? Why would they agree to do that and why would they throw it away? What is…”
I practically throw myself off my bed and pace with one hand on my hip, the other on my chest as I plead with my heart to calm down. My words are spewing out of me in a flurry rather than collected thoughts.
I can’t collect them as my mind flashes back to the last conversation I had with my parents. Namely, the things my dad said.
“Your mother and I did some things years ago, and our choices are catching up with us. We need to leave you now while we prepare to face the consequences of our actions.”
“I won’t allow them to have the power they want over you, my girl.”
“I need you to explain this to me, V. Not cryptically, but in its entirety. What choices did they make that led them to run or prepare for the consequences of their actions? Why them?”
“I can’t explain everything to you, Thayla, but what I can, I will.
As I’ve told you before, your parents were the ultimate believers in the Valories and the Valorian Veil itself.
The Beginning Gods crushed that faith in them and the Valories promised to restore it. That promise, though, came at a cost.”
“Which was?”
“Your parents’ greatest desire. A child.
You. The Valories agreed to give them you, in exchange for their unwavering dedication to help righting the realm.
That included the role you would play as well.
Their first task was to protect the replica of the Gods Binding and not let it fall back into the hands of certain Beginning Gods.
They were shown many paths, not only for you and others, but themselves.
They were given many allies along the way and were told when the time was right, they’d conceive you.
That time came, then the Goddess of Seduction and the God of Obliteration arrived in Oddian. ”
“What? In Oddian? There are no records of that.”
“No, there wouldn’t be. Your parents fled immediately, as far as they could go because they knew there was no doubt those gods sensed the power.”
“That’s why we moved so much. They had that on them the whole time,” I whisper, taking a brief pause in my pacing.
“Correct.”
“What made them…”
My legs give out beneath me as my gasp sucks all the strength out of me. Everything within me sways and swooshes as the night before my parents left me, an event my mind has blocked out, comes roaring forward.
“Don’t look, my shooting star.”
The screams pierce my ears as I squeeze my eyes shut and bury my face into my dad’s neck. My body bounces around as he sprints through dark streets.
I yelp as something crashes into us, and I go soaring from his hands. My back scrapes against the hard gravel as I go rolling and rolling until I slam into a wall.
I can’t see. It’s so dark.
Where’s my daddy?
“Daddy!”
My cry cuts through the air, but nothing responds but fierce shouts and painful grunts. My hands fly out, fighting off the hands that latch onto me.
“It’s me, baby. Momma’s got you.”
I sob as my mom swoops me up, tosses me on her back, and takes off running.
“No, Daddy.”
“He’ll be okay, Thayla girl. Don’t look back.”
She runs with the speed of the wind, cutting through more dark streets, until they eventually give way to woods. Her steps never slow. Neither does my tears nor my soft whimpers for my dad.
Footsteps pound behind us and I shriek, but Mom whips around.
“Thane.” She gasps.
“We have to keep moving. Let me hold her.”
My dad grabs me under my outstretched arms and I cling to his shirt for dear life.
“It’s okay, my girl. Everything’s okay. Lay your head down.”
I do as he says, sniffling and shaking as the night becomes even darker.
The only sound to be heard for a long time is the crunching of leaves and limbs, Dad’s heartbeat, and Mom’s heavy breaths.
“Is she asleep?” Mom asks quietly.
Dad’s finger runs under my chin, but my lids are so heavy, I can’t lift them to let him know I’m awake.
“Yeah, she’s out.”
“They’re taking so many people.”
“I know. There’s nothing we can do.”
“I know that. I just…” Mom’s sigh isn’t only thick but watery. “Did Derivius say if the boys are okay?”
“They’re okay as they can be. They helped take out a quarter of the Abandon. He’s recouping his losses.”
“Valories. Them…our baby girl. They deserve better than this. She deserves better than this.”
My dad’s hand tightens around me and a shuddering breath falls from his lips. The warmth of it spreads across my chilled forehead.
“I know. She can’t come with us anymore, Anylah.”
“What?” Mom shrieks and I flinch.
My dad coos, running his hand down my back. “You’re okay,” he murmurs repeatedly until my body falls weightless once more.
“You’re right, she deserves better than this. She needs stability, safety, and the chance not to be snatched out of her new, always-changing bed. This is hard, but we have to do what’s right by her, and that’s not this.”
“What are you suggesting, Thane?”
“We’re taking her to Oddian.”
“Come on, Thayla. Open your eyes for me.”
Strong hands grip my cheeks, and I attempt to draw in a deep breath, but my soul, maybe it’s my panic, is suffocating me.
I fall into the depths of never-ending white eyes. They’re blurred from the streams pouring out of mine, but I latch onto them for dear life.
“Creed,” I croak.
“What happened?”
“I…V, the day they attacked the Abandon, that was the night my parents decided to leave me, wasn’t it?”
“What?” Creed flinches, pulling me into his lap so he can turn to face my Vedarya.
“Yes. After their father’s attack in Edistoia, they decided you could no longer travel with them.”
Creed’s body once again jumps. “He attacked Edistoia?”
“Yes. Five Beginning Gods met to discuss what to do with the four of you. The vote was three to two that you stay in the Godsdawn, and the arrangement was drawn up. Your father, of course, was not happy with that. He went on a rampage and attacked Edistoia and Abernie, stealing a great number of people to replenish his numbers.”
“Why the fuck has no one told us that, and how the fuck did he get away with that?”
“What good would it have done to tell you four that after what you just went through. The gods allowed Derivius a say in what would happen to you all because he swore responsibility over you, but once the God of Obliteration attacked the regions, the other Beginning Gods told him his say did not matter in that case. They felt it was best to let him get his anger out, rather than have him turn it around on the Godsdawn.”
“What Beginning Gods?”
The grit and lethal vibration coming from his chest shake my very soul. They snatch me toward him and his arms grow tighter around me.
“The Goddesses. All of them.”
“We know the God of Boundaries was already missing by this point in time, but where was the God of Consequence in all this?” I ask.
“He decreed he had to stay out of it, that there were grand consequences to come from any decision made.”