Thayla
My mind whirls as I map the names and faces to my memory.
It’s difficult to do with the million fucking things running rampant in my brain. The thing sticking out to me the most is that the men’s stances and reactions to her make more sense now.
Perfect sense.
Derivius brutally taught me the importance of the structure of a Nexus.
Her soul ties them together as one.
They aren’t just willing to protect her life. They’re protecting her soul.
I understand that.
My Valtrue understands that.
I release a deep breath, and collectively, so do my men.
“We don’t have long,” Willow says.
“We, as in you or us?” I ask.
“Both. This isn’t our realm to linger in. The power of this meadow and its creatures are protecting our presence, but after a while, the ripple of our arrival will be felt. That’ll cause you problems you aren’t ready to face.”
The five of us shift, and her men mimic.
I examine each of them as Willow tilts her head toward Tillman—the big one—and he leans closer to her. No words are exchanged between them, but somehow, that movement causes the other three men to relax their stances.
A fraction.
“Do you people always just pop out of others’ hot springs unannounced?”
“Riven.”
The four of us whip our glares toward him, and he shrugs with his nostrils flared.
“What? It’s a legitimate question. I’m going to be pissed if I have to worry about them showing up when I’m taking a swim.”
“Do you make it a habit of swimming in water that you don’t know the first thing about?”
“Caspian.” Willow sighs.
“What? It’s a legitimate question. Isn’t that right?”
The sarcasm in his tone makes Riven scoff.
“Just that one, thank you very much.”
The corner of Caspian’s lips twitches, but his gaze continues to roam over Riven, then it shifts to Kyzen. It holds his the longest before moving to Amick and Creed. He measures each of them as though he’s trying his damnedest to figure out everything about them.
Willow shakes her head as she turns her back to us and steps through her men. They—well, and us—watch her every move as she sinks to her knees and reaches her arm back into the hot spring.
My eyes widen as the water stops spinning and the power snaps out of the atmosphere. Neither she nor her men react whatsoever, while the five of us stare in shocked confusion.
“That’s not a hot spring,” Amick mumbles.
“It obviously is,” Riven argues.
“No. That’s a portal.”
Willow nods and smiles. “Very good, God of Knowledge. We won’t be leaving the way we came. We’ve got another location we need to visit before heading home.”
“Okay, little wanderer, I’ve been patient like you made me promise. Can I say something now?”
She glances at him with a tender grin. “Go ahead, dragon.”
Dragon?
I thought his name was Draken.
He stretches his arms out wide, taking a step toward us as if one of us is about to embrace his ass in a hug. My men all tense while my arms shoot out.
“V,” I call, attempting to latch onto him, but he ignores me.
He hoots and purrs as he flies around Draken’s body. His feathers caress his arms, and he nuzzles into him once he finally lands on his shoulder.
“Oh, man. Two hundred and twenty-five years is too long. You look and feel amazing. You haven’t aged a day,” Draken cheers as he presses his forehead against V.
Two hundred and twenty-five years…
“How…” I start, but my mouth won’t work as V continues to fly around and embrace each of them.
He had connections with them…
“You said you weren’t leaving the way you came. Where are you going from here if this is the portal?” Amick asks.
Thank fuck someone can think straight.
She studies him for a beat, then glances past us toward the long stretch of meadow.
“A barrier within your realm. Do you all mind if we walk and talk? I’d love to stretch my legs a little and finally see this gorgeous meadow.”
She may have asked, but she doesn’t wait for an answer.
Her steps eat the distance between us, and she links her arm through mine like it’s the most natural thing for her to do. My body turns without my permission, and my footsteps fall in line with hers.
I peer over my shoulder and nearly trip over myself.
She steadies me, giggling. “Let them be. They’ll figure it out on their own. They’re all big boys.”
She didn’t even look behind us but somehow knows that her men have taken places between mine. As in they’ve created a pattern. One of my men, then one of hers, and so on and so forth.
My Valtrue isn’t all that happy about it.
“This is crazy,” I mutter.
“You know what’s actually crazy?” Draken asks. “From the stories we know, I really had it in my head you gods would be huge. Maybe not as big as the giants, but bigger than us for sure. You’re definitely edible.”
My feet fall still.
“Did he just say edible?” I ask.
Willow fucking laughs and pulls me along. “Don’t mind, Draken. He won’t really eat anyone. I mean, he will, but not any of you. We had a conversation about this before we came.”
