Page 9 of The Gods Veiling (The Valorian Veil #1)

I’d maybe agree with its original design.

When the gods and our creator, the Valories as the entity’s been named, used it to strip evil and protect the realm.

The essence of the gods that flows within it could heal a corrupt soul, balance power, and keep the Valorian Veil flourishing by recycling the essence back into the land.

As the gods received extra power through worship and prayer, as did the Binding. Then it would release it back.

Not anymore.

The Beginning Gods leave the now ungodly beings’ power stored in the Gods Binding for safekeeping .

Sweat drips down my neck from how hard I’m pushing myself. The wind from the pages sailing before my eyes isn’t enough to cool the annoyance brewing beneath my skin.

The time I gave myself in this dangerous search is running out. Kyzen’s quiet retreat to the doors confirms that.

Finally, an answer appears to me. It’s not everything I need or want, but this is a promising start.

The original Gods Binding has been split many times over the millennia. Some pieces have been used to make sacred creations or helpful tools, while others were made for another purpose.

The Volreen and the Gods Veil are creations made and tied to each other as well as the Gods Binding.

They function as a means to match the essence already flowing within the Binding at the Gods Sanctum.

Once blood has been offered to the Volreen, its properties will remain there forever.

Measured and weighed for its worth. Matched for its success.

For the success of the gods and the Valorian Veil.

The other purpose was for miniature, exact replicas of the Gods Binding to be created for each of the Beginning Gods. That purpose was so no one god would possess more power over the Binding or the others .

Not all the replicas have remained in the Beginning Gods’ hands. It has been a catalyst for many problems. The replicas can do everything the original Gods Binding can, but at a lower level of power.

The return or possible new ownership of those pieces has been an unwavering mission for many of the Beginning Gods.

By the grace of the Valories, none of these creations or pieces have been destroyed.

Ruin would reign across the realm if that were to happen.

The essences within would become catastrophic rather than creating.

The power would return to all beings in a matter of pure chaos rather than controlled, balanced relief.

Appropriate release under the gods’ judgment and jurisdiction is what’s best for their beings.

“Time’s up, Amick.”

My head drops as I exhale harshly. I give myself only a moment to recoup from the rapid use of power. Carefully, I close the cover of the tome and check it over countless times to make sure I leave it in its exact spot.

Perfectly lined with the stopper holding it and exactly centered. There isn’t a speck of dust in sight. No ruffled pages or a dented spine.

It must remain impeccable.

The questions brewing in Kyzen’s eyes are loud as I walk past him through the door he’s holding open. I don’t answer any of them but ask one of my own. “How long till he wakes?”

“Two minutes. We got to lock up and get the fuck out of here.”

My fingers relax at my side as I walk to the corner and allow my gaze to trail over the hall once again. The keys jingle loudly as he locks the revered room back and I stare at the double doors we need to get through.

Sooner rather than later.

It’s highly unlikely anyone would have a plan as well thought out as my own, especially during the Veiling celebrations, but you can never trust the unpredictable ones.

Including my brother.

My body moves on silent steps the moment I hear the metal keys hit marble. Kyzen falls in line beside me and neither of us speaks.

His shoulders relax as a smile crosses his lips when we slip through the door and a whistled melody reaches our ears. Riven’s song disrupts the peace, and I internally groan at the nonsense.

Perfectly timed, just as I planned, Kyzen, Creed, and I emerge in the center where Riven is dancing around. The smirk and mischievousness in his features are always telling. He’s either already done something he shouldn’t have or he’s plotting it out as I think.

“I take it our Chancellor in training didn’t find what he was looking for today.”

I ignore Riven’s taunt.

Beside me, Kyzen chuckles. The bright, easygoing smirk he always wears is plastered on his face as he feeds into Riven’s game. “He chose the largest tome he could find.”

“Oh no, you didn’t get to finish it, did you? Is that why you look like someone shoved a stick up your ass?”

“Have you ever finished a book a day in your life, Riven?”

Creed grunts and Kyzen laughs like I said a joke, but I’m asking quite seriously. The only time I’ve ever seen him even touch a book was to throw it at someone. Usually me. I don’t recall, even as children, him reading.

I’m not even sure he can.

