average human’s Reviews > The Gods Veiling > Status Update

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Harsh shouting pierces the blackness of my mind and the pain in my chest has me flinging myself up, gasping.
My body goes tumbling off whatever I’ve been laid on and the slippery sheets I try to grip slide through my fingers. My hip and half an ass cheek take the brunt of the fall, and I lay my face against the cold marble as I groan.
I’m just going to close my eyes again and the next time they open, I’ll be back in my bed in Oddian.
That fantasy is crushed the moment a hand touches my back. My lids fly open as I roll myself over and slide across the marble to get as far away from whoever it is that just snuck up on me.
I snatch the sheets that are wrapped around me off and jump to my feet. My hands rise to protect myself as my lungs force me to breathe through the fear.
The slightest bit of relief washes through me when I realize it’s only Yemi until I take in her pale face and her shaking her head.
“What the fuck is going on? Where am I?”
Her head whips so fast toward the door, I can’t help but follow her direction. I map the multiple silhouettes of massive bodies on the other side of the blurry glass as their voices blare through the room.
“Who the hell is that out there, Yemi?”
Her chest heaves in sync with mine as though my panic is influencing her own. She nervously raises her hands with her palms facing out and takes a cautious step toward me.
“May I say something without you flipping out on me?” she whispers when she takes another step closer, only leaving about a foot between us.
“Fucking gods. I won’t flip out on you, Yemi. Tell me what’s happening before I do completely freak out and start rampaging through this region.”
“Well, that’s exactly what I was going to warn you about. Your mouth. I’m not sure what happened in the Gods Veil, but it isn’t good for you. Which means it isn’t good for me either. You’re in a healing villa because you passed out. The High Chancellor didn’t even announce anything about you before the Abandon brothers stormed the platform. They’re pissed and demanding all of you reenter the Veil. I have to go and tell them you’re awake, so please, whatever you do, don’t smart off to any of the gods about to walk in here.”
“Wait, the Abandon who? Who the hell are they? So we still don’t know my Designation, domain, or anything?”
Her eyes widen. “Oh gods, I shouldn’t have called them that to you. Don’t call them that. That’s the name everyone has given them behind their backs. They wouldn’t take kindly to that.”
“Then that’s fucked up that people do that. That’s cruel.”
“You don’t know them. But you will soon. They’re your Valtrue.”
I manically try to snatch her back to me as she turns away to go to the door. She doesn’t have time to reach it before it slams open and hits the wall. As quickly as she was trying to get away from me, she makes it to my side, and we both freeze as the room fills up.
I survey the healing villa rapidly for an escape, but there’s only a singular window on the other side of the room. If I had to judge by the way the sky looks through the glass, we’re too high up for me to climb out of it.
“Move out of my way.”
I immediately recognize that bark.
My ragged breaths swiftly go silent as I straighten my shoulders and curl my fingers at my sides. I meet the High Chancellor’s scowl as he and his obedient followers stop in a straight line across the room in front of me.
Four massive bodies pile in behind them.
All the air in my body gets lodged in my throat as my chest pulls uncomfortably tight. It takes far too much strength to keep my feet planted in place rather than follow the line of that sensation.
Shit…
The gods who walk in and join the line of Chancellors are gorgeous.
There’s no other way to put it.
Two have their lips pressed in flat, serious lines. The other two are wearing something akin to smirks. Since they haven’t opened their mouths and said anything stupid, I can’t spot a single flaw in any of them for now.
Their honey skin, height, and features resemble each other’s. They’re most certainly brothers, but there are distinct differences I pick out immediately.
I settle first on the one on the right, whose smirk seems more threatening than welcoming. There’s wildness surrounding him that makes my stomach do flips. I get lost in the divide of his eyes. In one, the rich burgundy is overwhelming. The promise of either the best or the worst time waits in the depths of that color. The other is the opposite. The icy blue is like floating in the clouds. Peaceful.
Great. Every time I look at those two-colored eyes, I’m going to think about the god who got us all in this situation.
The smirk beside him says something different. There’s a reassurance to it like he’s trying to say, “I mean you no harm.”
Which I don’t trust whatsoever.
