Page 34 of Until the End of Ever (To the Cruel Gods #2)

LUCIAN

W e’d arrived fairly early, and it was a good two hours of mindless chatter and friendly mingling until the forum began.

Father presided today, and invited anyone with suggestions, grievances, or information to take the floor. I let others go first, knowing my warning would cause too much of a commotion for others to list their own problems afterwards.

Sessona informed us that the number of orphans and runaway kids was too high.

“My place’s full again—some kids are doubling up. You know I like to give them their own space and dignity.”

“What do you need?” Mother called from her box.

“Fosters would be nice, for now, ma’am. We all know you took one kid this week—and there generally are one or two in your home.

If more good families could open up their doors, that’d be helpful.

Some of the older kids also need apprenticeships, part-time jobs, or guarantors so they can rent out spaces of their own. ”

“One of my companies can take on an apprentice or two,” I offered. “Have them post CVs directly to me.”

“And don’t forget that Night Academy is more than happy to open its doors, and its dorms, to your kids, Sessona,” Ronan added.

“I’m looking for an assistant. Nothing complex, just fetching coffees, handling appointments, taking calls, but I promote from within,” Fredrick Briar said. “So it has room for growth. Send me an organized kid, if you have one.”

Another handful of business owners offered to step up.

“Just like that, you guys hand out apprenticeships to kids you haven’t even met?” Kleos whispered to me.

“I mean, they need to be able to do the job. But yes?”

“That’s wild. I know a bunch of people who graduated from college with me last year and haven’t managed to get a job anywhere.” She shook her head. “It’s sad you have so many kids without families. There aren’t even any orphanages in the vale.”

I chuckled dryly. “Oh, Kleos. More of half of the children at Sessona’s house are from the vale.”

She sucked in a breath. “What?”

I shrugged. “As you said. There aren’t orphanages in the vale. Where do you think desperate kids run to ?”

“Fuck,” she swore. “I’m sorry—that’s logical. And awful. Fuck , I hate this world, sometimes. I never even knew. Or wondered.”

I brought my arm around her shoulders, squeezing it. “You know now.”

“I want to help,” she stated, making me smile.

“The dozens of people you healed this week would say you already do.”

“The kids. I want to help the kids,” she specified.

“You can’t save the entire world. Not this week. Let’s make sure you’re safe, first. Then we’ll help the rest of the world.”

“But—” she started.

I opted to kiss her in order to distract her. If she wanted to help my—our—community, I was all for it, but our focus had to stay on her for the moment.

The next petitioner wanted more public toilets, and everyone agreed that was a necessity, so my father announced he’d look into it. I’d give it a week until he’d managed it.

There were only about five speakers bringing matters great and small to the general attention, and we all worked to resolve them as usual.

Halfway through a petition asking for a public athletic pool—as opposed to the leisure pool we already had—Ed waved at me, pointing to the refills he’d already poured, and I levitated the drinks to us.

Ronan, too busy chatting up either Fiona or Rupert Rosenberg, potentially both, didn’t notice his until it was tapping his head.

“Are they really going to create a pool because someone asked for one?” Kleos asked, stunned.

“No, they’ll do it because it’s a good idea.

” I smiled. “There are always spaces we should update, like the Roman baths on Life Avenue. There’s plenty of room, and most of the plumbery should already work.

And some of the baths can likely remain intact; but there’s no point having enough for thousands of people, when barely anyone uses them these days. ”

“Roman baths,” she echoes. “What even is that?”

“A spa of sorts. Warm communal bathing pools, with hammam, sauna, that kind of things. There’s a private one in the manor, if you’d like to give it a try. Cassius still uses it. But it’s very much a thing of the past, so it’ll be a good spot for a pool.”

As the chatter about the pool was dying down, my father asked, “Would anyone else like to be heard?”

I took a step onto the platform cleared in the middle of the atrium for the speaker.

Before I’d managed a word, Abrax Hyperion called, “This better not be an engagement announcement with a fucking Pendros hybrid.”

I knew he was going to push the envelope eventually.

Most founders hated the nobles who’d turned coat, allying themselves with the vale, where they had more power than they used to down in the underside, the Pendroses most of all.

And the new bloods? We showed nothing but contempt towards them.

Their magic was weak, as was their knowledge of the city they inhabited.

I included myself in the lot. I still was indifferent to repelled by most of the valers I knew.

But Kleos, for all her ignorance, was open to learning about the world around her, curious and accepting.

And if the Pendroses were indeed as manipulative, shallow, and vain as her mother, she’d shown little to none of those traits.

But Abrax didn’t know her. He didn’t care to.

That was beside the point: he didn’t have the right to insult any woman I chose to have by my side.

“Well,” I said pleasantly, “I suppose it’s been a while. I challenge you.”

The crowd exploded in cheers. They truly did love a duel, particularly one liable to end with someone carried across the road to the hospital.

I held a hand up to ask for silence, and the applause died. “But before I make that oiled-up ponce bleed, a word: I came to speak because the Guard is currently concealing an ongoing murder investigation showing no signs stopping anytime soon.”

A dead silence followed those words.

“There’s a ritualistic murderer on the loose, likely to strike once a week.

The victims have been both valers and unders, so I would like to propose a temporary safety measure: no one is to move anywhere alone.

Travel in pairs. Ensure you have salt on your person.

Any unidentified spells, throw it, run, and alert the closest dispatch. ”

Murmurs of assent followed my announcement.

“What about the valers?” someone called. “If there’s a murderer, shouldn’t they be warned, too?”

“They have their runners patrolling their side of the city, and it’s the choice of their Guard to keep the matter silenced. If you have any valer friends, pass on the warning. The best way to protect them—and us—is to find the person behind the rituals and stop them. I’m already on it.”

Again, my words were met with nods and yeses, so I redirected my gaze to the stands again, pulling one of the minimized items always in my breast pocket.

“So, Abrax. Are you going to be a coward?” I taunted, smirking as I resized the dark leather mask before placing it on my face. “Or are you prepared to bleed?” I continued, my voice metallic, lower, darker, and amplified.

Traditionally, the masks had one major function: keeping our faces pretty.

Mine doubled as a magical restraint, designed to ensure I never used my lethal ability.

Friendly duels weren’t supposed to end with a fellow founder’s corpse.

The leather at the neck zapped me when I started to unconsciously sap the energy of my opponent.

I was fully capable of beating the dick’s ass without that power.

Abrax, never wise enough to know better, leapt from the balcony of his box onto the platform, his own golden mask in place.

My mother stood in her box, regal as ever. “You know the rules,” she called.

“There are none,” Abrax and I echoed in sync.

“You know the stakes.”

“Our honor!”

“Your forfeit your right to mercy until you yield.”

Abrax and I both bowed to her, first, and then to each other.

Usually, I liked to start on the defense, let the idiots exhaust themselves, and observe their technique for the first minute or so. But he’d insulted Kleos.

I pounced.