Page 57 of The Gods Veiling (The Valorian Veil #1)

Riven

You know what annoys me?

The wishy-washiness I feel with Thayla’s presence.

It isn’t a fun sort of chaos anymore.

It didn’t take me long to change my mind about not having anything to do with her. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t want this mark, this tie, or for her to be all up in my brothers’ and my business, but her reactions to my antics are very enticing.

She almost had me convinced that the two of us were on our way to becoming a power chaos couple.

The way she slapped me when I kissed her, then smiled at me sweetly when I gave her the High Chancellor’s head. So deliciously tempting.

But then the next morning at breakfast, she didn’t give in to my teasing banter. She and Amick ignored me.

Fucking rude.

Then again, confusingly enough, she sidled up all close to me when we went toe-to-toe with Gladdy’s Valtrue. Gods, I want that fight.

I’m itching for that.

She gazed at me like I hung the stars when I stepped up to her side. I was planning on severing the golden-haired god’s hand and gifting it to her. I figured if I gave her another body part—this one real—she’d finally learn the proper etiquette and give me a gift back. Preferably another kiss .

Below my belt.

Then Gladian’s screech had the pathetic excuse of a god letting her go and my whole surprise was ruined.

She was back to teasing me last night when she flipped me her middle finger as she strutted out of Amick’s room like she owned it.

Her back and forth between meeting my chaos to completely dousing it is starting to give me whiplash. I’m growing tired of our game. Sure, it’s only been like…I don’t know…a couple of days, but she needs to pick a form of chaos and stick to it.

Her sass and quick retorts back when I tease her are mouthwatering, yes, but her confusing mood swings are…well, also tantalizing.

Gods damn it, she’s a strange goddess.

A burden. She’s a burden on my mental health.

Her actions just now in the meadows have been the most confusing of them all.

For the first time since I followed Creed to Derivius’s temple, when that god got to his feet and popped off to Kyzen, my chaos swirled in my belly.

That’s the first time since her arrival that it came freely without my command, which means it was needed in that situation rather than my harmony half.

Her swift, sexy as fuck punch, followed by her defending us, made that swirling travel down to my dick. I was so mesmerized I completely forgot I was supposed to do something to him myself.

My power dissipating at her quick reaction to the situation made my mind go into a frenzy. Never in my fucking life has my power just simmered itself down without being released.

I thought maybe if I stirred her up, it’d once again stir my power. Instead, all she did was turn that shit around on me.

I had to get the fuck away from her.

I didn’t know if I wanted to fall at her feet and worship her or cuss her out for stealing my fun.

Obviously, I decided to get far the fuck away.

The arched tunnel of the Gods Court blocks out the sun and makes my humming echo all around me. I let the beautiful, haunting melody of my own tune soothe the uncertainty still brewing in my stomach.

Thayla can be Kyzen’s problem for the rest of the day.

I may give our relationship one more shot later before I say to hell with having a partner in chaos .

My happy sigh has the Attendant standing at the entryway taking a huge step away from me. I shoot him a wink and a smile of appreciation for the ego boost I really needed.

“What’s going on?” I turn my smile from the fearful Attendant to Creed. His quick notice of me also makes my heart happy.

Granted, he knows I only come here for training or if I’m looking to pick a fight. What better place to do that than an arena used specifically for that.

Today, well, not yet anyway, it’s for neither of those reasons.

“We just had to defuse a situation down at the Veilatara meadows. A god struck a youngling, and he’s being escorted here now for his punishment.”

“His punishment? He’s still breathing?”

“Unfortunately. It’d seem our live-in goddess somehow convinced Verlet and Seismet that the better course of action would be to spare him and let the gods decide what to do with him.”

“Wait, are you saying—”

I huff in annoyance and hold my hand up. I catch him up on everything that happened. Of course my words are only speculation. I have no clue what Thayla and Seismet discussed. Verlet’s weirdness is the only indicator I have to go on that he allowed her words to sway their choice.

Another mark against her.

The Veilatara are my comfort creatures. Until I know she has, without a doubt, zip, zilch, zero, ill intentions toward them, I won’t be letting her go near them without one of us around.

“We’ll discuss what was said with her later. Let’s go tell Gladian we’ve got a god needing a punishment on the way here.”

I snort as I follow behind him. I make sure to wave at all the scared little gods we pass as we stomp our way through the Court. “Discuss it with her later. You’re hilarious. She’s avoided all your pointless questioning. She’ll do the same with this.”

