Courting War (Vicious Gods), page 8
He entered a modest chamber. A four-poster bed was draped in blood-red curtains with embroidered ravens, and over the bed hung a sign that read, Courtesy of the Goddess of Love. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a wardrobe with raven heads as handles. A mirror hung on the wall, and in the corner was a hearth. Three sculptures stood at attention, their eyes striking and animated—almost as if they were watching. A shiver coursed through Kellyn’s legs as he inspected them. The statues slowly moved. One—a peacock—shone blue with the jubilance of the moon. The second, a cat, had midnight black hair which rippled like skipping stones on a lily pond. And the third ruffled its raven wings.
A keen part of Kellyn understood these statues meant something.
They were important.
He didn’t know why, but he didn’t have the time to unravel that riddle. First, he must focus on the puzzle etched into his arm.
First, he needed to read.
Indeed, a nightmarish task.
After what felt like an eternity of squinting his eyes, clumping letters together, and trying to decipher them, Kellyn finally made out the whole thing … mostly accurate. It wasn’t that he was incapable of reading. Rather it was incredibly hard, and given enough time and less heightened emotions, he could eventually read the words.
Welcome, Kellyn, to your fate
A lesson to learn, and you’re the bait
Temptation strikes at apathy’s curse
Soon to discover what it’s worth.
For this is your first riddle:
I consume shadows
And never speak a word
But you cannot miss my presence, dear lord
I die at night but resurrect in the morning.
What am I?
Well fuck. Kellyn was screwed. He had no help, minimal reading skills, and no idea how to solve the riddle.
Chapter Ten
THEODRA
Extremely Enraged Ex-God
ROUGELAND SUITE, CITY OF THE GODS
“What are you doing here?” Cecile asked, releasing Theo’s arm after pulling her into the Love Champion’s rooms.
Cecile showed no fear in the presence of Theo. She was forged from steel, bowing to no one, and taking no prisoners. Theo had spent the last eleven years shaping her Godmarked into the representation of War, and the girl was more than perfect. Smart, strong, and willing to fight for what she wanted. Gone was the timid little girl, and in her place was a true warrior.
Theo greatly respected her. She respected any human who could hold their ground against her—any human with a backbone.
“What are you doing here?” Theo raised a raven-haired brow, the corner of her lips pulling up into a smirk. “Oh right, you’re here because my sister has a sick sense of humor.” Theo didn’t know if Andromache had forced Cecile into the games because she was Theo’s servant or for other nefarious purposes. But Andromache always had a reason.
The response flustered Cecile a bit. She stepped back but didn’t have time to formulate a response because the bird tattoo on Theo’s wrist squawked and wagged its tail feathers—a sign of happiness. Theo’s gaze momentarily landed on the creature until a second distinctive squawk came from Cecile’s wrist—her War Mark.
The tattoos were talking to each other.
They trusted each other.
It was both surprising and inevitable. Godbonds forced a connection between the marked and the god. It stood to reason that the same would be true for tattoos. The bond was why Cecile saw Theo for what she truly was instead of a human who slightly resembled Havyn. The human mind shouldn’t have figured it out, but Cecile could.
“You haven’t shown up to the Sacrifice in over 500 years. Why are you here now?” Cecile bit her lip. “Is it for me?”
Theo gulped. She hadn’t even thought of that as an option, and she didn’t know if she would’ve come if Cecile was in trouble in the games. She probably would have sent Destruction—her second in command of the War Court—because Theo boycotted the games for a reason. She didn’t like taking innocent lives, and nine times out of ten, the champions were innocent. Theo preferred killing vile men who deserved it.
“No . . .” Theo started. She didn’t want to lie to her Marked, but she also didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “It’s complicated.”
Cecile’s raven tattoo squawked, and the girl eyed it before lifting her gaze to Theo. She cocked her head and examined the Goddess-turned-human intensely. “Something is off about you. I feel it, and so does my raven.”