I can’t decide if his short, wavy hair is black or midnight blue. The way the light from the window continues to reflect off it seems to make it change from the dead of night to right before daybreak. His dark navy irises have bright white rings around his pupils that I can’t stop staring at. The stress on his forehead smooths out the longer I gawk, and his posture gradually relaxes like he was only tense because he thought I’d attack.
He may be getting ahead of himself.
Maybe it’s from the lack of food since breakfast, but when I move to the next one who has a calculating look about him, my mouth waters. Not because of his attractiveness…not entirely, anyway.
His short layers are swooped back in a perfect flow of melted cocoa. His citrine yellow eyes remind me of the sweet edible crystals that recipe book from the nonmagical realm taught me how to make.
Judging by the seriousness across his face, he’d be delighted to know I’m comparing his features to sugary treats.
The last one is a whole different kind of beast. I can’t decipher if he’s preparing to toss me over his shoulder or stand guard between his brothers and me.
Our gazes lock in a battle of wills. It takes an immeasurable amount of strength for me to stand toe-to-toe with him. None of his features register in my mind. I’m too focused on keeping him from seemingly peering inside of my soul and ripping all my secrets out from under me.
“What did you do in the Gods Veil?”
The malice seeping from the High Chancellor has my attention shifting to him and my fists shake at my sides. I’ve had enough of him today. After what just happened in the creation of his question, I’m in no mood to deal with him.
“None of your business.”
The room falls eerily still and my skin heats with the attention solely on me. The High Chancellor meets my stare and moves closer. His footsteps thunder around the room and my body tenses in warning. A small chuckle floats through the air, and I want more than anything to see who it was that made that slip of a sound.
“You listen to me, you foul, ignorant, peasant girl—”
He’s lost his fucking mind.
“High Chancellor, if I may.” Chancellor Ellian steps forward. He doesn’t necessarily stand between us, but he’s definitely positioned his body at an angle that semi-blocks me. “I believe we should allow her Valtrue to speak with her and we go converse with the gods. If it is their will for us to know what took place in the Veil for young Ms. Godrun, they’ll tell us.”
The High Chancellor shakes where he stands before seeming to remember himself. The change in his mood gives me whiplash. “You are right. Her Valtrue is responsible for her, and they can get down to the bottom of this.”
My teeth grind together as he speaks of me like someone who’s now owned.
He faces the men. “Let it be known that just because she is your Binder, she will not get preferential treatment. She has been nothing more than a nuisance since the Veiling in Oddian and it will not be tolerated. See to it that she gets in line, or I will see to it the gods and the Valories take care of her.”
He commands the other Chancellors to leave. They do so with no hesitation and bow to both him and the men.
All of them—my Valtrue, I fucking guess—dip their heads in understanding.
Something inside of me snaps.
It’s not that I expected them to defend me or anything. They don’t know me, but I would’ve taken them not responding at all over them agreeing to that shit.
Great. I’m stuck with four men who probably love and worship these assholes in power.
Just as the High Chancellor reaches the door himself without even a backward glance, my blood boils over. “Oh, High Chancellor.”
My condescending sound has him sneering at me over his shoulder. I let a vicious smirk cross my face. “Make sure while you’re conversing with the gods about me, you thank them for that extra power you keep syphoning from the Veil. I’m sure they’d appreciate your gratitude and your forward thinking with bringing your concerns about me to them. When I pray tonight, I’ll make sure to ask for forgiveness. For both of us.”
Everyone in the room stiffens. Except for the one with two-colored eyes. His laughter rings throughout the room and the sound makes my chest flutter. I ignore that completely and sit in my smug satisfaction when the High Chancellor startles just a bit.
He doesn’t admit it, but he doesn’t have to. He straightens his shoulders and gathers the bottom of his robe, then hauls ass through the door.
Yeah, run along and stop the other Chancellors from prying into my business.
An incredibly tense and awkward beat of silence passes through the room. I let my eyes roam all over the men standing here staring at me. The longer they look without speaking, the antsier and pissier I grow. Especially when this foreign jerking in my chest keeps getting tauter.
“So—”
“I’m so incredibly pleased with how today is turning out. Well, not so much about getting you, little burden. I could’ve done without that. But all these surprises have been so refreshing.”
