Page 92 of Elex

V shrugged.

“Maybe, but they can’t claim this,” he said as he stood and turned around, lifting his shirt to show her the sun and stars tattoo of the royal household on his back. Of course, that also displayed the numerous scars that crisscrossed his back from our shared Calling. It was common knowledge that bearing the sun and stars tattoo was forbidden to anyone outside the royal household. Doing so carried a particularly bloody penalty.

“Well, fuck me,” she said, slumping against the wall, her brow furrowed.

“Exactly,” I grumbled.

“So… what do you want from me?” she asked, her brown eyes curious.

“We need allies,” I said.

“Allies,” she said slowly, as if the word were foreign to her. “Allies in the Machi Thanatos?”

“And after,” V said.

“After? There is no after,” she scoffed bitterly. “After, we get sold off to the highest bidder, and are enslaved for the rest of our lives.”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “Maybe not.”

She looked at me.

“Look, we—we’ve found some things out,” I said. I quickly shared the information Hel had given us about Illyria, Somas, and the rest.

Deliah nodded thoughtfully before responding.

“I’ve heard stories of Somas before,” she said. “My village used to trade with Illyrians until Alexandria conquered us. I thought stories about beast men were just fairy tales. Bedtime stories for children.”

“Somas are real.”

“You’ve met one?” She whipped her gaze back to me.

I nodded.

“He’s here in Heraklion. He’s a doctor and he helped save V’s life,” I said, nodding toward my brother. “Did your Lochagos tell you about a cannibalistic beast in the Machi?”

She froze for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.

“That supposed beast is an Illyrian Soma,” V said.

“Illyrians don’t eat the dead,” she scoffed dismissively.

“It’s a cover to explain the missing Mageia who escape,” I went on to explain what Hel had told us about the well-placed bodies and skull stew.

“So what are you proposing?” she asked.

“An alliance. We gather as many Mageia to our side as we can, then escape this fucking place.”

“Pipe dream,” she muttered.

“Maybe,” V said. “But better than no dreams at all.”

Deliah looked at him thoughtfully for long moments.

“Okay,” she said finally. “I’m in.”

Chapter 17

Helios