“There were no stairs to get to the Wind Stone,” Eno reminded him.
Drayce scoffed. “Yeah, but Cael and me got arrested. That’s as bad as stairs.”
“Are you shitting me? That was in Sirelis, right? Caspagir arrested the king?” Adrian demanded.
Caelan groaned softly at the memory. Not one of his finest moments, and it was made all the worse by the fact that Prince Shey had been there when he was released.
“Yeah, but it’s not like they knew they were arresting the King of Erya. They thought they caught some Empire spies,” Drayce explained. “But we climbed stairs to get to the Life Stone. We climbed a fucking mountain and stairs to get to the Death Stone. And we went down stairs to reach the Fire Stone.”
“But there weren’t a lot of stairs for the Fire Stone,” Eno argued.
“And no volcano! The Goddess of Fire deserves a volcano,” Drayce continued.
Caris flicked open her fan as she hummed happily to herself. Such a perfect angel, she murmured.
You can’t have him, Caelan grumbled before he could stop himself. He might like the Goddess of Fire more than the other gods, but that did not mean he wanted her taking an interest in Drayce.
A tap on the top of his head had him jerking and rubbing the spot. Silly man. Only because he’s perfect is he worthy of you. But if you don’t properly appreciate him, I will steal him away.
Not a problem. Besides, don’t you have your hands full already with a certain God of Time?
Caris’s happy hum turned into more of a purr. He could feel her attention drawing away from him as she went in search of her god.
Yes, let them be distracted for a bit. He needed to focus on the dangers that lay ahead.
The air in the stairwell was stale and musty. It seemed to even be growing more damp and thicker as they traveled farther. Everything was silent except for the sound of their footsteps and the constant chatter rising from Drayce.
But Caelan barely noticed it over the crackle of energy from the God of Wisdom as it sparked and pricked at his skin. They’d easily gone more than five flights and should be below the street level of Brightspire. The power from the god was noticeably stronger now, as if they’d walked into a fog bank of his power.
“Whoa…” Drayce suddenly gasped. “Anyone else smell that?”
“What?” Caelan snapped. The tiny pinpricks along his skin were already putting him on edge. He didn’t need surprises from Safa or Lore.
“Books. I swear, I smell books. Like I just stepped into a library,” Drayce answered and drew in a deep breath.
“Yeah, I smell it too,” Adrian agreed, dragging in a deep breath as well. Eno grunted in agreement.
Caelan didn’t smell anything. He turned toward Rayne to see his advisor frowning and shaking his head. Either they needed to go another few steps or they were being naturally protected by Tula.
How worried should I be? Will Lore try to control my friends? Caelan demanded of Tula.
When it comes to Lore, you should always be worried, she replied.
Can you protect them? Caelan asked and inwardly flinched, which only made the goddess chuckle. Yeah, he knew exactly what he was asking. He wanted Tula to safeguard the minds of his friends from Lore, but that likely meant giving her access to their minds. The one thing he’d been trying to protect them from since Zastrad.
Which of us do you think is worse? Tula mocked.
It’s not a matter of worse. It’s a matter of common goals. I don’t know what the God of Wisdom wants. I do know that you want me to defeat Safa and the Goddess of the Hunt. I can only do that with my friends protecting my back. Fuck with them, and you can’t get what you want, Caelan snarled at her. His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides they were shaking. He hated this idea with every fiber of his being, but he’d also seen how Lore had brainwashed so many people of Ilon. He didn’t want that to happen to his companions.
Tula huffed, but there was a hint of amusement to the sound. I’ll behave myself. You’re too close to the end of things, and we can’t afford to have you distracted by these little humans.
What do I do?
Just touch their heads and that will be enough for me to protect them from Lore.
Rayne?
The low laugh was back. No, I have just enough of a claim on him to protect him.