Page 89 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

And hated myself for doing so.

Because there was nothing worse in the world than doing this with this man who was far too good for me.

Gods, I could bring the wrath of my father on him as fast as a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky, burning the world it touched.

I pulled back. Which is what I should have done all along.

Hyacinth smiled, an expression like wildflowers blooming, not for the joy of others, but simply to raise their faces to the heavens.

How could I have ever ignored him?

But maybe I hadn’t.

Perhaps fate had always drawn me to him, like a gravitational pull.

An asteroid set on a course to destroy.

30

Epiphany

The morning seemed fresher and brighter in the woods outside the palace walls. Exhaustion pressed against me. Days had passed since the dinner, and it still weighed on me.

“Shoulders down a touch,” Temi said. I released a breath. Valerian got caught assisting with a laboring mare, and Dara and Meea hadn’t arrived yet, so Temi and I worked alone, sending arrows flying across the clearing. I loosed mine, and it whistled before hitting the corner of the target with a thunk.

Temi nocked an arrow into her bow and looked down the length of it. “Why didn’t Valerian attend the other night?”

I fiddled the shaft of another arrow between my fingers. “What do you mean?”

“I noticed the others who play discus together all attended your dinner. Why didn’t he?”

“Oh, well, Delon and Len are both lord’s sons. But Valerian is, well.” I cleared my throat. “He’s—”

Temi snapped her face up, her shoulders tensing, and she raised a finger to her lip. “Shh.”

Hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I swept my gaze around the clearing. Leaves in a hundred shades of green fluttered together. A bird called. But nothing. A moment later, trees rustled, and Valerian stepped into the meadow. “You have impressive senses.”

Temi nodded at him, but heat bloomed over my cheeks. “Oh, Val, what did you hear?” I shook my head, my curls sticking against the sweat on my neck. “That’s not what I meant to say. I mean… You might have missed the context of the conversation.”

Valerian smirked, his eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hear much.” My shoulders dropped. He pulled the bow off his back and tossed me a grin. “Just you trying to think of a polite way to explain to Temi that I’m a bastard whose birth caused a massive scandal.”

My stomach sank to my toes, and I froze. Temi’s gaze darted between the two of us. “It wasn’t Pip who brought it up. I wondered why you didn’t attend the other night.”

Valerian shrugged, lifting an arrow and releasing it, sending it humming across the long grasses that glowed in the morning sun and landing in the center of the target. “My father is a lord who”—he looked at Temi from under his eyebrows—“acted with indiscretion with my mother when he visited the palace. He denied it and refused to claim me. The king graciously took my mother’s side though it severed relations with my father, harming trade for some leaders in the city. King Magnes arranged for me to receive the same education as other high lords’ sons in case my father stepped up and changed his mind. But he never did. So”—he tossed his head again, but something hot and angry sparked beneath the emerald of his eyes—“I’m an unpleasant reminder to the high lords here of many things they wish to not think about.” He pushed hair back from his brow. “While I may have the schooling and peerage of a lord’s son, I lack the titles or connections for it to be worth anything. That is why I didn’t attend.”

“You’re not a bastard, Val,” I said.

He turned towards me, the wind rippling his clothes along his form. He lowered his voice. “I am literally the definition of the term.”

Temi picked up her bow, her eyes focused ahead. “I don’t care for that word.” She loosed an arrow and popped another in place. “But I understand where you’re coming from.” The second shot released right as the first one cracked directly above Valerian’s mark. The other arrived a moment later, piercing the wood on the target just below his shot.

Valerian whistled, crossing his arms. He set his bow down and shifted towards Temi. “How so?”

Temi dropped into the grass, her fingers getting lost in their long blades. “I’m a god’s sister. It’s off-putting to many people and makes me stand out. But, I’m not a goddess myself, and I can’t take part in that aspect of his life. Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong in either world.”

Valerian studied her for several heartbeats, his eyelashes batting against his tan cheeks. He dropped his head. “Yeah, that’s exactly how it is.”

Dara and Meea stepped into the clearing, and Temi jumped up, grabbing bows for both of them. The afternoon soon swept by, leaving us all with a sheen of sweat and flushed skin. Once the girls had left and we gathered up the weapons, Temi edged towards me and Val. “I need to meet with some families in the city. Are you all able to make it to the palace together again?”