Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Chewing food again, she nodded. “He allegedly doesn’t even talk to Eva,” she added, referring to one of the first mortals that the gods created.
I picked up my tankard again, the reference tickling my memory. “So the tragic romance story about her and Talon is true?”
“Depends what version you’ve heard.” Nakoa leaned forward a little. “The truth is that the gods offered her immortality as a reward for prewarning them about the Uprising. Though she was in a relationship with Talon, she said no to their offer. She wanted to be reborn as a mortal over and over like all human souls.”
“Each time she comes back, which is usually every sixty years or so—a short stretch of time for immortals like Talon—she remembers her first life; remembers him,” Layna elaborated. “She turns up at Deimos as an adult, is welcomed by the Sovereigns, spends a few decades with Talon, and then ends her own life to be reborn again. She doesn’t want to grow old when he never will, or to leave him and build a life with another man.”
“Huh.” I sipped at my mead and then rubbed at my cheek. “I know some might think it’s romantic that they repeatedly come together like that, but it sounds more like two people returning to a doomed relationship again and again.”
“That’s how I see it.” Khalida sighed. “Anyway, she should be back again in another year or so. Maybe things will be different for them that time and she’ll stick around.”
I looked at Layna. “You said he takes officiates to his bed, so I’m guessing he doesn’t remain celibate while she’s gone.”
It was Nakoa who responded. “He only scratches an itch every six months or so. Usually just for one night, though he’s never short of offers from officiates. People outside the Order would probably make themselves available, too. But none of us get involved with them. We’re an inclusive bunch.”
Feeling the weight of someone’s attention, I looked to my right. A few candidates were staring at me, their gazes assessing and finding me lacking.
“You’re going to need to be careful, Anara,” Khalida advised, pulling my focus back to her. “It isn’t at all common for candidates to kill others, but it does happen occasionally—Xalbia is taxing on the mind; it causes arguments to break out and tempers to explode. Plenty here might not like that a human was chosen to be a Sayer. During a weak moment, they could easily end up making an issue out of it.”
I raked my teeth over my lower lip. “I’d already thought of that. Atticus in particular might make himself a problem. Do you remember him?”
Khalida nodded. “He still a dick?”
“In every way that counts,” I told her. “Bevan and Seneca are also here. They’re all thrilled about it.”
She snorted. “I’m sure they are. They’ll want their abilities to surface. Can’t really blame them. I love mine. I can spout wings at will, chuck around balls of swirling frost, and heal very fast.”
I looked at Quillen. “What about Lykaons?”
“We’re stronger and faster than average godkin. And, of course, we can shift into a wolf. In that form, our skin is tough as scales, and our saliva is flammable.”
“Us Nemeans are pretty jealous about the last part,” Nakoa told me, “but we have our own strengths. Our lion-fur is impenetrable, and our claws are so sharp they can cut through anything—even Lykaon skin, which their kind doesn’t much like.”
“No, we don’t,” Quillen admitted.
I tilted my head as I glanced from Layna to Jelani. “And Delphiae? Can you really become trees?”
“Sort of,” said Jelani. “As part of being able to call on elemental energy, we can grow wooden armor. We can also heal.”
I hummed, setting down my tankard. “So, basically, you all kick ass.”
“We do,” Khalida boasted. “You know, you might have dormant abilities. Sayers could do all kinds of stuff once upon a time. Have prophetic visions, move things with their mind, heal people, even communicate with animals. They had to have such potential so that the gods could use them as vessels and act through them. That could apply to you, too.”
Doubtful, in my opinion.
“Talon can do far more than any of us can,” Khalida went on. “He is lightning fast—sometimes, you don’t even see him move. His strength is off the charts. He can conjure things. And he shoots golden sparks of power that are lethal.”
I forked my last piece of chicken. “Is it true that he can shift into a dragon?”
“Yes, but it’s not so much a preternatural ability.” Khalida paused. “Vitus didn’t actually create Talon. He … changed him.”
I felt my brow pinch. “Changed him?”
“Vitus took the soul of a baby dragon and trapped it in the form of a human infant, which he then immortalized.”
A shocked gasp wisped out of me. “You’re joking.”