Page 40 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

The Lies We Tell

LEELA

T he bridge fell away. I tumbled, shock stealing my thoughts, but before I could register my imminent demise, an icy breeze slammed into me, bundling me up in a vortex of electric blue eyes and determined resonance.

A familiar female voice spoke. “I have you, Leela.”

“Zarael?”

Solid arms wrapped around me, cold breath on my cheek, and the next moment, my boots touched solid ground. The vortex parted, and the plinth and box materialized in front of me. I looked down at Zarael’s arms wrapped around my waist.

“Quickly take the box,” she said.

The chamber rumbled a warning.

I grabbed the box, clutching it tightly, and the vortex swallowed me once more, blocking out the chamber and all danger.

The next time my boots touched ground and the vortex ebbed, it was outside the mountain on the outskirts of the forest. The exact spot that I’d entered.

A cacophony of emotions flooded me—the most acute of them all guilt.

I looked down at the box. “I didn’t earn this.” I set it on the ground and backed away. “Oh fuck, why did I take it?”

“Because it belongs to you,” Zarael said.

“But I answered incorrectly.”

“Did you?” She arched a brow.

What was she talking about? “The bridge crumbled, so yeah, I got it wrong.”

“You don’t understand, do you, Leela? There are no right or wrong answers, simply answers that resonate as true for you. Your final answer was what you wanted to believe, not what you truly believe.”

As soon as she said it, I knew it to be true.

I wanted to believe I was ready. That I could be queen because I needed to be ready.

I needed to believe, but the truth was…I was scared.

Terrified. Because there was a huge part of me that still believed they had it wrong.

That I wasn’t the person they thought I was—not royal, not special, not worthy.

A hollow pit opened in my belly, and I fell to my knees, my arms wrapped around my stomach as I allowed this raw truth to surface and claim me.

What if I wasn’t enough? What if I was a lie?

Zarael crouched to eye level with me and gently lifted my chin with the crook of her finger. “And there it is…The truth.” She smiled softly, and her austere expression melted. “Open the box, Leela.”

I reached for the golden latch with trembling fingers and carefully lifted the lid. Inside sat a ruby pendant, glowing as if there was a flame trapped inside it.

“Take it. It’s yours,” Zarael said.

I reached into the box, and as soon as I touched the pendant, a starburst of heat bloomed in my chest. The pendant flared bright crimson, blue flames sparking in its depths for a moment before going dull.

The spark inside me melted too, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined it.

“Did you feel it?” Zarael asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, but it’s gone now.”

“Not gone. It’s a part of you,” Zarael said.

“And the pendant?”

“A pretty trinket, and proof that you completed the fire trial.”

I lifted it out by its silver chain and slipped it on. It settled warm against my breastbone.

I stood, and Zarael stood with me.

This sylph had dropped me a couple of weeks ago, perfectly prepared for me to die, but today she’d saved my life. She must have been the sylph that delivered the Authority’s message.

I turned to face her. “It was you in the forest before, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So you followed me to protect me?”

“I did.”

“But two weeks ago, you dropped me from the sky.”

Her eyes glittered as her gaze locked with mine. “Today, I was master of my will.”

I let that sink in, studying her beautifully ferocious features. “Master of your will today, but not two weeks ago?”

She pressed her lips together. “Go. Your drohi awaits. Do not reveal my involvement today. Show them the pendant, and that will be enough.”

“You want me to lie?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Consider it payment for my saving your life.” She stepped back, her body already mid shimmer as she prepared to take to the air. “Now go!”

She shot up into the sky and vanished, leaving me with questions, doubts, and the urgent need to pee.

I picked up the box and headed toward the forest, intent on finding the perfect tree. I’d barely made it two steps before a figure burst out of the treeline.

I let out a cry and fell into a defensive stance before realizing it was Araz.

“Leela!” He strode over and plucked me off my feet into a hug so fierce I was afraid he’d crush me.

“I’m okay,” I squeaked. “Araz, I can’t breathe.”

He relaxed his grip but didn’t put me down. “I felt you and then…I didn’t…I thought you were…Fuck.”

“I’m okay. I did it. I got the ember thingy.”

He slowly lowered me to my feet, and I showed him the pendant. “I touched it and something transferred, so yeah, we’re all good.”

He lifted his gaze from the pendant and fixed it on my face. “You did it.”

I grinned. “Yep, I did it.”

His face broke into a huge smile, and he swept me off my feet once more, spinning me around and crushing me to him again.

My bladder twinged. “Um…Araz, if you don’t put me down soon, I might pee myself.”

He stilled and slowly pulled back, his gaze amused. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?” He set me down. “Let’s find you the perfect tree.”

“You go ahead, and I’ll follow.”

He frowned. “Someone has to guard you while you relieve yourself.”

“I can guard myself. I do not want you listening to me pee.” I gently shoved at his chest. “Go.”

He didn’t budge. “I’ve heard you pee before, among other things.”

My cheeks heated. “What? No! Don’t tell me that!”

“We share space, Leela. It’s bound to happen and?—”

“Shut up and stay here!” I strode into the forest, determined to have privacy, but I couldn’t help the grin tugging at my lips because everything he said, everything he did, proved that our connection was getting stronger.

That maybe…Maybe I would be enough after all.