“It is.”
Cecile squinted. “You’re human,” she breathed, clutching her mouth in shock, knowing she was correct.
Theo stepped back as if slapped. How did she know? So quickly? The girl had inhuman insight; something that far outreached the gifts of a Marked. “Are you an oracle?”
“No.” Cecile blinked. “I just have a feeling. The bond is different, and you look . . . human.”
“It’s because I am human,” Theo said bluntly before telling her Marked everything. Theo didn’t trust many people, but once she did, she trusted them with everything. The War Court and Cecile were bound together. They couldn’t betray each other, even if they wanted to.
So while the story made her look weak and wounded her pride, Theo knew it was better to put all her cards on the table and trust because if she were going to get out of this situation and get her divinity back, she needed help. To best Nefeli, Theo needed allies.
“So . . . you’re fully human?” Cecile asked. “Not just in the games?”
“Yes.” Theo’s mouth drew into a flat line.
Cecile scrunched her nose in apparent disbelief. “Fully, entirely, completely, absolutely, totally, wholly, unreservedly—”
“Are you just going to name synonyms?”
“ . . . human.” Cecile finished almost as if she didn’t hear Theo’s question. “Meaning, if you die in the Sacrifice, you die for good?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, holy pookas, this is bad.” Cecile bit her lip and sank against the volcanic wall.
Holy pookas? Theo snorted.
“What are you going to do?”
Theo rolled her shoulders back and forced ice into her veins. “I'm going to defy my mother and find a way to get my divinity back, and then I'm going to show her the wrath of War.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I need to get a message to Destruction,” Theo said. Destruction had access to all of Theo’s spelled objects and books.
Cecile rubbed her skirt, thinking. “Well, you’ll have to make it through the first challenge and get to the Tribunal since we’re stuck in the Champion’s Quarters until then.”
“Right.” Theo scrunched her face, annoyed. The girl was right, which meant Theo had to participate in the first challenge despite her utter reluctance. But she didn’t have to help her champion. If her mother wanted her to play the Sacrifice and respect it, Theo would do precisely the opposite, and since Nefeli wanted Theo to help her champion, she would outright refuse. There was nothing in the rules saying a priestess had to help.
Cecile ran a finger along a wrinkle in her dress, her face trapped between two emotions—emotions too hard to decipher. “I need you to help Kellyn.”
The girl had to be talking about her friend—the Theoden Champion. The rude boy from the pier. The odious—far too attractive—boy bursting with arrogance and pride. Just like every other man in existence.
“Who?” Theo asked cavalierly.
Cecile stifled a gasp before trying to compose herself. “Your champion. You need to help him.”
“I need to?” Theo hissed.
“Yes, you need to.” Fire stirred in Cecile’s voice, and a smile widened on Theo’s face. She liked it when people stood up for themselves. Cecile visibly swallowed and continued in a slightly softer tone, “He’ll die if you don’t help him.”
Theo shrugged. “Vile men deserve to die.”
“He’s not vile. He’s a good man, Theo. One of the best I’ve ever known.”
“There are no good men.”
Cecile’s forehead wrinkled, and her eyes darkened—literally darkened. “What man hurt you so much to make you think that?”
“How dare you, girl,” Theo snapped, her blood turning to ash, a fire consuming her insides. Cecile had no right to say something like that. No right.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have said it.” Cecile softened. “But please help him. Do it because I care about him.” She sucked in a twisted breath. “If you care at all for me or this bond,” she held up her wrist with the tattoo, “please, I beg you, keep him alive.”
“I cannot.”
“What of your divine mercy?” Cecile switched tactics, appealing to Theo’s honor.
“My mercy doesn’t extend to men.”
Cecile shook her head, her eyes clouding with held-back tears. “I trust you with my life, and I respect you.” Cecile’s voice cracked. “I know how much you’ve done for me. You’ve saved my life on multiple occasions, so I'm begging you now, please save my friend.”
