Page 17 of Until the End of Ever (To the Cruel Gods #2)

KLEOS

“ A nd then,” Silver continued as we made our way to the healing ward on the third level of the Hall of Truce. “Lucian started to suck on the bitch’s energy. He said, ‘What, I thought you were a fan of sacrifices?’”

I snorted, wishing I’d seen it. “She deserved it. I can’t believe they were hunting one of their kids.”

Silver nodded darkly. “It’s like what Lucian said, though.

A dragon horde only understand strength.

After they understood he could take their leader, they agreed to bugger off.

We spent most of the rest of the day trying to find Elias.

That kid plays a mean hide-and-seek.” Her face morphed into a big smile.

“In the end, it’s your cookies that got him. ”

“My cookies?”

“Lucian had a big box all packed away, as he does.”

I thought back to the morning, remembering he did bring a box with him to Theke before I got the call. I just didn’t see him making it smaller and taking it. He probably did that while I was quickly getting changed—I wasn’t about to show up to the Guard in my PJs, regardless of how fancy they were.

“Anyway, we knew the kid was close. Gideon whined about being hungry and needing a break. We had rations, you know, but he asked Lucian if he’d packed sandwiches again.

So, Daddy gets the cookies out, and next thing we knew, that kid jumped down from a tree—right above us—and growled something about negotiations.

” Silver tossed her hair again. “Bloody brat ate all the damn cookies.”

“He needed them. I don’t think he’d eaten in days. Did you give him water, too?”

“Yeah. Anyway, post-cookies, Lucian told him the dragons were gone and he could come with us if he wanted. He might have mentioned more cookies. The kid followed him like a mama duck.” She chuckled.

“I was bitching about half of my hair getting singed off, and all of a sudden—barely could react—there were two talons at my throat. I’m no Irwin, but I almost pissed myself.

Then he just cut it off like this, in a bloody flash. I really like it, actually.”

“Talons,” I repeated. “Is he really a dragon, then?”

“Oh, yeah. A wyvern I’d say—two legs, not four. And if he’s anything like the rest of the horde, well—let’s just say there aren’t many places where he could shift without destroying the whole damn building when fully grown.”

Unease clogged my insides. Highvale had one way of handling powerful, scary things, and it wasn’t good for them.

Us. For us .

We tiptoed around the ward until we found Isla first. “I chucked her too hard—she hit her head on a tree,” she whispered as we watched the healer finishing their stasis spell, coating her in blue energy in order to keep her immobile and still while she healed.

They’d noticed the concussion, no doubt.

“Hey, at least she wasn’t burned to bits.”

“But you were,” I countered, marveling. “And it didn’t hurt you. Other than your hair.”

Silver lifted her pendant, dangling on a chain at her neck. “I figured it was probably this.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have much affinity for fire. I can’t protect myself well against an oven burn, let alone dragon breath. That was all you.”

“Oh.” She shrugged indifferently. “Good to know. Maybe I can hang out with Elias some more, then.”

If she spent her time wondering about her various abilities, she’d do nothing else all day.

“Are we hiding from someone?” an unfamiliar, beautiful feminine voice called from behind us, making me jump.

The last thing I needed was to be caught by one of the healers, screamed at, and thrown out.

But when I turned on my heels, what I saw was most definitely not a healer.

Wrapped in a sharp suit, all black, with a mermaid skirt that kissed every single one of her curves, Cassiopea Regis made me think of a dark-haired, sea-green-eyed version of Nicole Kidman, so beautiful it was unfair to every woman in her age range.

I’d never stood close enough to her to hear her speak, of that I was quite certain. No one could ever forget that voice. It sounded like hugs and soft caresses and gentle kisses on the forehead.

“Oh.” I cleared my throat, and suddenly, I was spilling out all my secrets in a low whisper.

“The healers don’t like me here. Or anywhere.

I’m an innate healer, so I can just do what they’ve studied for decades.

They hate that I don’t use their methods and protocols and diagnoses.

They hate that I do it better than they can. But our friend’s hurt.”

“I see,” Cassiopea whispered back. “Would you like me to create a distraction? I’m meant to see the warden about a donation, but I could demand a tour. It should cause enough commotion to give you a moment with your friend.”

I don’t know what I expected. A lecture, perhaps. Certainly not that.

I blinked, trying to picture, well, any parents I knew offering to help so easily.

My father? Absent. My mother? Excuse me while I laughed.

Auntie Hilda absolutely would offer a lecture.

Maybe Uncle Leo might have opted to be of assistance, but I doubted he could come up with a plan as likely to succeed as hers.

“I mean, if you wouldn’t mind? Lady Regis.”

She smiled.