It takes me a moment to snap back to reality and understand what just came out of his mouth. He just called me a fucking burden. My sneer is immediate, and I open my mouth, but I’m cut off by the one with candy eyes.
“You can never accuse a god—especially one of his standing—of such things again.”
So much for introductions.
“First of all, you”—I point to the two-toned-eye asshole—“don’t call me a burden. I didn’t ask for this shit either. And you…” My finger swivels to the one with yummy chocolate hair. “I’ll say this once, Candyman. Don’t ever tell me what to do like that again.”
His head tilts to the side. “Why did you call me that?”
“Figure it out on your own.”
He stares through me like he’s struggling to process anything I just said. With a small laugh, the brother with the fake-ass welcoming smirk pats him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you three head back to the house? Allow me to speak with Thayla and her Attendant.”
“Yemi.”

“I’m sorry?” he asks, looking at me like he’s not sure if he got my name wrong or wondering if I’m having a medical emergency.
“You called her my Attendant. Her name is Yemi, and she’ll be addressed as such.”
Three of them glance between themselves. The fourth, well, he’s humming, walking around the room, making me incredibly nervous. I really don’t like the fact he called me a burden. That basically tells me where he stands.
The confusion contorting the others’ features only adds to my own, but I don’t ask. I’ll add it to my list of shit to figure out.
“Yemi it is then. You three head home.”
Candyman doesn’t bother responding. He turns on his heel and leaves like this is all beneath him, anyway. The humming one skips behind him. The last, the one who hasn’t spoken or taken his eyes off me, gives me one long-lasting glance before leaving the room as well.
Yemi goes to shut the door behind him, but the remaining brother holds his hand out to her to stop. “Would you give us a minute?”
“You don’t have to go anywhere.” I shake my head repeatedly at her, but she doesn’t bother picking hers up and looking at me. She just scurries out as she was asked to.
We’re going to work on that.
His power sweeps across the room as soon as the door clicks shut. My mouth dries out completely as my nerves take hold. I both mentally and physically prepare myself for whatever he’s about to say and do.
He takes a step closer to me but keeps enough distance between us that I don’t feel like he’s trying to corner me. I don’t trust the calm demeanor he has going on right now, though.
Plus, what Yemi warned keeps screaming in the back of my mind.
“Are you okay? Hurt or in any pain?”
Words are lost on me, maybe for the first time in my life. The unexpected softness of his question throws my mind even more into a tailspin.
“I’m fine. Is this some sort of bad god, good god thing? Because if so, I really don’t have it in me today to deal with it.”
He slides his hands into his pockets and flashes me a breathtaking smile. “Do you think I’m the good god or the bad?”
My eyes devour his far too relaxed posture. “Bad.”
A huff falls from him as he places his hand on his heart. “You got it all wrong, gorgeous. I’m Kyzen and I’m most certainly the good god. The one you called Candyman is Amick. The mouthy one was Riven. The quiet one was Creed. We’re your Valtrue. I’m sure you’ve already worked that out yourself since the Chancellors blurted it out and you saw your mark, but I just wanted to state the obvious for you.”
“Appreciate that. Could you state the obvious and tell me what’s going on?”
His head hangs as he sighs, but his smile never fades completely. “This is going to take some adjusting for all of us. By your reaction and what you said, it’s clear this isn’t what you wanted or expected, but it’s a little late for any of that to matter. We’ll have to make do from here.”
I observe him. Intensely. I don’t know what to make of him. He shifts back and forth on his feet, apparently waiting me out while also enjoying my silent appraisal.
His body and all his features are calm. His power is still crawling all over me, but nothing around us is actually happening. I have no clue the reaction it would have if I tried something crazy, but it doesn’t feel defensive or harmful.
I release a deep breath and force my shoulders to loosen. “My reaction has everything to do with not knowing what’s going on since I got here. Answers would be nice.”
He nods like he completely understands and is on the same page with me. Ever so slowly, my anger leaks out when he withdraws a rolled parchment from his back pocket. “This is all I’ve got for you at the moment until we’re all together at the house.”
Fuck, of course. A house I’ll now share with not two but four men.
The two of us take a step toward one another. We only get close enough to where I can grab the parchment, then we back up once again. I run the wrinkled ribbon between my fingers, then look up at him. “You’ve all already read it?”
