Page 33

Lilia’s eyes, so like her daughter’s, shuttered closed for a moment before opening again, lit with new resolve. “Lore is resourceful. If the piece is there, if she knows to look for it, she’ll find it. And she’ll find a way to get it to the Mount.”

“You have quite a lot of faith in her.”

“She’s the only thing left worthy of faith,” Lilia murmured.

“Even if Lore can do it, that’s only one piece,” Alie said. “How do we get the others there?”

Lilia gave Alie an arch look. “Sounds like you’re cozy with Jax. You should work on getting cozy enough to ask for a boat.”

Alie’s cheeks heated. “We don’t even have the piece yet.”

“Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”

Alexis sighed, standing up again to pace. “Alie, you need to try and speak with Bastian and see if he’s found the location. We can’t plan any further until we know that the pieces are within reach.”

She arched a pale brow. “It’s not quite as simple as inviting him over for tea.”

“Of course not, but neither can you wait around and see if he calls for you.” Alexis gnawed on their thumbnail. “We have to be proactive here.”

“I repeat,” Lilia said, “you can use Jax.”

Alie’s brow climbed higher. “I think you’re overestimating—”

“Your hold on him? I’m not.” Lilia shrugged. “If you didn’t have influence over him, Alienor, he would have locked you in your room long ago, just to make sure you weren’t doing exactly what you’re doing.”

The heat in her cheeks traveled to her hairline. Lilia was righter than she knew. Especially since Jax was aware of her Lereal problem.

“So use that,” Lilia continued. “Tell him you want to set up a dinner with him and Apollius, long after sundown. Alexis will mastermind some sort of crisis that calls Jax away and gives you a moment alone.”

It wasn’t a bad plan, really. There was no reason for Alie to not go along with it. No reason for the idea of using Jax to be so unsettling.

She wouldn’t go so far as to say Jax cared for her, but the beginnings of caring were there. It wasn’t something she wanted to think about. It wasn’t something she wanted to use .

But this was bigger than her wants. So she nodded. “I can do that. Probably tomorrow night, at the earliest. I’ll let you know.”

“Good.” Lilia nodded. “You should be fostering closeness with him however you can. If Apollius decides to do something about you being Lereal’s avatar, it could save your life.”

Alexis’s spine straightened, their eyes narrowing. “Lereal is you ?”

Well, this was just getting better and better. Alie glared at Lilia. “Yes.”

“And Apollius knows,” Lilia said. “Once He decides to take action, having Jax as a shield will be beneficial.”

“Maybe He won’t do anything about it,” Alie said, unable to banish a tiny filament of hope. “Maybe Bastian will kick Him out before He can.”

Lilia’s expression softened, almost pitying. She said nothing.

And that was the end of their meeting. Alie turned to go, leaving Alexis and Lilia in the shadows of Gabe’s old office. She didn’t say goodbye.

“Now, what exactly was this all for, Alie?”

Her shortened name coming from Apollius would always make her cringe. It sounded wrong, for all that His voice was Bastian’s.

Across the table set up in Alie’s sitting room, Apollius lounged with His elbow thrown over the back of His chair, the remains of a flaky pastry scattered on His plate.

The last hour had been full of empty pleasantries, the kind of non-talk that Alie was used to as a Citadel courtier.

But as dinner dwindled into dessert, and as the door to her suite remained closed with no interjection from Alexis, her conversational skills dried up.

Where in every hell was the acting Priest Exalted?

Though it wasn’t like Jax was being obtrusive. He’d barely said two full sentences all evening, instead methodically draining glasses of wine as if they were water. He’d been fielding audience requests for Apollius from courtiers and commoners alike all day, and the strain was clear on his face.

The courtiers had mostly kept to themselves for the first days after the show of godhood, but now they were coming out of their apartments, waiting outside the Sainted King’s chambers. He relented at least once a day, walking among them, soaking up their awe.

The requests for a royal audience had flooded beneath Alie’s door, too, since she was still technically an adviser. She’d shoved them by the fistful into the fireplace, making her sitting room almost unbearably hot.

Thankfully, the fire had died down by now.

Alie smiled and folded her hands in her lap.

She could dither, ask if she needed a reason to treat her King and her future husband to a private dinner, but it wasn’t in her nature.

They’d expect to be here for a purpose, and she’d landed on one that would capture both of their attentions.

“I wanted to talk to you about moving up the wedding.”

Jax’s pale eyes widened, his wineglass halting halfway to his mouth. Apollius’s lips spread in a slow, cold smile.

