Page 23 of The Curse of Gods (The Curse of Saints #3)

Josie had spent her lifetime in Rinnia, and yet the city still held its surprises.

She’d never seen the unassuming home that Natali led her to.

It was situated between two worn-down bungalows, its stone facade a gray outlier in a faded but colorful street.

They were far from the city center—further still from Old Town and the palace.

Natali used their knife to pick the lock of the worn wooden door before urging Josie inside.

“Whose home is this?” Josie asked as she took in the small cramped living room. A discarded cup of tea sat on the wooden table before the hearth, a blanket pooled carelessly in the seat of a scratched leather armchair.

“A former friend’s,” Natali answered as they peered out of the closed blinds. “She was associated with the Bellare.” They frowned as they looked at Josie. “Put that sword down.”

She did no such thing.

“You brought me to the home of a member of the Bellare?”

“Use your head, Your Highness,” Natali snapped. “The last place they would look for you is in the home of one of their own.”

“And when your friend returns?”

Their lips pursed as they glanced around the home. “That would indeed be a surprise given, as far as I’m aware, she’s been missing for weeks.”

Josie took another look at the space. The cup of tea was balanced precariously on its saucer—as if it was discarded suddenly. There was a thin layer of dust surrounding it on the table. The blanket, too, was pooled messily, half of it hanging off the cushion and dragging on the floor.

Natali peered through the crack in the curtain once more, their posture tense.

“There’s a strangeness taking hold of Eteryium.

Bitter cold in the months of warmth in Tala.

Dead crops in the Trahirian farmlands. Even the Vaguer have been sighted away from the desert.

” They let the curtain flutter shut. “The gods are angry.”

Josie lowered her sword, her brows lifting as she considered the Saj. “I didn’t take the Saj of the Maraciana for the pious sort.”

“This is not piety,” Natali rebuked. “It is knowledge . I have dedicated my life to studying the affinities and their history.” Their lips pressed into a thin line. “It is like before.”

Josie was used to the riddle-like speech of the Saj, and yet amidst the current circumstances, it set her on edge. She needed answers , and she needed them plain.

“What happened here, Natali? How did you know how to find me? And why?”

Natali motioned to the leather couch. “Sit, before you collapse.”

It was a fight against the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, but Josie obeyed. Her muscles eased as soon as she leaned back against the cushion, her body sagging as if her strings had been cut.

Natali took a seat in the armchair, their face lined with a heaviness Josie was unaccustomed to seeing on them.

“I’ve been monitoring the port, waiting for your arrival,” they began.

“Reports of Aidon wielding Incend fire came by way of a crew manning a small merchant vessel from Tala a little over a week ago. It could have been written off as drunken gossip, but…the story was apparently corroborated by three warriors who fled Dunmeaden during the battle.”

Josie’s back straightened as she took in Natali’s words. They should have sent a skiff ahead. Or…or they shouldn’t have stopped in Milsaio, or they should have taken a smaller, faster boat.

Instead they were beaten by gossips and deserters, and now…

Josie swallowed down her ire and forced herself to meet Natali’s somber gaze as they continued.

“It was a matter of hours before the rumors had spread throughout the city. Tradesmen deal in far more than goods, as you know, and those in their employ are even worse. Between the whispers of Aidon’s power, the news of Gianna’s death, the revelations regarding the Second Saint, and the fear of the gods’ retribution…

well, the Bellare had everything they needed to stage their coup.

Their numbers swelled in days, enough to overwhelm the City Guard.

They attacked Old Town, targeting Visya homes, but it was merely a distraction from their main objective. ”

Josie’s eyes fluttered shut. “Taking the palace,” she filled in, her voice a mere whisper. Natali dipped their chin in confirmation.

“It was over nearly before it began. Avis Lavigne sits on your brother’s throne.”

Josie shook her head, anger and regret and despair coursing through her as her mind fought against what the Saj was telling her. “Avis was banished.”

Natali sighed. “An order that went unfulfilled before your brother joined a battle he had no business joining. Avis was freed in the melee by Ryker Drycari.”

Ryker Drycari, the Bellare member who had blackmailed Aidon into giving him a seat on the Merchant Council. Ryker Drycari, who knew of Aidon’s power because Viviane had told him.

This would not be happening if you had stayed put. The voice in Josie’s head sounded an awful lot like her mother.

“It was only logical to assume the Bellare would be waiting for Aidon’s return. Hence my monitoring of the bay.” Natali looked at her for a long moment, their amber eyes wide and searching. “I assume the king is not with you?”

Josie shook her head. Of course they would know. If Aidon had returned, he would never have left Josie to fend in a battle for herself. He had proven that very thing in Dunmeaden, and it had cost him everything.

She had cost him everything.

“No,” Josie murmured. “Aidon fled. I had hoped he would meet us in Trahir, but I take it there’s been no sign of him?”

“None.”

“What of the Royal Army?” Josie pressed. Had they been able to evacuate her parents before they could be held for ransom? Were they protecting their royal family?

Natali’s head tilted in careful consideration.

“I imagine if there are those who still hold loyalty to your brother, they are keeping such allegiances quiet. Especially given there is no sign of their king. But…dissent was easily spread given the tension that arose when Aidon created the elite Visya force.”

Josie expelled a harsh breath as she scrubbed a hand down her face.

So it would be up to her to secure her parents’ release. Gods, she was in over her head. She had years of experience in political posturing, but negotiating the release of hostages? Could she do that if Aidon were not here to formally relinquish his crown?

“Has anyone confirmed my parents are, in fact, in the dungeons? I assume the Bellare want some sort of formal acknowledgment of acquiescing the throne from Aidon once he returns and will use them as leverage. Are they being cared for as proper prisoners?”

Natali’s lips parted, a half-aborted sound escaping them as they blinked at Josie.

She had never heard the Saj fumble their words before. It sent a wave of cold dread cascading down her spine as Natali’s amber eyes filled with pity.

“I am so very sorry, Your Highness,” they breathed. A fist of grief clenched around Josie’s heart, her throat aching as she tried to swallow down the fear that tried to force its way onto her tongue.

“There has been no sign of your parents since the attack.”