“He means that much to you?”
“He means everything to me.”
Theo angled her head like a raven. The girl truly cared about the boy. Deeply. Enough to beg. Was it love? It meant something, and maybe under any other circumstance, Theo would’ve complied with her Marked’s wishes, but she couldn’t. Not now. Not when her honor depended on defiance.
“I cannot aid your friend.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s what my mother wants.”
“You would let someone die to spite your mother?”
“Yes,” Theo said, and from Cecile’s horrified reaction, she added, “Gods are rarely prone to forgiveness.”
Red blossomed on Cecile’s face, painting it with deep frustration, and in a voice so low, Theo almost didn’t hear it, “Then maybe you deserve this punishment.”
The words were a knife wound; if any other human had said it, Theo would’ve retaliated harshly. But the bond between them forced her to practice patience. Theo understood her servant’s frustrations, so she let the harsh words slide off her skin.
“This relationship . . .” Theo said harshly but softened her tone and took Cecile’s arm. “The Godmark is reciprocal. You serve me, but I also serve you. I cannot do what you ask of me, but I will do all in my power to help and protect you, and if there comes a moment when you must choose between helping me or saving yourself . . .” Theo lingered on the last word and rubbed the girl’s tattoo with her thumb. “Choose yours—”
Theo was distracted as Bella appeared from shadow and jumped onto her lap, purring and snuggling in. Theo’s familiars were banned from being with her for the tournament—another wicked gift from her mother, so Bella had to be here for Cecile. “I see she is still with you.”
“Yes, ever since the boat.” Cecile swallowed, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.
“Keep her close in your challenges, she will help—”
The sound of cracking lava cut off the word and the wall split in two and flowed orange with volcanic light. Andromache stepped out, forming a dress of lava around her, clinging to her curves.
She was the third triplet and by far the most grandiose. She shared the same face structure as her twins but altered her features so much with light that she looked merely related instead of identical. Her skin was arctic-fox white, as were her eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. She looked like a La Dame Blanche witch.
Andromache shook out of her hair, embers falling from the snowdrop strands. “Cecile, darling, we must strategize for tomorrow and discuss your first riddle.”
“Wait, not so fast,” Theo cut in, “we need to talk.” The glare she threw at her sister could melt an artic fox.
“I don’t see what about.” Andromache’s lips curved up at the sides.
“You helped mother curse me.”
“Oh, that, yes, I did.” Unapologetic and cold.
“Why?”
“I will curse anyone and do anything to get him back. You know that.”
“Cursing me will not bring Devereaux back.”
“Perhaps not, but sometimes it feels good to be a villain.” Andromache smiled. “You would know, I learned from you.” She turned her back on her sister, stepping in front of her to only talk to Cecile. “Now, I came for a reason. Your riddle, please.”
Cecile was startled by the goddess’s presence and the sisters’ exchange so much, so it seemed like she didn’t know where to place her hands. “Yes, of course,” she finally responded with not nearly as much confidence as she’d shown towards Theo.
“What is it?” Andromache asked. She wouldn’t already know it because it was forbidden for a god to design the games for their own country. Each champion had a different god create their games, and that god developed all the clues leading to the challenges.
Besides playing games against the champions in the Sacrifice, the gods also played against each other. They took pride in their champion being the best and outwitting, outsmarting, and outlasting the rest. Gods placed bets and bargains on how well their champions did. They also tried to trick other champions into deadly mistakes and bargains which would hinder their games.
It was the game within the games.
Cecile sucked in a breath and read from the new tattoo inked into her arm. “Welcome, Cecile, three knots connected to your life be bound. A Vow, a Conductor, and a Crown. To survive and find divinity’s blessing, seek the truth so gravely pressing.”
Andromache’s eyes twitched ever oh so slightly at the words. Her telltale sign she was rattled.
Interesting.
Theo stroked through the riddle in her head. A Vow, a Conductor, and a Crown. It pointed to three people. But who?
