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Pan inclined his head, grateful they had some privacy. “Thank you.”

He stood and offered Noah his hand. When they were both standing, he gave a small bow, which Noah mimicked. Gods shouldn’t bow. However, he had little choice but to grovel and beg. Without his magic, no one gave a shit about him.

He was insignificant, and it rankled.

The queen should be bowing to him. She should be asking him for favors, instead he owed her. He was fast becoming an errand boy for all the Tarikians who needed help. First the dragon and then the vampire, and now the bloody centaurs.

The urge to yell in frustration bubbled in his throat.

He wanted to stamp his foot and scream for the old gods to do something. To put things right. But if they still existed, he doubted they cared as they hadn’t done anything. Instead, they’d stranded all of creation in this mess.

How the fuck was he supposed to fix it?

“Should we check on Liam and Web?” Noah asked.

“No, doing that shows distrust. Better to ready ourselves for bed. I trust your friends will not offend our hosts during the night.”

“That’s asking a lot of Liam to keep Web in check.”

As much as Pan wanted to ask about Web, and why he thought he had magic and behaved like some kind of leader, that is not where he wanted to direct Noah’s thoughts.

No children played in the tent now, as their elders had put them to bed. Inside the tent someone had placed several blankets that were not human, as one was decorated with one of Epona’s tales. No doubt that blanket had been selected especially for him. Given the chill in the air, he wasn’t inclined to refuse, despite the jab at his current situation.

Noah crawled into the tent and took off his shoes, placing them in one corner. Then he stripped off his coat and rolled it up to act as a pillow, before lying on his back as if to stare at the stars. He didn’t remove any other item of clothing, which was rather unfortunate.

Pan did the same with his boots and coat, as if familiar with camping in a tent. He didn’t stare at the roof, instead he lay next to Noah, facing him, and pulled the blanket over them both.

“You do not seem very sleepy.” He kept his words low in case one of the guards settled nearby.

“I am exhausted, but my mind is not. It’s spinning furiously, as if trying to make sense of everything. It’s like every thought is sliding on ice and there’s nothing I can grab onto. And if I catch my breath for a moment, whatever stability I thought I had melts and sends me in a new direction.” Noah turned his head and looked at him. “So yeah, I’m tired, but I don’t know if I can sleep surrounded by centaur guards who hunt dragons and want a pet witch and a god.”

When put like that, Noah made a very good case for not sleeping ever again, or at least until they were somewhere much safer. “I agree this is not ideal.”

“Ideal?” Noah rolled onto his side, so they were almost nose to nose. His voice was little more than a harsh whisper. “Everything I have ever known, everything you have ever known, no longer exists. Why are you so calm?”

“I’m not. But I must appear to be untroubled. Because if I lose my shit in front of other people, people who once prayed to me to fix their problems, how do you think they will respond?” The fury beneath the surface caught in his throat and sharpened his words. “I want to scream until I have no voice. Until someone answers. But there is no one. My life until this point…” He closed his eyes, remembering the parties and the way using magic was no different to breathing. He chose who to bless and who to punish. He jumped from place to place, wherever there was a temple, or wherever people called one of his many names.

His names because they like the way he used magic.

He was only as good as his last blessing. Gods fell out of favor if their worshippers didn’t like what they were doing. If they didn’t like the way the magic unfolded, not that he had a lot of control over that. It’s why he was choosy with what prayers he granted.

“You were important, and now you’re like the rest of us. Sucks to be you.”

Pan opened his eyes. It was too dark to read Noah’s features. “You are not like the rest of them.”

“So you keep saying, but I can assure you I am. I’ve spent my entire life trying to live up to my parent’s expectations, and I’m preparing you for the inevitable failure. Whatever it is, you’re looking for…I’m not it.”

“You are. Magic lead me?—”

“I’m tired of hearing about magic.”

For several heartbeats, Pan didn’t know what to say. No one had ever told him they were tired of magic. Magic held everything together. It was the weave of the universe and threaded through everyone, some more than others. And while most could never touch that thread within them, it still existed.

“Then let me show you.”

“Show me what?”

“Your connection to magic.”Let me touch that connection for just one heartbeat.