“I’ve read loads. Far more than you have.”

I don’t play into the blatant lie. He gives up his pestering after that as he and Kyzen fall into their normal, meaningless conversations.

“Anyone approach you outside?”

Creed’s and my blank stares match. “Did you seriously expect someone to approach me?”

“They have no self-preservation today. The Veiling makes everyone careless.”

“That includes you. Of all the days, you choose this one to pull something like this,” he fires back.

“My self-preservation was at the forefront of my mind, hence why I chose today. This is the only day of the entire year there’s not a single god, Chancellor, or otherwise, in that room or the Athenaeum. Aside from the Attendant, but there’s always one there, regardless.”

He has no further argument. He knows I’m right.

Silence hangs in the air around me as I tune them out and return the book Riven dropped back to its spot.

Aside from my bedroom, the Athenaeum is my favorite place in all of Godsden. The countless, priceless knowledge at my fingertips makes my power thrum through my blood. I spend every free moment I have here.

Now all I need is all my power released from the Gods Binding, and I’ll never have to fear losing this knowledge .

“So, dear Amick, are you going to share what you discovered or failed to discover?” Riven asks as soon as I walk back up.

“No.”

He opens his mouth to attempt to antagonize me, but Kyzen holds his hand up. “Leave it be. He’ll tell us when he has enough information or when he’s ready.”

He’s correct. There’s no use sharing information until I have enough for us to meticulously plan.

“Let’s go.”

“I thought the High Chancellor said you could leave with enough time to change and come back?” Kyzen asks.

“You thought? You heard him clearly. There’s nothing to think about.”

He pinches his nose and sighs. “I was reiterating the question because you agreed, now you’re telling us to go.”

“Well, that was just a waste of a question. I never had any intentions of wasting hours just standing here.” I turn on my heels and head toward the door.

As we step outside, I’m tempted not to take a deep breath just so I can hold onto the scent of parchment and ink. The moment the fresh air that’s tainted with a floral fragrance hits my nose, it’ll disrupt the thoughts I’m organizing in my mind.

My brothers’ voices end up being the cause of distraction. With no silence in sight for the next few moments, I ignore them as I take in the repulsive arrangements that greet us.

The center structure is the Gods Sanctum, where our poor, unsuspecting Chosen will soon be entering upon their arrival. They’ll learn here shortly, they’ve entered not only Godsden, but the Godsdawn.

The most sacred of all places in this realm.

On one of its sides is the Athenaeum we just walked out of. On the other is the horribly designed and most times overcrowded Hailtorium. The building is a split design of the healing villas and the dining hall. A place for healing the body in more ways than one.

Scattered across the land of the Godsdawn, there’s housing for the gods. All tiers of them are found here. Aside from the Beginning Gods who decided they’d ascend even higher.

There’re temples, meadows, grasslands, forests, structures for training depending on your domain, and lastly, my least favorite, the Gods Court .

Its original use was for the gods to congregate under the stars and attempt to communicate with the Valories some millennia ago.

As times changed, guidance and resources from the creator evolved, the Gods Court was turned into training grounds that prepare us to defend our region from our most well-kept secret.

A nasty little secret only the Chancellors and Defenders dare speak out loud about.

The god in charge of training is useless in all aspects, in my opinion. His methods of teaching are counterproductive. He’d have more promising results if his sole focus wasn’t making sure everyone knows he’s—physically—the strongest.

I’ve offered my services. He wasn’t receptive and Creed told me I insulted him.

I didn’t care enough to ask how.

My arm shoots out to stop Kyzen from walking any farther. His and Riven’s lack of awareness is nothing new. I’m not the least bit shocked when Creed stops walking alongside us but Riven continues running his mouth and collides with the passing god I blocked Kyzen from.

The man falls to the ground, dropping the decorations in his hands, and curses Riven as he attempts to scramble to his feet. I study him as he goes on about conceited asshole gods thinking they own this place.

Poor fool should’ve looked who he ran into.

The decorations that were scattered about end up wrapping his body from head to toe as Riven dances around him laughing.

“What the fuck do you think—” His eyes widen dramatically once Riven removes the wrapping from his face and he notices me. He stumbles over his words. “Rising Chancellor, my apologies. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

That title is dreadful.