“We didn’t read it, but the High Chancellor took it upon himself to warn us.”
Warn them…
I stare at the cream parchment. Part of me is desperate to unravel it and finally know what the Chancellor was keeping from me. The other part is fearful about what Derivius did.
“Why are there two?” I ask as soon as I give in to my need to know and a small slip of parchment falls from the larger one.
“All the Chancellors collect information on the Chosen before they leave their regions. They truly only move the piece of the Volreen. Then they stay behind, concealed by an illusion, and ask around about the Chosen. The High Chancellor will announce it to all of the Godsdawn at the ceremony. You were spared that embarrassment today when you passed out and we got in the way on the platform.”
My fist accidentally clenches the paper. There’s no telling what whoever he spoke with let slip.
I bite my lip as I debate whether I want to read it or not. Especially in front of him. I don’t want the words to set me off, but I also want to know what picture I’ve been painted in for these men.
I blow out my breath and flip the little parchment around. Better to face it now and be ready rather than have it thrown in my face later.
Thayla Godrun. Thirty years old. Lives at home with her adoptive brother and ex-lover. Never wed under the eyes of the gods.
Stars…give me a break.
Spends her mornings training in one of the four arenas and sometimes spends her afternoons in the library, market, or secluded.
Never been one to foster a relationship with the rest of Oddian and is easy to anger if provoked.
Under the direction of her training group due to an altercation she instigated, she was put through many training trials. For a female, she did exceptionally well. They felt she was close to redeeming herself.
The last words on the parchment drive a knife through my heart. There are many things they could’ve said about me that I’d let roll off my back, maybe even laugh about. But these words make me want to puke, knowing what I somewhat know now.
Orphan. Abandoned by her parents at ten, followed by her appointed guardian at eighteen.
My lids drift shut as I ball the piece of paper in my hand. If it had been a year ago, they would’ve said something along the lines of a little introverted and sarcastic but friendly to everyone. Helps her dear friend Lambrit in the library or the merchants in the markets and the farmers in the fields. Enjoys spending alone time in the meadows or picking wildflowers.
It’s amazing how one event warped the way everyone viewed me and everything I did. I used to help the community any way I could. I just never went out of my way to be incredibly close with anyone outside of Mellcom, Jeremiah, Lambrit, and Laney.
I hate to say I’m thankful, but given where I’m at, I’m relieved they just made it seem like I caused a fight rather than what I truly said and did. There’s no telling how everyone would treat me here if it came out, I hate the beings they’re literally becoming and worship.
I shove the piece of trash in my pocket and shake my head as I focus on the more important parchment.
Now or never.
Thayla Godrun.
Equalized in all Designations.
Worthy of an Attendant. Yemi Andino.
Domain. Untold.
Completed Valtrue.
Riven, Creed, Amick, Kyzen.
The Deliverance shall be honored.
I blow out a breath and reread the parchment multiple times over.
That’s it? Seriously? All the drama, the anticipation, just for it to be written out point blank like these decisions—that now change my entire life—are nothing more than marks on a checklist.
The High Chancellor seemed beyond pissed when he first read my Designation, and the Untold about my domain explains why he came in so hot, asking questions.
There’s more to all of this.
“Here. What a waste of parchment,” I mutter as I roll it up and pass it back to Kyzen. “It doesn’t even have your last name on there.”
“You don’t want to keep it?” he asks, a little baffled, and I scoff.
“No, not at all. So what now? You told them to leave for what exactly? So you could deliver the bad news? Get to know me? I’m sure the High Chancellor filled you all in on the day I’ve had, judging by the shouting that was taking place outside the door when I woke up.”
He stares at me while he hits the parchment against his palm repeatedly. I can’t tell what he’s contemplating.
Finally, he shrugs and puts my Deliverance back in his pocket. “Yes and no. I don’t enjoy confrontation. I’d prefer to deescalate a situation before it gets to that point. So yes, when bad news needs to be delivered, I’m usually the one who has to do it.”
“Great, so the news has been delivered and I’m still in the dark, so where do we go from here?”
Between this entire awful day, the two parchments, and his way too calm and chipper approach to all of this, my body is beginning to heat in pissed off confusion. I want answers, but I also just want to find myself a bedroom to lock away in until the end of time.
