Page 38 of Winds of Destiny

Kai

I didn’t think this day could get any worse than a fight to the death over the fate of our gods, but I was wrong. Watching Camrael fall out of the sky is definitely worse. Seeing the pleasure on his face turn to puzzlement, then to fear, makes me wish I’d never opened my damn mouth. I run toward where he’s falling—the least I can do is lessen the impact with my body. Turo is right with me, praying for his god to help, but then—

A golden shape darts past us, stronger and faster than any human.

Laigha and Dian get to Camrael before either of us can, before he falls even half the distance to the ground, and catch him.

I breathe again. My hands are shaking, and a glance at Turo shows me that he’s no better. He’s bent over with his hands on his knees, staring at Camrael like he’s trying to summon him with the power of his glare. His god, tiny once more, is sitting at his feet, calmly licking her paw and washing her ears.

“I’m going to tie him to me,” Turo growls. “Tether him so that he doesn’t let his new power fly off with him. What the fuck was he thinking?”

“He wasn’t,” I point out. “Clearly. He was just…having fun.”

“He needs to have fun someplace he’s less likely to fall and break every bone in his fucking body!”

Turo’s not wrong, but there’s something incredibly charming about seeing the enthusiasm in Camrael’s face now that he’s secure again. He’s laughing and hugging Dian even as she and her god fly back to the ground.

“—never thought I’d actually be able to do it myself! It’s incredible, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Dian said. “But I suggest you practice with both feet on the ground a bit more before you go leaping into the air again. Otherwise, your lovers might kill you.”

“Husbands,” Camrael corrects cheekily as he slides down from Laigha’s back.

She raises an eyebrow. “Both of them?”

“Soon enough, yes!”

We’ve caught up to them by this point. Turo reaches out, grabs Camrael’s shoulder, and spins him around to face him. His mouth is open for what is probably an epic rant, but it evaporates in the face of Camrael’s sheer glee.

“Did you see that? Wasn’t it incredible? Flying! I knew there had to be ways for us to fly, even in stronger winds, but no one has bothered to think about it for twenty years and my father keeps all the most interesting books to himself, because of course he does, and—mmph. Mmm. ”

Turo stops him with a kiss, one that starts hungry and becomes absolutely ravenous after a few seconds. I can’t decide whether I want to look away or dive in myself, so I turn toward Dian instead.

“I take it you’re leaving, then.” I gesture to her perch on her god’s back.

She nods. “It’s been months since I’ve been home. I’ll be surprised if Antasa hasn’t fallen apart in the time I’ve been gone.” Broken and bloodied as she is, she still looks beautiful. Strong, despite her ill-use at the hands of her husband.

“I’m sorry for the help I gave him,” she says, and now even Camrael and Turo have stopped kissing to listen. “Embros would never have gotten so far if I hadn’t aided his progress. He just…” She looks away. “He sold me on stories of majesty and power, and he told me he loved me and would share it all with me. By the time I realized he was lying, it was too late to extricate myself.”

“You did what you could to help me,” Camrael says far more graciously than I could manage. “And you probably saved all of us in the end by killing Embros. I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job ruling Antasa…and Kamor?”

“I’ll appoint a regent for Kamor,” Dian says, immediately understanding that Camrael is asking about her own plans for domination. “I have far too much to do in my city to bother with ruling a second one. And I don’t want them to get the idea that they should adopt Laigha as their god if Shevara is really gone.”

“It will be interesting to see what becomes of them.”

“It will indeed.” Dian glances toward Turo’s god, sitting politely at his feet as if she hadn’t just been a massive black beast with a jaw that could probably bite all the way through a person’s body. “Who knows? Perhaps they’ll create an entirely new god in a few years. I wouldn’t have thought it possible before today, but it’s clear that there’s a lot I don’t know about this world.”

“Safe travels,” Turo puts in before either Dian or Camrael can keep chatting.

Dian inclines her head with a faint smile. “And to you.”

Laigha turns and spreads his wings, utterly majestic as he rises into the air, taking his most loyal worshipper with him. They fly south, gradually disappearing in the haze of clouds, and only then do I remember why that was a bad idea.

“Shit.”

Camrael looks at me. “What?”

“She was our best shot at a ride off of this island.”

He shakes his head. “Laigha is too small for all of us to fit on.”

“Some gods change their physical forms based on the necessity they’re faced with,” Turo says. “She might have been able to take us.”

I throw my hands up. “Then why did you encourage her to leave so quickly?”

“Because I have no intention of riding on the back of Dian’s overgrown barn cat,” he replies. “We’ll find another way. There has to be a boat that’s survived somewhere in this wreck.”