“For your first challenge,” Cecile continued reading. “Find the mirror that coils and proclaims the scales of justice. Formed from any color of the rainbow, it rattles with deadly delight. But don’t be mistaken, for Poison bites, and Death will soon follow.”
Andromache raised her brows, knowing the answer, but she couldn’t directly say it, for it was against the rules for a god to solve the riddles. However, they could point their champion in the correct direction.
Theo had no such restrictions, so she said, “A snake.”
Cecile ran a finger over her tattoo. “Yes, it must be a snake, but which mirror is that? It could be any of you.” She waved at Theo and then Light.
“And, of course, Death,” Theo said. The triplets all had snakes as their symbols, and the three of them together were symbolized by three interlocking serpents.
“War, your presence isn’t needed,” Andromache said, “I will take it from here.” Which was code for she wanted to say something she didn’t want her sister to hear.
“No, you’re not needed here, Light,” The Goddess of Love said, twisting out of the pink curtains surrounding the heart-shaped bed. “These are my champion’s rooms, and I would very much like to talk with Theodra alone.”
She snapped her fingers, and pink ribbons formed from god magic hauled both Andromache and her champion from the room. Bella disappeared from Theo’s lap in a puff of smoke as if she weren’t allowed to stay without Cecile around.
“She’s going to get back at you for that,” Theo said, rubbing her face and not looking forward to this conversation.
Love and War were old friends, but Love would enjoy seeing Theo this vulnerable far too much.
“I count on it.” Love's dark olive skin glistened with mirth. Theo didn’t understand. “So you’re human.”
“So it would seem.”
“How delightful!” Love said, “I have so many fun things in store for you this week.”
“I'm sure you do, Rougoine.” Theo sighed, her eyes flicking to the door, already over this exchange.
“Isn’t your champion quite handsome? Almost the perfect man for you. Tall, silent, and serious.” Love wiggled her eyebrows. “And I'm sure he would be quite fun in the—”
“Please do not finish that sentence.” Theo held up a hand. “What will it take for you to leave me alone?”
“What are you willing to give?”
“I would do quite a lot,” Theo said flippantly.
“I would be bound to leave under the right circumstances,” Love said, “would that suffice?”
“Yes, just do what you came for,” Theo said, “say what you need to and leave me in peace.”
Love’s olive face lit up with a brilliant smile. The type of smile that would launch a thousand ships into battle. “Tsk, tsk, you shouldn’t have said that. You’re human now and can easily be bound to bargains.” Love wiggled her nose and clasped a hand around Theo’s wrist. “Oh, this is going to be wondrously fun.”
Theo’s skin burned at the touch, and a phantom sensation wrapped its talon around her wrist, clutching it and not letting go. A magic chain appeared.
Love had tricked her . . . and it was far too easy. Theo knew better. She knew the gods were tricksters, yet she easily fell into Love’s trap. Theo’s heart pounded like a bat caught in a cage. “What did you do?”
“I’ve bound you until you’ve completed my spell’s purpose.” With those horrifying words, Love disappeared into a puff of glitter-filled smoke.
“Bound me to what?” Theo yelled after her.
She soon found out because the magic chain tugged her out of the room, forcing her feet to a destination, not of her choosing. It felt like an invisible cord, pulling her like a dog on a leash, going where its owner wanted. And that was to the Theoden Suite.
The magic wanted her near the Theoden Champion.
Well fuck.
Chapter Eleven
KELLYN
Champion of Theoden
THEODEN SUITE, CITY OF THE GODS
“Great Goddess, I ask you to lend me strength and fortitude for all the challenges ahead.” Kellyn knelt at the hearth in prayer, his fingers whittling away at his lovespoon. He didn’t have an altar for worship, so instead he used the flames.
A thud sounded from behind him, ripping him from prayer. Kellyn whipped his head around to see who or what was causing the disturbance.
