Page 79 of The Curse of Gods (The Curse of Saints #3)

The following is a transcription of King Aidon Heureux’s historic speech in Trahir during the Second Great War. His address to his people is credited with changing the tide of the war and ensuring the legacy of Trahir.

People of Trahir…the truth of my affinity has long since reached you. And for that, I can only tell you how sorry I am that you did not hear it directly from me. And while I cannot undo the damage done by such whispers…allow me the chance to tell you directly. It is true. I am an Incend.

I can only imagine the betrayal you must feel. In accepting my crown, I have broken a covenant with the gods, who once decreed no Visya should rule. But today, I would like to speak with you not as your king, but as a citizen of this realm.

War has arrived in Eteryium. Kakos has revived the Decachiré and are intent on destroying all we hold dear. Kakos is moving on Tala, and they plan to tear down the veil between the realm and the Beyond and kill the gods in retribution for killing the Original Saint, Evie.

She has returned. And she is not the savior we once believed she was. She was born of one of the two forgotten goddesses hidden in this realm by Sage. The gods murdered her for it, and she is intent on enacting her vengeance with no regard for what it costs innocents.

I know because I have seen her myself. I faced her in battle in Sitya, while rescuing Aya Veliri. Evie has been using the Second Saint to mask her own crimes against our realm.

I have witnessed Evie’s immense power firsthand, and I know she will destroy all we hold dear if we do not fight.

Now is not the time to stand idly by. There is no safety in inaction, no matter how far removed from Tala we may be. If the Southern Kingdom succeeds in their endeavors in the Northern Kingdom…it won’t just be Tala that will perish. It will be us all.

I understand you may not accept me as your king. But I have served as your general for years. I have seen battle and I have witnessed the strength of the Kakos. And so today, I make a plea not as a monarch, but as a soldier.

As a brother, a son, a friend.

Join me in this fight. Help me save our realm .

—Milo Verina, Historical Accounts of the Great Second War

***

In the end, it wasn’t just the Royal Army’s ships that followed them out to sea. It was the merchant vessels, and the barges, and the skiffs, too.

Every boat that had the ability to make the journey took to the waters, full to capacity not just with soldiers, but with citizens as well. Visya and human sailing together, ready to fight.

And at the head of the fleet stood Aidon, that golden crown left behind in the palace of Trahir.

It would be there when he returned.