“How do we find them?” Keisha asked, sounding eager.
“We don’t,” Ceris said. “It has to happen organically. He, or she, has to find us. Just like you found Nadine.”
I stilled. Ceris had said “us,” and then my name in the same reference. She would never put me, a mortal, on the same level as her and her beloveds. I watched her, but she acted normal, as if she hadn’t said anything out of ordinary.
“Oh.” Keisha’s shoulders sagged.
“I know who else we can contact,” Micah said, looking pointedly at Ceris.
She shook her head. “I told you, I don’t think it’s safe.”
“And contacting the other gods or deities would be? They are my kin. I know them.”
His kin? “Who are you talking about?” I asked.
Micah turned to me, his expression business-like. “My Death Lords.”
"Who?”
“Death Lords are—” Morgan started.
“Soon, this bunker will be too small,” Victor muttered, interrupting Morgan.
Micah glared at him. “I bet if I was talking about any other deity, you would give up your own bed. But my Death Lords?”
“Mitrus, it has been thirty years,” Ceris started. “You don’t know how they turned out.”
“We have a chance here,” Micah said, resolute. “Would you rather we didn’t contact them and confronted Imha on our own?”
Victor held his gaze with the same venom. “I should let you confront Imha on your own. You’re the one that started this whole mess!”
Micah punched the table. “I was tricked!”
“That’s bullshit!” Victor stood up. “You knew exactly what you were doing. You killed me because you wanted to.”
“And you killed me, bastard.”
“It was self-defense,” Ceris protested.
“And that excuses him, how?” Micah asked.
“You’re such a hypocrite,” Ceris mumbled.
Micah laughed. “And you’re not? Look at all the shit you have done the past few years. You’re as evil as Imha.”
Ceris turned red. “Don’t you dare compare me to her.”
The same words she had said to me when I compared her to the goddess of chaos. Apparently she really didn’t appreciate it.
“Why not? You killed, you lied, you tricked, you—”
“Mitrus, shut the fuck up!” Victor shouted.
Micah stood, ready to charge Victor or Ceris. Or maybe both. I stood too and rushed to his side, grabbing his arms and holding him back. “Stop! All of you. My goodness, you don’t sound anything like powerful gods right now, jeez!”
Micah stopped pulling against me and looked at my hand around his bicep. Self-conscious, I let go of his arm and stepped back.
Morgan cleared his throat. “I hate to say this, my Lords, but Nadine is right.”
“I understand what you went through, sort of,” I said. “I know it’s hard to get past it, but you have to. Like Victor said before, we’ll only win this war if we stick together, if we stop bickering and hating each other and actually do something.”
With annoyed pouts and frowns, Micah stood by my side, Victor sat down, and Ceris took a few steps back.
“We’re doing something,” Ceris said. “I was looking for allies, and I’ll go after them as soon as we decide which ones we want on our side.”
I frowned hoping she wouldn’t blast me for speaking up. “I don’t think allies are the most important thing right now. If the scepters aren’t found, what is the point of having allies? We need Victor and Micah with their full power during this war.”
“I know,” Ceris said. “But we can’t find the scepters, and I don’t know where else to look for them. I would rather do something useful, like gathering allies, than sit here and wait to find out where the scepters are.”
I nodded. “I agree, but I feel like you’re wasting all your energy on allies. It should be at least fifty-fifty. Look for scepters while trying to contact allies.”
Ceris crossed her arms. “I am the only one who can come and go. I am powerful, but I still can’t be in two places at once.”
“I know. I know. And that’s why I think you should take us with you next time.”
“What?” Victor and Micah said together, the same astonished tone in their voices.
I didn’t let their stances intimidate me, though. “Ceris can drop us somewhere. We can look for the scepters while she goes and tries to contact whoever she wants to, and a few hours later she comes to pick us up.”
“And what if something happens while I am away? What if demons attack you?”
I smiled. “Then we fight.”
I grabbed a one-and-a-half sword from the wall and tested its weight in my hand. When we moved on to train with wooden swords, Keisha gave me a full lecture on them. One-hand swords were used with shields or another one-hand sword. Two-hand swords were long and meant to be used alone, with both hands around the hilt. A one-and-a-half sword had a hilt and blade long enough to be used alone, or with a shield or other sword. I liked these because they weren’t so short I needed another weapon, but they also weren’t too long and heavy for someone of my height and weight.
“Darling, you’re crazy.”
Not in the mood to argue, I kept my back to him and swung the sword. It was on the heavy side, but I needed to get used to it.
“You’re going to ignore me,” Micah said, sounding closer. On purpose I turned around, swinging my sword at chest level. He jumped back. “Whoa there, darling. Don’t damage the goods you love so much.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can you be a little less cocky?”
His smug grin spread over his lip. “Why would I? It’s not like I’m lying.”
Seriously?
I took a step back and focused on testing the sword. In the end, this one was too heavy. I reached for another one, but Micah was faster. He appeared before me with a one-and-a-half sword made with a darker metal that he had taken from the other side of the wall. I would probably have skipped it, but well, he had lived for too many years and probably understood swords.
He extended it to me, and I reached for it. My hand ended up closing over his because he didn’t let go of it.
Attracted by a force stronger than me, my eyes met his. The air in my lungs whooshed out. I could jump into those endless black pools and live there, lost forever.
Then cold bit my palm, and my energy slipped away. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was shaking. Slightly, but he was shaking.
Letting go of the sword, I stepped into him and cupped his cheeks.
The cold bit my skin again, but I welcomed it. My healing kicked in, and the extra energy transferred from me to Micah. With eyes closed, he tilted his head back, relishing in what I believed was a nice sensation.
I didn’t think he noticed when he raised his left arm and clasped my wrist. In the same unconscious manner, he put his right arm, the one holding the sword, around me, pulling me closer.
The energy intake reduced until I knew he was fully healed. I let my free hand fall to my side, but Micah held the other one to his cheek. He straightened, took a deep breath, and with eyes still closed, he leaned into me, resting his forehead to mine.
“Thank you,” he whispered.