Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Adrian tilted his head and caught Shey’s gaze. He arched an eyebrow, trying to question Shey silently about who the fuck this guy was and why the prince seemed so protective of him, but Shey only motioned with one hand for Adrian to drop it. Not that he could say anything anyway, but Adrian was intrigued. Shey knew this creature was a god, and yet he was so protective of him. That made no sense.
“So, I take it you’re not the God of Money,” Shey teased as Tyche finished scavenging.
“I’m the God of Money as much as you are the God of Witty Jokes,” Tyche snarked. He slapped a stolen granola bar in a wrapper into the palm of Shey’s hand and then reluctantly gave one to Adrian and Haru as they continued to walk through the woods, putting more distance between themselves and the dead. “If we’re going to do introductions, you could at least begin with the two people who saved our asses.”
Okay, maybe there was something to like about the wiry man with the messy auburn hair.
“I’m Adrian Westergren, royal guard for the Talos family,” Adrian introduced.
Tyche looked at him anew; his green eyes widened. “Erya. That’s a long distance to travel for that one?” He hitched his thumb over his shoulder at Shey.
“Shey’s an old friend. Plus, his mom asked for our help,” Adrian teased, causing Tyche to snort-laugh.
“I am Omari Haru of Clan Omari from the Isle of Stone. My grandfather is Omari Nori, head of Clan Omari,” Haru stated in a proud, firm voice.
Tyche flashed him a small, tense smile and even offered a slight bow of his head in respect, but he didn’t say a damn word to the dragon. Adrian needed to question Haru later about this old bad blood between dragons and gods, because just being in Haru’s presence had the god freaking out. Scared gods seemed like a terrible thing.
Seconds ticked by, but Tyche said nothing until Shey tapped him on the shoulder. “And?”
Tyche groaned and tossed a disgruntled glare at Shey. “I don’t want to say. You’re going to be disappointed, or you’re going to blow it out of proportion and then be disappointed. Also, I’ve never told anyone before. It’s weird trying to find the right words.”
“But Yesuntei knew, right?” Shey murmured, and Tyche nodded. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“Yesuntei?” Adrian murmured.
“A goddess, I believe. They captured her and held her in the same cellblock as us. She died from wounds inflicted during an interrogation session,” Shey explained in a low voice. “She was a friend of Tyche’s.”
“That was the woman we found in the cell opposite where you were kept,” Haru said, his tone low and respectful.
Both Tyche and Shey swung around to stare at them. “You went to the facility?” Shey demanded.
“It looks like we missed you by less than an hour. We saw glimpses of your escape through recovered security video, but we couldn’t come find you until you finished with your storm tantrum.” Adrian reached over and poked Shey in the shoulder.
Tyche snatched a leaf off a tree branch as he walked by it and shredded it, turning the tips of his fingers green. “Yesuntei was a goddess, and she deserved better than she got. She never intentionally hurt anyone. She was helpful in more ways than people gave her credit for, and she was always kind. Kept to herself.”
“You see, that’s what I don’t get. You’re gods.” Adrian held out his hands toward Tyche as if they held all the powers of the world. “You’ve got all this magic. How could they have captured you in the first place? And if they did catch you, how could they hold you?”
The look Tyche shot Adrian was nasty, and Adrian thought about moving to hide behind Haru. He’d hit a very sore spot for the god, and he was about to pay the price.
“See! This is why I don’t want to tell you. When you think of gods and goddesses, you think of big, flashy magic. Kaes with his giant, city-swallowing storms. Caris with great conflagrations that devour entire forests. Tula wiping out all life. Nyx can manipulate all of time, for fuck’s sake. Time!” Tyche stomped into the center of a meadow where a bright circle of sunlight bathed the green field. The minor god plopped down in the middle of it and tipped his face up, seeming to soak it in as if being in the sun was enough to wash away his rage.
They approached him and sat in the soft grass along the edge of the sunlight. A couple of minutes ticked by before he resumed speaking in a more normal tone.
“When your world is ending, you cry to Tula to save your children’s lives. You pray to Kaes to send rain to nourish your dying crops. But on a day-to-day basis, you all murmur a hundred little pleas to us lesser gods. The minor, forgotten gods. Please make my art not suck. That’s Bo. Please, help me get revenge on my cheating ex. That’s Xiar. Please, no more nightmares. I want only sweet dreams.”