What the fuck?
V’s hoot ruffles my hair as he perches himself on my shoulder and rubs his face across my cheek. I lean into him but also cut my eyes to the side.
“You’ve got some explaining to do. Starting now. What the hell is happening?”
“What’s happening is the beginning of a very powerful alliance or the continuation of a hostile division.
Trust my advice, and even if you can’t trust her, as a person, for now, trust in the things that come out of her mouth.
She wouldn’t benefit by leading you astray.
If anything, the worse off our realm gets, the more it hurts hers. ”
“What does that mean exactly? Is she here to help us save the realm?”
“No. No, I am not. I’m only here to help you, and what you do with what I leave you will be entirely on you.”
“Did you just tell her what I said?” I sneer at V.
“He didn’t tell me anything. Your thoughts aren’t quiet.”
My thoughts…
Gods damn it.
“You can hear my thoughts, can’t you?”
Her guilty smirk spills that truth.
“I’m so over beings telling me my thoughts are loud.”
“I didn’t say loud. I said aren’t quiet.”
“Same damn thing.”
She laughs as her head pivots from side to side, mapping out the landscape of the meadows in front of us. My annoyed huff has her fighting back a bigger smile.
“Tell me, Thayla. How’s life been since you got your powers and became a goddess?”
“Like shit. Thanks for asking about something you shouldn’t even know.”
My lids drift shut as I scold myself. The murmurs from the men behind me unravel some of the tight tension in my chest and ease some of my mistrust.
If my men can gather themselves enough to carry on polite—they sound polite at least—conversations, then so can I.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so bitchy. This is just…”
“A lot. Overwhelming. Confusing. Tiresome.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “Every time I turn around, something’s happening. Now I’m just strolling through the meadow with a being from a realm that’s been closed off to us for over a millennium like I didn’t just get stabbed in the stomach with corrupt power less than an hour ago.”
“The adrenaline crash from this is going to be rough, but that’s where your relationship with your men and family comes in. You all will help each other through it. Everything happens for a reason and when it’s supposed to, Thayla.”
I scoff. “That’s taurnshit. I can name three things off the top of my head that never should’ve happened to me but did.”
“They shouldn’t have, but you don’t have control over other people’s choices. Their choices led to that, and they’ll be the ones to reap the consequences of that one day. Not you.”
My gaze searches the side of her face. The distance in her eyes is brief, but I caught it, and recognition pangs through my chest.
“You’re speaking from experience.”
“I am.”
“Why are you so comfortable admitting that to me?” I ask.
“Same reason you’re so comfortable walking arm in arm with me.
You—your mind—haven’t realized it yet, but your power and your body already trust me and know I mean you no harm.
There’s no reason for there to be tension, mistrust, or fear between us.
I’ve known you since before you were born, and I’ve waited what feels like a lifetime for this moment. ”
I gulp.
I hadn’t noticed how my shoulders were sagging and my powers were sitting content inside of me. Well, I’m not sure if they have a choice. They’re a little lethargic from what they went through, but not the least bit on edge toward her.
“How is that possible?” I ask.
“There’s a lot I can’t tell you, and some things I will share will only confuse you right now, but I promise, it’ll all make sense soon.”
“Story of my fucking life,” I mumble.
Irritation swells in my chest.
What I didn’t expect to also bubble to the surface was a deep sense of…sadness.
I’m sad that me and my men just went through something horrific, again, and instead of finding comfort in each other, we’re walking through the fucking meadows with a Nexus of Elementrians that shouldn’t even be here.
I’m also rightfully pissed that the Messenger, the Valories, and any of the higher-up gods that may be worth a shit keep allowing things like what happened today to happen.
“The Messenger?” Willow asks, and I narrow my eyes on her. She holds my gaze, then it flicks to my shoulder.
Her glare soon matches mine as she continues to stare at V.
“I see. I suppose that title is fitting.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“I’ve never addressed that person as the Messenger, but the Fates. I also called your creator that until I learned more about them.”
“You talk to the Messenger? Are you kidding me right now? Do they talk to everyone but me?” I throw my free hand up in the air and let it slap back down on my side.
“Well, they aren’t allowed to talk to you yet.”
“What?” Both she and I ask.
I was asking her, while she was asking V.
“Oh, absolutely not. I’m not keeping that from her. That’s ridiculous.”
“What is? What are you two talking about?” I ask.
Her attention bounces between V and me.