since I last checked. I glance over at Carrick, crouched to examine a terrain map with the others huddled around. Maddox is pointing at an area, perhaps imparting information he found when he scouted the last few days.
As if sensing my eyes on him, Carrick actually looks over his shoulder at me. Eyes intense and focused with love, he seems to devour every detail of my face. I smile at him tentatively.
I have no clue if he smiles back because a flash of white light blinds me, along with a loud boom that shakes the ground. I scramble to my feet, my vision obscured by bright dots, and I yank my whip free of my hip holster.
Has Kymaris brought the fight to us early?
As my eyes start to clear, I realize it’s not Kymaris standing before me, but rather five tall, imposing and regal figures.
The gods.
I’ve only met Veda, Cato, and Rune in the past—the time with Rune I’d rather forget—but I know exactly who Onyx and Circe are by virtue of all the times Carrick has talked about them. They form a semi-circle before me, not five feet away.
I vaguely notice everyone around me is on their feet, but Carrick bends distance, flashing to put himself in between the gods and me, arms slightly spread to protect me. A reminder they are inherently dangerous creatures.
“Easy, Carrick,” Cato murmurs in a deep voice. “We are not here to cause harm.”
“I would hope not,” Carrick replies sharply as he moves to stand at my side, taking Cato at his word. “Given that you all appointed Finley as your biggest pawn in this game.”
“We came to wish her luck,” Veda says softly, and Carrick’s shoulders relax slightly. He takes each one in and it’s clear they are not here by unanimous decision. Veda, Circe, Onyx, and Cato are standing casually with smiles on their faces.
Rune’s mouth is pressed flat, arms crossed defensively across his chest. When my eyes meet his, they gleam with malice and my hate for him increases tenfold.
“The final motions of the prophecy are in play,” Onyx announces, as if this formality is required. “You have been fated to this prophecy as the only one with the ability to stop it. While the gods do not take sides or offer aid, we wish you success in your endeavors.”
My eyes move from Onyx to Circe, who blows me a kiss; to Veda, who gives me a slow nod of encouragement; and to Cato, who offers a slight bow of respect.
To Rune… his expression in exact opposition to his fellow gods.
I nod at him, my eyes refusing to avert from the harsh glare of antipathy. “He’s not here to offer wishes of good luck.”
Carrick tenses, because I’m sure that most would not ever dare to offer even the slightest insult to a god. Yet he doesn’t warn me off or chastise me. He lets me have my say.
“We are here by consensus,” Circe explains.
I don’t look at her, staying focused on Rune. “I don’t care about your consensus. I am doing what you have appointed me to do, but I don’t have to stand here and listen to what, as a group, is complete insincerity by virtue of Rune even being here.”
Deandra, who is a good twenty feet away, gasps at my temerity, and I know I’ve offended good and well if she’s shocked.
It actually empowers me because I know that I’m critical to the prophecy, which means there isn’t a damn thing Rune can do to punish me right now.
“In fact,” I continue, on too much of a roll right now. Pent-up anger, frustration, and fear make my tongue loose. “Rune is a coward. He’s an embarrassment to the council.”
“How dare you—” Rune sputters.
“How dare I?” I snarl back. Carrick’s hand reaches out to take mine but not to stop me. Instead, he squeezes softly in support. “How dare you continually punish Carrick for a mistake that was made and paid for a hundred times over? Is your ego really so thin that you can’t move past it? So you lost your chance to be with your love, and I respect the pain you must have felt, but Carrick has felt it over and over and over again. And it’s still not enough for you. I’m starting to think you’re not the almighty god of Life and therefore Death, but rather someone who is overcompensating for some type of inadequacy—one I can hazard a guess about what it is.”
Rune’s eyes