Page 48 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

A Song To Be Remembered

LEELA

“ H ey, wake up, sleepyhead.”

A whiskery kiss jolted me out of sleep. A smile tugged at my lips as gentle warmth bloomed below my ribs. “Blue…” I reached up to cup his body, holding him against my cheek as tears gathered behind my eyes. “I missed you so much.”

“Liar.” He sniffed.

I pulled back to look at his sweet furry face. “Am I lying, though?”

He peered at me with dark eyes glistening with tears. “Fine, ya missed me, an’ I missed you, and now we’re back together again.”

“You are indeed,” Araz groaned from his side of the room. “But maybe be together a little quieter. It’s barely dawn.”

“Oooh, who’s a grumpy Adonis?” Blue teased.

Araz didn’t reply, but I could feel he was wide awake now.

He’d been different since the attack. Quieter, more reserved. Still present but I could feel him holding back. Staying firmly in a friendly lane. Never crossing the line. Not even with a touch or a look, and it was frankly annoying as hell.

“How was the trip?” Blue asked. “Tell me everythin’.” His bright-eyed, twitchy-tailed demeanor told me that he hadn’t heard the news about Priti yet.

A lump formed in my throat. “We lost Priti.”

“You lost ’er? How in the heck…” He trailed off, his eyes going wide, and then he staggered back, his hand on his chest. “Priti…”

My vision blurred, and I dashed away the tears. “She saved my life.”

“Course she did. Course she did.” He lowered his head, fat tears falling onto the bed.

I picked him up and hugged him to my chest. “She was brave. She was so fucking brave.”

Blue cried for a little while, and my eyes burned with the threat of tears that I held back. I’d cried so much. For Nani, for Pashim, and then for Priti. There’d been too much death, and I was so done with it. I wouldn’t lose anyone else.

There had to be a safer way of testing demigods. One that didn’t kill them. It was something I’d investigate once I took the crown.

Blue finally pulled sway and wiped his cheeks. “How’s Dharma?”

“Not great. The others are devastated, and Keyton…”

“Oh…” Blue’s eyes welled again. “Poor Keyton.”

“He is a strong drohi,” Araz said from across the room. “He will carry her memory and continue to fight in her honor.”

Blue gave him a flat look. “Is that what you’d do if anything happened to Leela?”

“Nothing will happen to Leela,” Araz said firmly.

He pulled back the screen separating us, standing there bare-chested with his sleep pants on, his glorious long hair tousled from sleep, lips all pouty and?—

No. Stop it!

“Would you like to use the bathroom first?” he asked me.

I suppressed a sigh at his cool, formal tone. “Sure. I’ll do that.”

Blue followed me into the washroom. “What crawled up his ass?”

I closed the door. “He almost died too.”

Araz had recognized his mortality, and it had made him more determined to keep his distance so he could be emotionally free to leave and start a war. It was the only explanation for his personality shift, and yes, it was for the best. But damn did it hurt.

After spending weeks on an island, it was strange to be back up in the sky.

The return journey had been stormy, but Varainya, awake and alert, navigated it like a pro.

And we’d been reunited with the thunderbirds at the coast, but Pakshiraj had not been among them.

Araz’s bird had informed me that I’d be formally united with him once I’d taken the Labyrinth of Gods trial.

Despite our navigation faux pas, Bhartina had given us all a passing grade.

Not because we’d lost Priti. No. She’d been clear that the reason we’d passed was because we’d worked together as a team to survive the revenants’ attack.

Rajnanga had survived, and his account to her had been favorable, despite our navigation failure.

The win didn’t feel justified. But I didn’t have the energy to argue.

Now back in Prashikshan, everyone was buzzing about the Purnima Ball taking place tonight.

A celebration of a super moon that only occurred once a century.

Outfits had been rolled in on clothes rails, and everyone was rifling through the offerings, looking for the perfect lehenga or tunic and pant set to wear.

The last gathering I’d dressed up for had been a political affair in Shahee Kshetra, and if this was anything like it, then I didn’t want to go, so I sat and sipped my tea by the hearth while everyone else went crazy picking outfits.

“Leela!” Blue admonished. “You need to go grab sumthin before everything good is gone.”

“Yeah…No.”

“Whatya mean, no?”

“I mean I’m not going. I’m staying in and getting an early night.”

He glared at me. “Get your ass over to that rail and pick a fit, you moo!”

“I told you I’m not?—”

A black and gold lehenga fell across my lap.

I looked up to find Araz holding a matching outfit. “I think it will fit you,” he said.

I opened my mouth to say that I wasn’t going, but the sudden flash of heat in his eyes stole my words.

I nodded. “Thanks.”

He returned my nod and retreated, leaving me slightly breathless.

“What the feck was that about?” Blue said. “Oh feck, did you two bang?”

“No!” My cheeks heated.