“Patience, little goddess. You’re not going to learn the Godsdawn in a day.”
“So I’ve been told and as cute as your pet names for me are, you can call me Thayla.”
“So you think I’m cute?”
My face flames. The white rings around his pupils shine brighter now than they were when I first spotted them and the longer I stare, that strange tugging in my chest returns. Only this time, I notice it’s stretching toward him.
What is—
That’s my damn soul, isn’t it?
You’ve got to be kidding me.
That glaring reminder that they’re more than my Valtrue, they have a fucking piece of me inside of them, smashes through that tinge of bashfulness and sets me all the way off. I try my hardest to pinpoint the spot connecting us, then snatch it toward me.
I gasp so hard, I almost get sick. The pain from my knees slamming into the floor mingles with the agony tearing through me. My fingers curl against the smooth surface, looking for something to clench.
My breath shoves its way out of my mouth as a gut-wrenching scream. It’s ear-splintering.
The sound tapers off as shaky groans fall from my lips while I try to breathe and not cry through the lingering pain.
“What happened?” Yemi’s voice trembles as she kneels in front of me. Her hands rise and lower repeatedly like she wants to help me but isn’t sure.
“I have no clue. Thayla?” His tone is laced with worry.
His hand lands on my shoulder, and I flinch away.
“Don’t touch me.” The bite in my words has Yemi shifting away and him releasing me. I slam my eyes shut to stop the spinning and curse Derivius for everything he’s worth.
Why the hell would trying to take my soul back hurt me and not him?
“Do you need me to call a Healer?”
I sit on my heels and tip my head to the ceiling. “I just want out of this room.”
Out of this damn region.
“Are you sure you can walk? I can carry you,” he offers.
“Yes,” I grit out.

“Yes to carrying you or?”
“Yes to I’m okay. Fuck,” I groan and glare at his gorgeous, concerned face.
“Okay then. We can go home. Any other conversations can be had there.”
I’m not talking for the rest of this damned day. I’m done.
All I can muster up is a single nod, but it turns right into a shake of my head when they both attempt to help me up. I don’t want anyone to touch me right now. My skin is crawling with pins and needles. I’m burning up from both embarrassment and fear.
The reality of the control they may have over me is slapping me in the face. The last thing I want anyone to know is they have power over me through my soul. Well, Yemi doesn’t, but she doesn’t care for me, so I have no clue if she’d tell them.
What if they decide to tug on it and it brings me to my knees? Or worse, what if they can do more damage than that?
What if they use this against me anytime I say or do anything they don’t like?
Fuck no. This will be staying with me.
The three of us are awkwardly silent as we make our way out the door when I get to my unsteady feet. They keep glancing at me like I’m about to fall over and I heat with humiliation.
A small sense of relief washes through me as I spot my bag sitting on the floor. Someone must have delivered it here and the reminder of home brings me a tiny amount of joy.
“I can carry that,” I say as Yemi beats me to picking it up.
“It’s my job,” she states flatly. I go to tell her no, but her stare stops me. “When we get out of here, we have to walk through the Assembly. There are a lot of people still hanging around, so allow me to fulfill my role.”
I arch a questioning brow, but she gives me nothing else. She pulls her shoulders back and takes a step behind me. Kyzen doesn’t comment, but he’s observing the interaction closely enough that I decide not to say anything else. I have to force myself not to rub my chest like I really want to so I don’t draw his attention to it.
At the end of the hall, we approach a marbled wall and my footsteps fall still. In both directions, there’s nothing and I’m utterly confused about what’s going on.
“Just keep going,” Yemi mutters behind me.
“Keep going where? There’s no door.”
Kyzen smirks down at me. “It’s an illusion.”
With that, he keeps going straight through the wall and I stagger back, bumping into Yemi, who lets out an oomph.
“Shit, sorry…I’m not walking through a wall.”
“You are if you want to get out of here. It doesn’t feel like a real wall. It feels like you’re walking through the wind. Instead of a building with too many stairs, the Goddess of Illusion put these walls in place. It creates privacy while also making getting around simpler. You’ll walk right outside.”
“Then you go first.”
Her jaw locks in place. “Can’t do that.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fine.”
I suck up the uncertainty and just do it.
