Page 74 of The Gods Veiling (The Valorian Veil #1)

“We never prepared ourselves for the possibility of a Binder because it made no sense for the gods to do that. Especially not Derivius. He’s had every opportunity to do something like this but never has.

Plus, he knows our past and why we were very reluctant to this.

It was a shock to our systems and honestly petrifying.

If anything, the reality is, it sucks that you got stuck with us. Not the other way around.”

“I don’t understand why you all feel that way, though. Just because you’re from the Abandon?”

My heart crawls up my throat and pins and needles shoot through my blood. I close my eyes, then shake my head.

“How…” I clear my throat and lace my fingers before looking at her. I really look at her. “How much of our truth are you really asking for right now?”

“I…just.” Her mouth opens and closes multiple times.

My breathing syncs with hers as she collects herself and I try to do the same.

“As much or as little as you’re willing to tell me. There’s still a lot I’m not ready to get off my chest, so I don’t expect your whole life story and all the in-betweens. I’d like tonight explained. We can work the rest out as we go.”

A weight lifts off my shoulders. The sincerity in her eyes speaks louder than what she just said.

I’m not ready to spill my whole truth, nor are my brothers.

I was willing to get off my chest what I could, but if she’s giving me the opportunity to take more time, I’m going to graciously accept that, while also being honest.

My eyes meet each of my brothers’, waiting to see if they want to do this or if they expect it of me.

They’ve already shut down, though. There’s no longer tension, humor, or knowledge.

Their relief is visible in the way their bodies relaxed like mine, but nothingness peers back at me as they prepare for her to have the opposite reaction to what we had to her news.

I don’t truly know how she’ll react. She often surprises me when overwhelming news is presented to her, but I prepare my own mind and heart for the worst. I’d never expect her to just accept us.

No one in the Godsdawn ever has. Her possible disgust and rejection will mean more than theirs ever could, though.

“What that asshole said in the carriage was true. We are from the Abandon and know all about it. Hundreds of years ago, long before any of us were alive, the Abandon was created. At the time, it wasn’t called that.

A line had just been drawn across Godsden, separating the sides.

The Beginning God who believes he’s above all the others tried to declare himself as the ruler of them all. ”

“Which Beginning God?”

I swallow harshly. I hate to even say his name, so I don’t.

“The God of Obliteration. The barrier was placed to keep out any of their subjects who followed him. But not him, nor the other Beginning and Domain Gods who followed him. Since the Godsdawn was their birthplace, the Valories decreed they couldn’t be kept from here permanently.

The other Beginning Gods who sided against him had to agree, but they made the condition if he himself ever tried to attack here, they’d bring him down.

They didn’t think at the time he’d mass an army to do it for him.

He very rarely shows himself. Only when he wants to stir up trouble. ”

Thayla holds her hand up to halt me. “I’m sorry for cutting in again, but how do the Valories let that stand but allowed them all to disown Derivius? That’s taurnshit and makes no sense.”

“I’ll tell you Derivius’s story if that’s what you truly want,” I say, arching a brow.

She picks at her thumb before shaking her head. “No. He needs to.”

I nod in agreement. That’s a devastating tale he needs to be open with her about since he obviously plays quite the role in her life as well.

“When that God and the other Beginning Gods left, they took with them much of their essence and even slivers of the others out of the Gods Binding. They took that with them so they could create their own version as well as other creations such as their own Gods Veil. The difference being, their creations don’t have the blessing of the Valories attached to it.

Therefore, it doesn’t work as the original Gods Binding that’s hidden here and that’s been used to make things such as the Volreen .

“He amassed a huge following from godly beings across Godsden but also by traveling to the other regions and bringing others back with him with the promise of power. What he didn’t think would happen is how the power with his Gods Binding would be tainted.”

“Holy shit…are you trying to tell me that the creatures we fought are beings who received power from his Binding?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. They don’t have power like we do.

Many of them have abilities, but they aren’t diverse.

The Defender Designation stemmed for the God of Obliteration, so nearly every single one of the creatures possesses an ability somewhere along those lines.

