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No one has an answer. We’ve outlined how to expose the gods, but what comes after remains terrifyingly unclear. The threat of these powerful gods is real. Even if we sway the tide of public opinion against them, can we really stop them from destroying Tirene in retaliation? From obliterating other kingdoms?
The gravity of our course settles over the room like a thick fog. My fingers begin to tremble against the table’s surface, so I quickly tuck them into my lap. I’m their queen, their leader in this impossible fight. I can’t afford to show fear.
As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, Sterling gives my hand a reassuring squeeze under the table. “We won’t be facing them alone. If we can turn enough people against them, if we significantly reduce the flow of devotion, their power will wane. Not immediately, but eventually.”
“So we’re really doing this?” Agnar is uncharacteristically subdued. “Taking on all of them?”
“Hopefully not all of them.” Sterling glances up from the map. “Not if we manage to change the rules. Those arrogant bastards have sat at the top of the food chain for so long, I bet they’ve forgotten what it’s like to go hungry. We simply need to remind them.”
Agnar’s battle-scarred features light up with a fierce joy that’s almost frightening in its intensity. “Well, when you put it that way…”
The mood in the room shifts, fear ceding to determination. Our conspiracy against the heavens is set. We will transform the gods’ greatest feast into their most public humiliation…or die trying.
I blow out a slow breath, clinging to calm while every tradition, every rule, every law I’ve ever lived under reminds me of how badly this could go. “Next steps. Knox, you send word that you’ve chosen the day and time of the match.”
Sterling nods. “Two weeks from today, at the Storm Cliffs. Far enough away from the capital that if everything goes to shit, the palace and all the refugees housed here should be safe. Not to mention the hatchlings.”
The expressions range from hope to resolve. “I’ll accept the offer to serve as champion for the other faction. Ziva will be suspicious if I seem too eager, so I plan to play the reluctant but resigned queen, accepting my fate for the good of the kingdom.”
“And while you two maintain that pretense and work on your training,” Bastian gestures to the rest of the group, “we’ll start propagating the truth. Carefully and strategically, but widely.”
“The heralds should leave today.” Rafe pushes back from the table. “The sooner word spreads about the match, the bigger the crowd we can gather to witness it.”
I rub the tingling sensation on the back of my neck. Well, I guess there’s no going back now.
In two weeks’ time, we’ll either change the world forever…or lose everything.
Chapter Forty-Five
Zeru paces, vibrating with anger and impatience. “She agreed?”
Nyc, Mar, and Hallr shift and shimmer in Zeru’s realm, all of them inflated with power and ego.
Ziva clasps her hands behind her back. Even here, she burns brighter than the rest. “She agreed.”
The others hum but remain silent.
“Good.” Pleased, Zeru gives a clipped nod. “It is time. Time to broadcast the news. Time to make them fear. Time to make them pray.”
The fire goddess shoots him a pointed look. “Tirene already knows. News spreads fast.”
Zeru’s attention snaps back. He studies Ziva, suspicion narrowing his eyes. “They’re up to something.”
“Probably.” A beat passes, and Ziva’s gaze slides to the others. “They are not fools.”
As Zeru glares, his form expands. He dismisses her doubt and leaves her behind to speak to the other gods and begin their plans.
She watches their exchanges, defiance burning in her eyes. “I will not harm the dragon hatchlings.”
Zeru inclines his head. “Lark has agreed. You most likely won’t need to hurt them.”
Ziva glances at Nyc, who stays silent. “Still, I see no reason the mortal queen needs to be involved. It is—”
“It is necessary!” Zeru spins back around to face her, incandescent with rage. “She is required. Do you know how compromised Knox will be with Lark as his opponent? Theirs is a true love, not an infatuation or lust. That will make him incapable of fighting. It will leave him weak. He will die.”
No one dares to move. Even Ziva’s flames hold still.
His anger dissipates, losing focus. “And with him, our opposition. Lark is the perfect shield and spear in one. He will not harm her. But with her protective nature, she will have to attack in order to protect her dragons and the rest of her family. Her kingdom. It’s the perfect match.”