It’s much easier than I thought and very anticlimactic. I thought maybe that same feeling of entering the carriage would wash over me, but instead, I slip right through.
My arm blocks my face from the sun, and I give myself a moment to adjust. It was bright in the healing villa but nothing like being outside. Voices pierce my ears before my sight returns and I blink rapidly to speed up the process. A dark shadow falls in front of me, aiding my eyes the rest of the way.
“The sun and seeing the illusions takes some getting used to, but your stronger sight will kick in here soon.”
The touch of my bag bumping the back of my leg lets me know Yemi’s through. I peer back at her, noticing she didn’t need any time to adjust.
“My stronger sight?”
He just gives me one of those breathtaking smiles again. “Come on, ladies, this way.”
Shit, this is really happening.
I try my hardest not to make eye contact with the many bodies moving around while simultaneously looking everywhere for Lambrit. Luckily, it’s only a few who stare. For the most part, everyone seems wrapped up in the conversation going on. There’s food, drinks, laughter.
A celebration is in full swing.
There’re so many gods. Which I guess, I and the other Chosen are now in that category as well, just beneath them in power.
Hell, I may be beneath all of them. I don’t have the first clue if Derivius released anything for me and I sure don’t feel any different.
Other than missing over half of my soul.
I’m sure as shit not as cheery and excited as everyone else around us.
When Yemi said the Assembly and even the mentions before then, I thought that meant like a large gathering room. I didn’t picture a massive courtyard in the middle of towering buildings. Only one of them I recognize and that’s simply because the back matches the front.
The Gods Sanctum is centered between two other buildings that stretch across this ginormous space. I have no clue what’s in the building we just left other than healing villas and I don’t spend any time looking back to observe it. The third building looks archaic, but that’s all I gather given how fast we’re walking.
Familiar laughter rings out from somewhere close, and my body locks up. It only takes me a second to spot Jeremiah with his head thrown back. I momentarily forgot all about him and wish it would’ve been a permanent thing.
Beside him, with his back turned to me, is Mellcom and across from them are a man and a woman I don’t recognize.
Yemi’s shoulder gently brushes mine as she steps in front of me. Her back practically touches my front, and she moves her hair to obscure her face. She doesn’t utter a word as she keeps walking, but her action catches Kyzen’s attention.
I knew she was paying close attention.
Maybe she does care.
Or maybe she’s just a girl’s girl.
I’ll take either.
“What—”
“Just keep going,” I whisper.
Thankfully, he doesn’t question me any further and soon enough, we’re breaking through the crowd. We hit a stone path that seems to be forgotten right now with the celebration, and relief whooshes out of me.
Yemi takes that as her cue to get behind me again and I don’t bother this time telling her to stand beside me. I’ve got a lot to figure out when it comes to Attendants, and it doesn’t seem like she’ll be open to that discussion at this time.
“The house is down this random path?” I ask.
He murmurs a ‘uh-huh’ before carrying on, “This path leads to a section of the gods’ housings. They’re spread out across this whole side of the Godsdawn.”
Yemi grunts at that, and I catch the longing on her face.
“Your house is over here as well?”
“No, mine was down that path we just passed.”
My feet stop and I turn back. “We can walk you home first so you don’t walk alone.”
“I don’t live there anymore,” she says flatly.
“What? Why?”
“When Attendants are chosen, they move closer to the god who chose them. I haven’t been back home since the Veiling ceremony, but I’d wager her new house is now beside ours.”
There’s a bit of disdain in Kyzen’s tone. I don’t know if it’s directed at me or what he said, but regardless, I stay focused on Yemi.
“Wait. You have to leave your house just because I chose you?”
“Yep.”
My mouth opens and closes as indecision on what to say wars within me. No wonder she comes off like she hates me. I’ve literally uprooted her whole life.
Gods damn it.
“Do you want to go pack your things? I can help you.”
“It’ll already have been done for me.”
“Rose? She’ll be the same?”
“Yeah.”
My face falls. There’s absolutely nothing I can say to make this any better. It would’ve been real nice for the High Chancellor to explain in full detail what this truly meant.
In my mind, I was accepting her because I wouldn’t treat her shitty like I know they all are. Apparently, all I’ve done is take her from a bad situation and put her in a worse one.