His eyes narrowed. “Ya did sumthin, though, dintcha? Then he had his accident and then…Oh feck. What is his problem?”

I hadn’t shared the full truth with Blue yet about Araz’s past and how he was planning to leave. Partly because it was Araz’s story to tell but also because I was a little afraid of what Blue might say. Things that I didn’t want to hear.

“Leela…” He scampered up my arm, perched on my shoulder, and brought his face close to mine. “Tell me.”

“Not here. Not now. Later.”

My serious tone was enough to make him back off. “All right. Later. When ya get ready.”

Dharma and Joe joined us by the hearth, both carrying outfits.

Dharma had a little more color in her cheeks today, and she even managed a smile, which lifted my heart.

“Nice choice,” Dharma said, indicating the outfit lying across my lap.

“Araz chose it.”

“He’s got good taste.”

She held up her cream and red lehenga. “Priti’s favorite colors. I figure she can’t be here but…I can wear her colors tonight.”

Joe put his arm around Dharma’s shoulder. “I wish it wasn’t tonight, though. The event. We have three days off before the bloody air tests. Which are gonna last two weeks.”

I had no clue what I’d be made to do in that time. I didn’t need to take the test, but I could learn to ride properly, and that would have to?—

“Attention, everyone!” Umbra entered the room, trailed by Ione and the familiar figure of Guru Chandra.

I looked around for Araz, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“We have some news.” Umbra looked to Chandra.

He spoke, his voice low and yet able to carry easily to the back of the room.

“It has been decreed by the Authority that the air test will no longer be a requirement for qualifying for the Labyrinth of Gods.” A shocked murmur skated around the room.

But my gaze was on Chandra and his on me.

“Umbra has consulted with Eben and has a list of qualifying names based on overall scores.” He gave Umbra a nod.

She lifted her chin. “The following demigods will take the labyrinth this round. Bina, Alia, Joe, Dharma, and Leela.”

Murmurs filled the room—a mixture of relief and disgruntlement. I spotted Elan shaking his head in confusion. Alia looked pale and shaken. Those two were usually inseparable.

“The test will take place in four days,” Chandra said.

“The morning of that day, you will complete the Calling, during which a weapon will choose you. After that, you will walk the labyrinth. Address any questions to Tantrik Umbra.” He broke away from her and made his way over to me as everyone fired questions at Umbra. “Walk with me, Leela.”

“Go,” Blue said. “I’ll guard your outfit. I saw that Bina girl eyeing it up just now.”

“We’ll take it up to your room,” Dharma said.

“Can you see if Araz is?—”

“There is no need for Araz,” Chandra said. “You may fill him in later.”

I passed the clothes to Dharma and followed Chandra out into the late midmorning sun. “What’s going on? We’re supposed to have weeks to prep for the labyrinth.”

“I know. But the Authority wasn’t pleased that you passed the fire trial, and I guess this is their way of countering it, by giving you no time to prepare for the biggest test. The one that determines it all.”

“This is bullshit.”

“I know.” He turned to face me, his expression softening as it took in my anger.

“You are perfectly capable, Leela. You can do this, I know it. I feel it here.” He touched his chest. “You passed the fire trial when all thought you would turn and walk away. You survived the sea trial despite a navigation error, and you are here.” His eyes gleamed as if my triumph was his.

“You will not fall at this final hurdle.” He took a deep breath and straightened, his icy gaze flattening.

“You will not fall because I will tell you what to expect so you can prepare.”

I stared at him in shock. “You…You want me to cheat?”

“I want you to survive. The Authority is not playing fair, and therefore neither should you.”

There was a part of me that agreed with him. Like, fuck the Authority, but the bigger part, my stupid moral compass wouldn’t allow me to take his offer. I needed to earn this, or it would never be mine.

“No.”

He canted his head. “No?”

“I don’t want to know what to expect. I need to do this myself.”

He pressed his lips together. “There is vital training that is being left out. You will be at a huge disadvantage without the knowledge on how to prepare.”

“Then I’ll be just like everyone else.”

“If you’re worried about your friends, you could share the information with them. I cannot stop you.”

“And turn us all into cheaters?” What was wrong with this guy? “Chandra, this is wrong, and I refuse your offer. I get that you’re trying to help me, but no. Just. No.”

His flat icy gaze warmed, and he looked up to his left. I followed his gaze in time to see the air ripple.

An ankh?

“Take it back to the Authority,” he said.

What the… “You were testing me?”

“Not me. Them. And you passed. Of course you passed.” He smiled slow and beatific. “I have no doubt that you will complete the labyrinth and ascend. And when you do, I will place the crown atop your head myself. Now go, rest. You’ll need it.”

He walked off down the path and vanished between the barracks, leaving me with a weight on my shoulders and dread in my belly—not for the labyrinth or the ascension but for what would come after.

I’d thought I had several more weeks with Araz.

Now we had mere days.