“Moving it up?” He reached over and clapped Jax on the shoulder. “I didn’t think you’d be so eager.”

She’d thought often of what Lilia said in Gabe’s office yesterday.

How having Jax care for her could be helpful, how she should encourage it.

And she’d come to the same conclusion. Even if it made her uncomfortable, like a fine film of dirt had settled over her skin and sunk so deep she couldn’t wash it off.

Alie cast a fleeting glance at Jax, not having to fake the nerves or the blush rising to her cheeks. “It seems silly to put it off, when it could help bring some stability to the transfer of power. Especially now that You’ve revealed what You are.”

Next to his god, Jax carefully set down his glass. “I don’t want you to feel any pressure,” he hedged. “We don’t have to move too soon—”

“I think it’s a splendid idea,” Apollius interrupted. He crossed His legs carelessly, sitting back in His chair with a self-satisfied grin. “We can have everything ready two weeks from now, I think. Will that work?” He turned a wolfish grin on Jax. “Or is that still too far away?”

Jax looked like he’d swallowed a handful of rocks. His eyes swung from Apollius to Alie, almost beseeching, begging her to tell him this wasn’t a joke. That she really wanted to marry him in two weeks.

Her heart knotted up in her chest.

“That should be fine,” Jax said, his voice slightly strained. “Two weeks is more than enough time.”

“Excellent.” Apollius smiled at Alie, showing all His teeth. “What an auspicious beginning to our Holy Empire.”

At that moment, a knock on the door. Finally.

“Come in,” Alie called, trying not to sound relieved.

Alexis opened the door, their eyes going first to Alie, a quick flash of apology for their tardiness, before looking at Jax. “Your Majesty, a word? Lord Bartolmy has requested that you meet him in the North Sanctuary. Apparently, it is a matter of some urgency.”

Jax turned to look at the acting Priest Exalted with his eyes narrowed. “Can it wait?”

“I wouldn’t advise it, Your Majesty. He is… insistent.”

Some courtiers had been pushier about divine audiences than others. A few of the more pious ones had resorted to standing in the North Sanctuary day in and day out, refusing to move until they had their moment with their god. Bartolmy was one of their number.

With a weary sigh, Jax stood. “I’ll take care of this in short order, hopefully. If not…” He turned and looked at Alie, achingly earnest. “It has been a pleasure, my lady. I look forward to making our future plans.”

“I’ll bet you do,” Apollius said with a grin.

Jax followed Alexis back out the door, the two of them speaking in low tones.

Showtime.

Apollius’s smile grew sharper corners. “Clever,” He said softly.

She refused to show Him fear, though that was the only thing running through her, cold as Lereal’s wind. Alie said nothing, staring at Him, willing her friend forward. Willing her half brother to take control, if only for a moment.

A spasm in Apollius’s fingers, still wrapped around a fork. A flicker of brown in His golden eyes.

“Fuck,” Apollius hissed through His teeth. His hand lifted, the fork falling. His body cramped to the side, expression in flux between fury and fierce determination.

He fell over, nearly out of the chair, the spasm in His fingers traveling through the rest of Him, muscles twitching.

When He sat up, his eyes were dark, with no trace of gold.

Bastian.

Alie’s hands fluttered in her lap, once again fighting back the instinct to run to him and make sure he was all right. But Bastian was strictly business; he knew their time was short.

“The ring,” he said, his voice hoarse. “The one I gave Lore when we got engaged. It’s a map. Or something like a map, anyway.”

She nodded, no time for wondering how a piece of jewelry could be a map. “Where is it?”

He grimaced. “That’s the thing. I don’t—” His mouth pulled to the side, eyes flashing gold before going brown again. “It’s hidden. Somewhere dark; that’s all I know. You’ll have to—”

Bastian’s head wrenched to an alarming angle, every tendon in his throat standing out in sharp relief, his entire body quaking so hard, she thought he might break a bone.

It shook Alie from the staid, cold shell she’d built around herself for this dinner. Apollius wouldn’t kill Bastian, not on purpose—He needed his body. But she couldn’t imagine things would go well for Bastian if he pushed too far.

She jumped up from her chair and rushed to Bastian’s side, putting one hand on his forehead as if she could soothe Apollius out of him like a fever. “Bastian, don’t strain too hard, it’s all right…”

The tremors stopped, one last seize before Bastian’s body went limp. Her heart and stomach changed places in the seconds it took him to breathe again, her pulse hitting so hard she felt it in the back of her tongue.