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There’s an edge to Kaia’s voice. My brother has always been a touchy subject where she’s concerned. There was a time before. When things were different. But it’s been so long now the memories hardly ever sharpen into crystal-clear focus for me. Maybe some things are best left forgotten to time.
“Of course I don’t. The two of them deserve each other. Will you go?”
She levels me with a piercing gaze. “I have not been invited, Thieran.”
I’m not surprised. My brother’s wife usually handles the invitations for things like this. Aside from the twice-yearly functions that are mandatory for all the gods, neither Kaia nor I ever get invited to anything else. Most of my dark court gods are also conveniently left off the guest list.
“I enjoyed them once,” she says into the silence. “Ascension balls.”
“Me too,” I admit.
There was something about the pomp and circumstance of life in the high court. But that was a long time ago. Before we nearly destroyed Acaria with our petty squabbles and infighting. Before my brother showed his true colors and declared war against me. It was another lifetime entirely.
She opens her mouth and closes it again, taking a deep breath before finally speaking. “I’m the one who’s supposed to hate him. Not the other way around.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” I promise her, but I’m not sure if it’s the truth. I hardly know my brother anymore. “He hates that you didn’t take his side.”
The King of the Gods does not forgive easily. Not even the people he claims to love most in the world.
“And why would I when…” Setting her glass on the table between us, Kaia waves the words away, her smile sad. “It hardly matters now, in any case. And you’re right. We have more important things to worry about. If your blood still fortifies the realm, then at least some part of the ritual used to create it is holding.”
“It does, but not as well as it once did.” I conjure more liquor into my glass and take a careful sip. “I fear it’s a losing battle.”
“You are the God of Death.” She clears her throat, staring into the flickering flames. “All the ritual was meant to do was concentrate your dominion over the dead to a specific location. Give them boundaries.”
I nod. That was the idea. Though I’d never intended to be banished here along with them.
“What I don’t understand is why it seems to be weakening.”
“I’m sure there’s an explanation.” She captures her bottom lip between her teeth, brows drawing together. “There’s a whole section in my temple library on blood rituals. I can pick up some of the best volumes the next time I go to Rhagana.”
When she pushes to her feet, I rise with her and turn as she moves to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob.
“Until then, I’ll see if my spies can find out what, if anything, the king might know about this.”
“You’ve embedded yourself in my brother’s inner circle?”
She lifts a shoulder but won’t meet my gaze. “Among the queen’s ladies. Useful for information should we need it.”
“What other secrets do you know of my brother and his wife you aren’t sharing?”
Kaia looks at me over her shoulder, her mouth quirked up at the corner. “You know I always share the juiciest gossip with you, Thieran. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
She disappears, the door closing gently behind her, and I wave my hand over both glasses to get rid of them. The depth of Kaia’s spies might surprise me, but she’s right. More knowledge where my brother is concerned is always better than less.
I’m not sure why my brother would know what’s happening beyond the veil. Not even Kaia knows the worst of it. But if he does, it’s better to be prepared.
I could feed the realm my blood for eternity; I’ll always have more than enough to spare. But if my blood isn’t enough anymore, if the Shadow Realm is really dying and I can’t stop it, it will mean my end too. Because I’ve used more than my blood to fortify this place.
I am so inextricably linked to the realm and the power it uses to sustain itself that I know exactly what happens to me if I can’t hold it together. We are one and the same. I won’t survive without it. If the Shadow Realm ceases to exist, it will most assuredly take me with it.
Chapter Six
Water sloshes over the rim of the bucket and narrowly misses my feet. This chore of hauling water from the creek to the cabin would go twice as quickly if Meera didn’t act like a big baby about going near the forest. She stands at the side of the cabin, her big brown eyes watching my every step while her ears are pricked for any noise.
She’s the reason I still haven’t made use of that big tub Hellena’s husband and son brought over the other day. I bought everything I need for it: fluffy towels that were a luxury I shouldn’t have splurged on and lavender-scented soap with chamomile and a blend of dried herbs the shopkeeper told me would make my dreams come true.
But getting enough water from the edge of the forest to the fireplace to the tub would take hours without Meera’s help. By the time I’m done, I’m just as liable to fall asleep in the bath and drown as I am to have sweet dreams.