I don’t speak for the rest of the walk.
I even keep the shock of seeing the small, cute cottages spread out everywhere to myself. I have about a million questions about them.
I just witnessed four men walk out of one with no care in the world about the size. From the outside, it doesn’t look like there’s any possible way there are four bedrooms in there.
It dawns on me this is what Havar was referring to when he explained the Goddess of Illusion’s power is all over the place. I bet the insides are just like the carriage was. Massive.
At least that means we won’t be cramped together.
Nestled in the back, farthest away from everyone, sits a house built out of black, gray, and white stones. It’s bigger than most we’ve passed so far and my home back in Oddian. There’re no pretty flower beds, nor is there a white door.
This one is charcoal like the color of all the stones mixed.
It’s like a looming warning that my life is about to get a little darker when I step inside.
“Do you mind?” Yemi asks quietly and I follow in the direction she’s nodding in.
Tucked to the side on the right, there’s a home that’s no larger than a loft-sized shed. It’s actually very cute and quaint. The wood that it’s built out of is a reddish-brown and there is, in fact, a flower box underneath the single window. There’s a stone path laid throughout the grass that disappears somewhere behind the other house.
My new house…
“No, of course not…Go ahead,” I say, reaching my hand out for my bag.
She says nothing as she passes it over and practically runs to her door. Her palm lands on the wood and a second later, she moves right through it.
“I guess that’s how we’ll enter in there as well?”
“Yep. Just lay your palm to the door and it’ll grant you entrance.”
He doesn’t wait for me. Either he’s just ignoring the jitters that are running through me or he’s trying to give me a moment of peace.
Not sure which, nor do I care. I use the opportunity while I’m alone to take as many deep breaths as I can.
You don’t have a choice, Thayla.
You have nowhere to run yet and it’s not like you’d know where you were going even if you did.
Fuck, I don’t want to face them.
Exhaling harshly, I straighten myself out. I take the little pep talk—if that’s what I can call it—to heart and just force my feet forward.
The wood is warm from the sun beating down on it. There’re natural grooves underneath the smooth prime and just as I run my finger across them, I fall through.
I quickly catch myself and freeze as the room in front of me shocks me still.
So far, everything I’ve seen has been marble, bright whites, and gold.
Not the living room at the end of the entrance hallway.
I don’t get time to appreciate it all when raised voices reach my ears from around the corner. My feet are moving without any command from me, when I repeatedly hear ‘her.’
I’m obviously the her in question.
“Oh, what the hell, Kyzen, you really did bring her back?” the one I now know is Riven asks.
“Are you serious? What did you expect me to do?”
“Um, leave her at the healing villas. Duh?”
Kyzen pinches the bridge of his nose. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m standing right here, asshole.” I drop my bag with a loud thump and cross my arms over my chest.
“I have two eyes, little burden.”
“Stop calling me that,” I grit out at the same time Amick says, “Clearly.”

I don’t know who he’s being literal with, me or the asshole, but regardless, he earns himself a glare that makes his eyebrows bunch together.
“Figure this shit out,” the last one, who I can confidently assume is Creed, stomps past me without even a sideways glance.
“I’ll be in my room, then I’m going to catalog all the changes,” Amick says as he passes me by as well.
What the fuck is happening right now?
This is going about as good as the rest of the day has.
“You heard him,” Riven says as he pats Kyzen on the shoulder, then walks to the complete opposite side of the room to maneuver around me. My nostrils flare. He’s a grade A dickhead.
A deep sigh flutters through the air, and I whip back to Kyzen. He’s leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. There’s still a little smile on his face, but there’s tension behind it now.
“Sorry about that.”
I scoff and roll my eyes. His apology for his brothers is meaningless, so I focus on the only thing of importance I picked up. “What did Amick mean by cataloging all the changes?”
“The Goddess of Illusion created these homes to be designed with the essence of the beings living in it. The bedrooms are made based directly on the person, while the common areas have a mixture of everyone’s tastes. That hall is new. I assume that’ll lead to your room.” Both of us look to the right, opposite the direction the guys just went. “As is the fireplace. Amick is probably losing his mind about the bookshelves being split.” He chuckles as he looks over my head.