One I have zero intention of ever pursuing to its full extent.

“The gods, in fact, do own this place and your lack of attention to your surroundings was obvious, but you didn’t run into me.”

“Where should I hang my pretty little decoration? Oh, maybe right on the platform as a gift for the High Chancellor when he comes out.”

Riven continues his taunting while I step around them and continue toward our house. I don’t have the patience to deal with his antics today. The sight of those decorations makes my skin itch.

I’m ready for this day to be over with so I can focus once again on finding out the secrets of the Beginning Gods’ creation .

Kyzen’s voice eventually carries to me as he tells Riven to knock it off and come along. It only takes seconds for them to join my side with amused smirks on their faces.

“I thought the look you gave that poor guy was going to kill him where he stood,” Kyzen says.

“I didn’t give him a look.”

“You absolutely looked at him like he was shit on your shiny shoes.”

I blink in response. Whatever look I may or may not have given him doesn’t matter now.

“This Veiling is really getting to you.”

“Your observation is noted but completely unnecessary.”

“Yeah, okay. I expected the avoidance, but you’re not doing a good job of hiding it. Whatever you read has got that mind of yours whirling.”

Gods, his persistence is frustrating sometimes.

I want to process everything silently.

Out of my three other brothers, Kyzen is the most intuitive and observant. He’s also the most relaxed individual in this entire realm.

It’s baffling.

Thanks to his godly domain, he has far more tolerance and believes that there’s a time for everything. There’s always a smile plastered on his face that speaks of the appreciation he has for what’s happening in front of him.

Not me.

After all these years, the gods still hold our power over our heads. We’ve passed every test. We’ve listened, rather than argued. Mostly.

We’ve proved ourselves beyond a shadow of a doubt and it’s way past time we receive all of what is rightfully ours. This ridiculous, unjust day is just another means for them to show everyone who holds all the power.

There’s no reason to flaunt that other than the emotional satisfaction they get from it. That’s a pointless thing to crave.

Their requirement that nearly all of the Godsdawn be witnesses to their generosity during the Veiling Day celebration is also futile. It’s simply their way of showing off.

If they see fit to release any power to any of us, we could receive it from anywhere.

Alas, they command you to show up for the ceremony and participate. If you don’t, Gladian, the God of Strength—same god I insulted—will come and drag you there kicking and screaming if he has to .

I’ve witnessed it.

My brothers and I even experienced it ourselves last year.

He didn’t dare lay his hands on us, but he did make enough threats to convince us we needed to just suck it up and show up.

That incident is what spurred me on to find a way to get our essences out of the Gods Binding. I couldn’t care less about control until someone attempts to hold it over my head.

They’ve been doing it far too long now and Gladian’s show of strength that day, despite our silent agreement not to compete with him, gave me even more reason to try harder to find a way for our power to be released.

I’ve been solely focusing on the Volreen. Now that I know I can use more than that creation to get our essence out, I need to work on finding those pieces.

Not wasting my time standing around for a celebration.

Another part of this festival is the Pairing, which I don’t put much hope into. The gods would never pair us with a fifth, better known as a Binder, because then they’d have to give us more power.

It makes no logical sense for them to do that.

My continued silence finally irks Kyzen’s nerves, and he groans. That causes Riven to laugh, Creed to grunt, but I don’t bother voicing anything as a shiver races down my spine.

The three of them fall still as the sensation sweeps through them as well. We’re motionless for a breath of a second before turning back around to face the Gods Sanctum.

My stomach twists in knots and I prepare for the unexpected.

Time around us shifts as Kyzen commands it to. We wait for him to see what’s about to happen while we scan every direction. None of the gods rushing around the Assembly seem to be aware of the shift in the air.

“Nothing is about to happen,” Kyzen whispers.

That’s all it takes for Riven to crack.

He slings his head back and an uncontrollable laugh belts out of him. One hand slams against my shoulder while the other holds his stomach. We all look at him like he’s truly gone and lost it now until he wipes away his humorful tears.

“Well, boys, it looks like there’s a little chaos in the air today. Maybe we weren’t so sneaky with our snooping.”

Gods.

One, in particular, that’s been disowned by the many.

Today just got a lot more unpredictable.