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“I am unsure.” Ollo stood next to me, staring up just as I was. “I have never been in the presence of a god, always wondering if they resembled the descriptions made of them.”

“Well, Rem is tall and glows. And doesn’t look human.”

“You’ve seen him?” Ollo turned his head toward me. For some reason, I wasn’t brave enough to look his way.

“He was visiting the Guardian city when I was there with the Guards.”

“Why would he be visiting the city? Those who wish to see him would need to go to his temple.”

I shrugged, facing the statue.

I didn’t know where to begin, how to ask for a god to show themselves. So I closed my eyes, put my hands together and prayed.

“What are you doing?” Maev asked.

I peeked over at her while holding my hands in the air. “I am praying. Why are you laughing at me?”

“Because your hands don’t do the praying. You call out to a god with your heart.”

Ollo patted me on the head. “We have so much to teach you, Saviour.”

I swatted his hand away as a few Guardians approached the dais, standing to the right of us.

“You three must be from South Aspis.” A young man surprised me when he spoke to me. He had a long face with wide green eyes and pointed ears that protruded from the sides of his head.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“I haven’t seen you three in the Guardian City. I just assumed since so many are coming north now. And you two,”—he pointed to the twins—“must be Mount-legs from Korrylt. So many of you guys head to South Aspis for training. Am I wrong?”

His tone was friendly. He was only a young Guardian trying to bond with those he thought were his fellow warriors.

“Why are so many coming north?” Maev asked.

“You haven’t heard?” The young man looked to the other Guardians he travelled with, who were half paying attention and half praying to Ouras. “The Aethars have taken it down. The whole camp burnt to the ground, and survivors have been fleeing north.”

“Burnt?”

His face fell, and he exchanged a sad look with his teammate. “Ya, the Ikhor is taking out the camps, trying to dwindle our numbers so we can’t help the Aspis. Fucking evil doesn’t know how strong we are. We will get him.”

“It’s not a him,” interrupted one of his companions, a girl with two sets of eyes and antennae on her forehead. “The posters all show the Ikhor is a woman.”

“Right. Same difference. Evil is evil.”

Maev stepped towards the young man, but Ollo grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from saying anything. Was she going to stick up for me?

“You said the Aethar were down there.” I played innocent. “Maybe it was them and not the Ikhor.”

“The fire says it all.”

The Guardians waved goodbye, discussing how no one wanted to train at the North camp, so the Guardian City was getting crowded. They lingered around the dais, seating themselves in a vacant alcove.

“Aspissers,” Maev said under her breath.

I watched the Guardians, wondering about the fires and who was starting them. Would Falizha set fire to her camps?

Of course she would. That didn’t mean it wasn’t the Aethar who started the fires.

“What do we do now?” I worried about how I brought the twins here without a real plan. I grabbed my head, massaging my temples. A slow ache was forming.

“It’s a good day for prayers,” came a soft voice to our right. “How may I direct you in the Temple of Ouras? If you do not wish to ask for his blessing, is there something else you seek? Perhaps the library?”

All three of us faced the man to our left—one of the temple monks. He wore long robes that hung from him like vines. His face was long and gaunt, and two stubby horns protruded from his black hair.

The hum of magic grew. This was one of the first children.

“Why do you think we don’t wish to ask his blessing?” I asked.

“Because his likeness sits before you, and you do not kneel.”

“It’s just a statue,” Maev said. “We came to speak to Ouras himself.”

“You think he speaks to any Guardian who appears in his temple?”

Our black clothes had easily fooled the monk, despite what Ollo had thought. His tone wasn’t impolite, but his face suggested he thought we were out of line.

“We aren’t just anyone. This is important,” I explained.

“Everyone comes here for something important, child. What legacy are you? You don’t have the look of any Mountain legacy I have come across.”

Were any monks not condescending? This one was getting on my nerves as much as the Day-monk I met in Bellum.

I stood tall, remembering Ollo’s advice to fake being brave until I believed it myself. But bravery was often one step away from stupidity, and I failed to think ahead before I blurted, “Tell your god he has a visit from the Ikhor.”

In an attempt to show strength, my voice rose, echoing in the chamber. Ikhor, Ikhor, Ikhor.

Maev groaned.

“Smooth,” Ollo commented, and I gave him a dirty look.

The silence that followed the echoing of my announcement was painful.

The monk stepped back, mouth popping open in shock. Screaming tore through the chamber as worshippers and monks fled the room. The one before us backed away with his hands raised. Guardians who had lingered silently on the outskirts raised weapons.

“Way to go, Liv,” Maev said nervously.

I winced, realizing that while I thought it would highlight the importance of my visit, the monks and worshippers weren’t aware I was here to return the magic.

I was evil, and they wanted me dead.

The women at the foot of the statue covered themselves, panicking as they ran between the Guardians who were closing in on us.

Enemies surrounded us, and now everyone knew who we were.

Screw them.

“I am the Ikhor.” I raised my palms, appearing as the Ikhor had in the painting hanging on the temple wall, and it felt good when their looks changed from determination to fear.

For once, the roles were reversed. “I wish to seek an audience with the god Ouras. I have the god’s magic, and I want to return it. ”

No one answered. No one moved.

“They weren’t expecting that.” Ollo stood tall, waiting to see what others would do. “This is getting kind of fun.”

Where did his bravery come from when he didn’t know how to fight?

“Now is not the time to be a thrill seeker, Ol,” Maev said through clenched teeth.

A booming roar echoed through the chamber, and everyone flinched, searching for the source. The ground moved as a great earthquake shook the temple.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

I peered up at the sky visible through the roots, expecting the Aspis to be soaring overhead.

Movement out of the corner of my eye made me jerk away from the dais. The statue on the chair moved, groaning as if having been idle for too long. A low growl like churning stone echoed from the darkness as the figure in shadow bent forward, coming into the light.

Guardians before the statue cried out, clearly not having known it was more than stone.

I stumbled back when Ouras stepped forward, leaving the darkness behind—not because I was before a god, but because I was looking at the face of the Aspis.