“Those four doors at the back lead to our rooms.”
I follow the direction he’s pointing in and sure enough, there are four doors, perfectly spaced out across the far back sidewall. “Why don’t you go familiarize yourself with your room and I’ll round them up. We don’t go into each other’s spaces without permission, so just come back out when you feel like it.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything before he marches across the room. My mouth falls open to halt him, then I stop myself. He either senses my hesitation or just decides to speak again.
“This…we…none of us know what to do right now, but we all need to talk. Like adults. Just take some time to yourself, then we’re going to try this again. We’ll get the awkwardness out of the way.”
He passes through the fourth door as soon as his palm lies against it. For a weird, uncomfortable second, I stand here and stare at each room.
I grab my bag, tighten my grip on the straps, and on quiet feet, move to the hallway. It isn’t long, but it’s deep enough that it gives me a bit of extra privacy. It’ll also give me a little warning if anyone comes to my door. My desire may be not to like anything about this situation, but I appreciate that.
My palm lands against the door just as Kyzen’s did and I’m ready for it this time when I pass through. Although I still stumble from shock.
The bedroom is larger than any room in any home I’ve ever seen. I can’t decide where I want to look first. I take an unsteady step forward, then tilt my head back and release a deep breath.
Shit.
Even the arched ceilings stretch confusingly high.
This is too much.
I drag my feet toward the huge bed in the center of the room and grip onto one of the four marble posts for balance. It’s just as elaborate as everything else. I run my fingers over the soft, stunning, sage-colored comforter and up the pillar I’m holding on to.
It’s carved in delicate twists and at each end are wooden peaks that remind me of mountains. There’re beams that connect them all in a square with a canopy over top.
The fluffy white covering is just like the clouds I used to stare up at and daydream about grander places.
This has to be as grand as it gets.
As I try to regulate my breathing, familiarity rushes through me.
My bedroom looks just like my dream home but with some tweaks.
The dark green walls, the beautiful fireplace across from my bed with the decorated mantel and all. A smaller, but still full bookshelf, and a massive wall of windows that in the center has a door that leads out somewhere….
It’s all remarkably similar and all basically designed by me.
I drop my bag at my feet and move back to the door. I’ll take time later to familiarize myself with my room like Kyzen said to. Right now, the only thing it does is remind me of what just happened in the Gods Veil.
I need a minute away from that reminder.
I’m going to be pissed if my dream home is forever ruined because of what Deri—he did.
Unsure of the proper way to get out, I first try placing my palm on the wood rather than turn the handle. To my satisfaction, I slip right through.
My silent steps only add to the quietness of the house. The others are obviously still in their bedrooms, so as soon as I exit my hallway, I let my eyes feast on what I was oblivious to when I came in.
The kitchen that I have to pass through to get to my room is dark and moody but comforting even with its enormous layout. I’m not sure how much cooking is actually done in here, but there’re herbs and tea leaves hanging about. A jar of beans sits on the counter and the smell of roasted coffee still lingers in the air.
The scent reminds me of the fields back in Oddian. The bushes that bloomed with the delicate seeds inside could be smelled even in the arenas. Between those and all the other things we grew that could be brewed, there were always delicious aromas on the breeze.
The kitchen seamlessly merges into the living room and my jaw drops as I take in the stunning design.
Dark gray walls add depth and a sense of peace to the space. Their surfaces hold no portraits of gods or statues, but there are gilded frames that hold paintings, and pictures of different sceneries.
The stained-glass windows display the light in a dance of colors and patterns across the dark hardwood floor. A few plants around the room add just enough pop of greenery that goes perfectly with the rug in the center of the room.
Mindlessly, my feet carry me across the space to the back of one of the couches. My nails create little patterns on the leather as my attention is sucked into the fireplace. The black stone is decorated with intricate carvings of wings and there are ancient-looking bookshelves on each side.
Those must be the bookshelves Kyzen thinks Amick’s losing his mind over.
I can hardly believe four men live here.
I snatch my hand from the couch and jump when a shout reaches my ears. My heart thunders in my chest as I scan the room, only to find it still empty. The voices lower, but whispers of their words carry out here.
All four doors are still shut, but I assume they’ve congregated to one.
A little eavesdropping won’t hurt.