Strength, endurance, pain, deception. When the essence from the Gods Binding releases the power and it attaches to their souls, it changes them.

Makes them darker, harder to kill, more feral, evil. ”

Her mouth gapes open and she lays her fingers to her lips as she scans each of us. I don’t know whether she’s trying to see if we’re seconds away from becoming creatures or what, but I see the wheels in her mind spinning.

“So there are both, I hate to say normal gods, but yeah, normal gods and creatures living in the Abandon?”

“That’s right. They live high and mighty, lording over what we call creatures.

Really, they’re Dark Gods. Don’t have much pity for them.

Most of them still have plenty of sense about them.

When they’ve received their orders to fight, those more deadly instincts come out, but other than that, they’re more than capable of having a conversation just as you and I are having now.

At any point in time, they could come to the stronghold and ask to be brought to our Binding to have that power stripped.

Some do. Some don’t. They’d still hold a small piece of that darker power, but for the most part, they’d be just like us once again. ”

“I think it would be hard for me to find pity after tonight…”

Creed’s grunt calls her attention, then she focuses back on me.

“I’m following so far and understand, but what does this have to do with all of you?”

I count the creases in my white knuckles as I gather my words.

“There’re rules as you’ve been learning about in Godsden that even that side is supposed to follow.

Those Beginning Gods still oblige, mostly.

The main one that’s important to this situation is all godly children born must be placed in the Gods Veil upon their birth so their power can be stripped.

“It’s been a law since shortly after the creation of the Gods Binding.

The population struggled to grow because many times, godly children were born and were deadly.

There’s an hour between when a baby is born to when their power settles.

Your power grows differently when you’re born with it, compared to beings like you, who were born with two ungodly parents.

“The initial settling is brutal, then it almost becomes dormant, growing through the years with you. Newborns can’t control that initial burst. They harmed others and themselves every single birth. It became too much of a risk to allow them to hit that hour mark.

“Long before there was such a thing as a Veiling day, around your teenage years, if you showed enough level of maturity, your power would begin being released to you. Your twenties would be when it was fully returned.

“We, Creed, Amick, and I are triplets. Riven has the same father but a different mother. With powerful, godly intervention, we were all born at the exact same time and placed in the Gods Veil in the Abandon.”

The throw pillows on the other couch go tumbling to the ground as Riven gets to his feet and stomps out of the room. Thayla goes to call for him, but I place my hand on her knee and shake my head. He can’t handle that reminder.

I knew that, but this has to be said. He knew it was coming.

She lays her hand on mine but never takes her eyes off his door. “So your powers were stripped by the Veil in the Abandon?”

“No. We were placed in the Veil together to receive more power. The God of Obliteration decided we were going to be his test gods. He didn’t care about the damage we’d cause with our births or growing years because we wouldn’t be powerful enough to kill him.

He wanted to mend and mold us into unstoppable gods.

“At fifteen, we rebelled. We attacked his forces, trying to get to him, but failed. Derivius swooped in, brought us here, and we were forced to choose. Lose our lives or allow this side’s Gods Veil to strip our power and we live by the rules of the Godsdawn. It’s obvious what we chose.”

Her fingers flinch against my hand, but she doesn’t remove it. I can’t bring myself to look at her, so I can’t read the emotions on her face.

“So you all had all your power at one point in your lives. That’s what Riven meant by you all want your powers back and the predicament you’re in. Is that why your power was…different, stronger over there than what I’ve seen?”

“Only Riven knows what he means when words come out of his mouth, but I’m sure it mostly had to do with our situation.

And it’s complicated, but yes, twenty years ago, we were at full strength for our age, plus a touch of the Abandon’s Binding.

We weren’t done growing. It was purer than what we experience now, and we had more abilities.

There’s no telling the level of power we’d wield now if we hadn’t been stripped.

We’ll always have a touch of the Abandon’s power in us no matter the fact we were stripped here.

It shows itself when we cross that barrier. ”