There wasn’t a single feature in common between this woman and Lucian, but when she smiled, I saw she was his mother.

Plus, they were both far too stunning to have a single drop of human blood in their veins. They had no flaw.

“Oh, it’s Cassiopea, dear. Give me three to five minutes—the coast should be clear.”

Silver and I both stared, watching her walk right towards Isla’s room from behind the wall where we stood.

It took less than two minutes before a dozen healers were leaving all their posts in order to accommodate Lady Regis. Cassiopea.

“I wanna be her when I grow up,” Silver started.

“You’d have to be like, a foot taller to be that regal. Sorry, Sil. You’re stuck with cute. I can be Lady Regis.”

“Can you, now?” she smirked knowingly.

Rolling my eyes, I dashed towards Isla’s room.

Handling the slight swelling in her head took less than a minute, and I also healed her ankle—only halfway, ensuring that she wouldn’t need to spend weeks in a cast, hopping around on crutches.

I didn’t want to completely take care of it; the healers would notice.

I’d have to hunt down Isla after she was discharged to help with the rest.

“That was easier than planned. Let’s see how Elias is doing,” Silver suggested.

I was familiar enough with the ward to know the hiding spots—cupboards, nurse stations, rooms marked as empty and the occasional snack trolley. We managed not to get caught by anyone until we finally found the boy in the outpatient ward.

The first thing I noticed was the iron cuff around one of his wrists, tying him to the bed.

Fuck .

Lucian was nowhere to be seen, but there was a healer and two inquisitors in the room.

“I’ll ask again, young lady,” the inquisitor insisted. “What’s your name?”

The boy remained silent, those fiery eyes set on his hands.

What the ever-loving fuck were they playing at? It was just a kid, and he hadn’t done anything unlawful in Highvale. Treating him like a criminal was abject.

But I already knew what happened to people with too much power and no protection.

“Where’s Lucian?” Silver hissed.

“I bet anything they made him leave so they could start this nonsense,” I whispered back.

I grabbed her wrist, dragging her away from the room before she could start shouting in defense of her favorite hairdresser.

“Neither of us have any power here,” I reminded her. “If the council already marked him as dangerous, they have their bloody protocol. We need Lucian to do his ‘I’m Lucian Regis’ thing. I doubt he’s already left.”

Silver sighed, glancing backward, like she would have much preferred a shouting match. “He’s probably with Gideon.”

I nodded. “Let’s double our chances. You go towards the protector level, I’ll go down to the entry hall, in case he’s going home.”

She split up at the next corner, and I took the better-known route, without hiding this time. Speed was more important, and no one was going to tell me off for leaving the healing ward.

There was no sign of Lucian, and like an idiot, I’d left my phone at his house in my rush this morning.

Wishing I had an emergency rune like Gideon, I sighed once I reached the vast entry hall, filled with dozens of people going in and out at five o’clock.

Even in the constant throng of employees returning home and night shift staff walking in, I would have noticed Lucian. I always did.

Damn it. Was it childish to stomp my foot? With some luck, Silver had been more successful.

Just as I was about to give up and make my way back up to the healing ward for another spying session on the awful inquisitors, I spotted a flash of black and sea blue, sharp heels hitting the marble at regular intervals, eyes turning to her in both admiration and fear.

Oh, yeah. This woman was goals. My mother desperately wanted to cause such a reaction, but she fell short of Cassiopea Regis.

Before I could stop myself, I was running.

“Wait! Please, Lady—Cassiopea,” I caught myself just as I reached her, a bit out of breath.

Surprise filled those beautiful eyes, and then she smiled. “Kleos Valesco.”

I blinked. I wasn’t aware she knew my name.

“I hope our trick succeeded?”

“It did—thank you for that. I healed Isla just fine. Well, not her ankle, because it couldn’t have completely healed on its own that fast, so I would have been caught—” What was it about this woman that made me suddenly launch on my bloody life story?

“Never mind that. There’s a problem. I was hoping to catch Lucian, but perhaps you could help. ”

“Oh? You couldn’t contact my son?” She tilted her head, seemingly surprised.

“I—I don’t have my phone. Anyway, there’s a child. A teenager, really. A team brought him—along with Lucian—earlier today. He’s classified as Dangerous, and I think they’re going to mark him, track him, maybe imprison him. He’s, like, fifteen .”

I was wrong.

So, so very wrong.

Cassiopea wasn’t warm. She wasn’t kind. She didn’t hug and kiss everyone. She was the sea, sometimes gentle waves, other times as cold and implacable as the cruelest of gods.

The eyes I’d thought sea green were ice and storm, power crackling in the air around her.

She spoke calmly. It made me wonder why I’d ever feared my mother’s shouts. “Lead the way.”