“Then I’ll get Kyzen to do it.”

“You could try to do it when the two of you are alone tomorrow on your rotation. Maybe if you ask nicely with those big, beautiful, sad eyes of yours, she’ll give in.”

He stops and stares at me. I smirk. “We aren’t on rotation together tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you are. That’s what Amick said.”

“Well, I’ll tell Amick otherwise. I’m healing tomorrow.”

“Who cares? She’s been to the healing villas. ”

“Not that healing, Riven.”

“Even better. Give her a big ol’ dose of reality.”

“No. You know as well as the rest of us, we can’t bring that up yet. She’s liable to flip the fuck out and cause a scene that has the High Chancellor on our asses even more.”

I like that idea.

Not the High Chancellor on my ass. My ass is off-limits.

The part about her flipping out.

Gods, it’s going to be so fucking sexy…No.

No more lusting over the strange, confusing Binder. I don’t want her.

“I don’t know. I think you’re all underestimating what and when she can handle news. I’ve always hated that we follow a schedule on when to tell all the newbies about our dark and deadly secrets.”

He cuts his eyes to me and a deep sigh escapes him.

“Yeah, same, Riven. In our case, though, she’s going to have to know sooner than the rest anyways.

Which means she’ll be finding out about where we come from.

Is that a story you’re ready to share? Are you ready for the fallout if she can’t stand the thought of our past?

Eternity is a long time to live with someone who’s disgusted by you. ”

My nose scrunches and my chest pulls tight. I hate this new feeling. I don’t know why this shit keeps happening, but it can fuck right off.

“No, I have zero intentions of sharing. I don’t care for her to know anything about me, and I couldn’t give a fuck less if she can’t stand me, but Kyzen enjoys her company. I think he likes her.”

“I never said I didn’t like her or her company. I just think the predicament she’s in, that we’re all in, is taurnshit and she shouldn’t be subjected to it sooner than she has to be. Now drop it before one of these fuckers hears you.”

I gasp and place my hand on my heart. “Do you have a crush on her?”

He stops walking completely and cocks his head at me as his features twist. “What are we? Ten? Would you shut the fuck up now?”

Oh my gods. He does have a crush.

What is the Valorian Veil coming to?

I ponder his words as we now silently make our way into the chambers to hunt Gladian down. I agree to an extent with him about what he said.

Thayla, I have no doubt, will be able to handle the truth about the many layers of Godsden that the rest of the Valorian Veil is shielded from.

She’s different from the other Chosen. That much is very obvious, judging by the way she, well…

judges things she doesn’t agree with. She’s spoken out enough already to know that she’ll say something if she believes it’s wrong.

Most things about the Abandon and Hellveilious are wrong, but there’s nothing to do about it for now. She’ll have to get over it.

It’ll probably crush whatever pretty picture she painted of this place when she entered the Veiling. That’s going to piss her off and she may bitch about it, but she’ll take it in stride like she’s annoyingly done everything else.

Or she may lose her shit completely and cause some beautiful chaos.

I like that thought.

What I don’t like the thought of is even remotely explaining to her our past. What we were forced to do on the other side. Those are things I have no intentions of bringing up.

It’s none of hers or anyone else’s business.

“Gods, what’s he doing here?”

I give my new target, the golden-haired god, a dazzling smile. “I missed you and needed to come see you.”

“Unless it has something to do with Thayla, don’t concern yourself with me.”

My smile fades gradually. It morphs into what I know is a deranged smirk. “Your obsession with my Binder is going to be an issue, Golden boy. You have a Binder of your own to worry about.”

“Don’t—”

“Enough,” both Gladian and Creed bark, although the tones are very different.

Gladian’s sounds exasperated, while Creed’s sounds menacing and pointed directly at the other god, not me.

“What’s going on, Creed?” Gladian asks, disregarding my presence completely. He spares my brother a meager glance before looking back over a map of the Abandon.

Hate him.

“A god from the Veilatara meadows is being escorted here now. He struck a youngling. The Veilatara allowed him to live and deemed we decide his punishment.”

Gladian’s finger stops tracing the line of the barrier and a smile creeps across his face as he stands straight. I actually have to hold in a giggle when swirling in my stomach starts.

Fuck yes. It’s go time .

I’m incredibly disappointed it’s him that’s getting my power going, but I’ll take what I can get.