“You’re so untrusting,” Camrael teases as he turns and wraps his arms around Turo’s neck. “It’s adorable.”

“You’re too trusting,” Turo retorts, nevertheless looking at Camrael like he’s the moons, the sun, and all the stars wrapped up in a single being.

“She helped me a lot on the way here.”

“Good for her.”

“You’re so mean!”

Turo jerks his thumb at me. “Kai agrees with me.”

Camrael opens his mouth like he’s going to argue again, then quickly looks at me.

His voice is as clear as a bell in my head.

You do! Why do you agree with him?

I shrug. “It’s a long way from aiding you out of circumstance to aiding you because it’s the right thing to do. Maybe she’ll prove herself a worthy ally someday, but she isn’t yet.”

“You two are so cruel.” Camrael holds out his hand to me, and I go, summoned like a wind to his fingertips. He pulls me into a kiss that goes from tender to blistering in a second, the pain of my wounds evaporating in the face of all the hunger for him I’ve suppressed for far too long. Being with Turo helps me feel more in control of myself, somehow, while being with Camrael makes me want to forget about control entirely.

“You could lose control right now,” Camrael suggests coyly, rubbing up against me even as he draws Turo closer into the mix. “I know you’re thinking about it.”

“That reminds me.” Turo pokes Camrael in the chest. “Why didn’t you say that you could use the pearls to check in with their wearers when you first got them? It would have kept Kai and me from going on a rampage after you were taken.”

Camrael huffs. “You have the worst sense of timing. I’m trying to be seductive right now!”

I loop an arm around his waist. “Actually, I’d like to know the answer to that as well.”

Camrael stares between us before sighing despairingly. “I’m never going to get away with anything after this,” he mutters. “Look, it simply didn’t seem important to tell either of you what was going on. I didn’t think Kai was my actual husband—which I’m still very mad about, by the way,” he adds, with an emphatic glare at me. “And while I had a…a feeling that the other pearl was meant for Turo, I never thought I’d get the chance to give it to him. Since he was being such a bastard.”

His tone softens. “I swear I would have told you both if I’d had any idea what was going to happen. Being able to reach out and connect to you was all that let me keep going.”

Turo looks like he wants to argue about it more, but that’s good enough for me. “Great. Now that that’s out of the way…” I press a quick kiss to Camrael’s forehead, then follow it up with one to Turo’s. Affection seems to be an excellent means of stymieing his urge to chide. “We need to figure out how to get out of Inarime, because I don’t want us to spend another second in this place if we don’t have to.”

Camrael steps back and spreads his arms wide. “But this is the most advanced city on the whole continent!”

Turo frowns. “It’s a wet, rotting relic.”

“It’s full of ancient wisdom!” Camrael shoots back in amused outrage.

“It smells like a pile of dead fish.”

“It’s where we were all reunited! That makes it romantic,” Camrael insists.

“It’s where a god was killed and we almost lost our lives,” I counter. “I’m not against coming back someday, but I’d prefer to sleep on dry ground tonight instead of surrounded by the remnants of this unholy place.” I raise my eyebrows meaningfully at Turo. “Do you think she’d be willing to help us out again?”

“I’m sure she would, but I don’t know if I’ve got the energy to run all the way to dry land right now,” Turo says.

“She who? What are you two talking about?” Camrael demands.

Turo smiles, bending down to pet his little god. “How do you think we got here?” he says. “Rhianan gave us the ability to glide across the surface of the water. Otherwise, we’d have been viper food before we made it ten feet.”

“Rhianan…” Camrael looks at the black cat, then bows low. “Thank you for helping them save me,” he says very formally. “And for putting yourself at risk during the chimera ritual.”

“You’re welcome,” Rhianan purrs, then gets to her feet and starts trotting down the road leading away from the temple. “I saw a boat this way,” she calls behind her. “Much better than running all the way back to Zephyth. Or flying. That can wait until Cam has a chance to practice more.”

“I—!” Camrael watches her go, then looks at Turo with delight. “She’s amazing! I’ve never heard a god speak like that before.”

“It’s my bad influence, I’m sure,” Turo says, looking at Camrael affectionately. Then he reaches out and takes my hand. “And I think she speaks for both Kai and myself when she says that a boat is preferable to flying for now.”

“For now ,” Camrael says, taking my other hand without any hesitation. “I agree with her, but just for now. I’m sure I can figure it out.”

“Without killing yourself.”

Cam gasps. “So little faith! I’ll do it without killing anyone!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Turo says, but he smiles as we head out after Rhianan.

So will I.