CHAPTER 762: A LITTLE MORE TIME

"So, you’re saying all this is because you told a god you’d save his shards?" Luke asked.

His tone was perfectly neutral, a calm surface over what I knew had to be a storm of thoughts. He held himself so still, the quiet more unnerving than any outburst would have been. My fingers curled into my skirt, my tail swishing anxiously.

"I just know it’s important," I whispered, looking at the ground.

He took a deep breath, then another.

"Important to who?" he finally asked.

"Err, me?"

He stared at me, then sighed, deflating a little, and rubbed his horn. "Xiviyah, I believe you. I really do. It’s just..."

"Not enough?" I asked in a small voice.

He nodded, not quite meeting my gaze. "I believe that it’s important to you. But this isn’t something I can take lightly. Losing shards means losing seventh- or even eighth-level demons, demons we’re desperately going to need for the fight ahead."

"But the elves don’t even have a ninth-level mage. Blacksand is the only empire with them left," I said.

"This isn’t about the northern continent. All of this," he made a sweeping motion with his arm, "Everything we’ve done so far was to build our forces for the real fight ahead. The church all but surrendered this land to us. They’ve pulled everything back to the southern continent and are busy fortifying every kingdom and empire. We’ve lost our army there entirely. I’m not even sure if the apostles escaped, yet. Last I heard, the church was performing some sort of ritual to seal the continent off completely."

"They don’t have very many heroes," I said. Just Verity, Ronin, Alex, and...Soltair. And maybe Grace. I don’t know where she is."

"And they may not need them. There are over ten ninth-level beings on the southern continent, all with strong ties to the church. It’ll be an insane challenge to bait them out, trap and weaken them, and kill them through sheer numbers. Every high-level demon makes our odds of success that much higher. Rash’alon said this world was more fortified than any he’d come across. The Gods are playing to win, and if I’m to defeat them, so must I. And that’s why..." he hesitated, his eyes still straying from my pleading gaze. "That’s why I can’t agree to your request. I wish I could do both, but you’re asking for too much."

"Really?" My voice cracked, wavering on the edge of tears.

"Things are already grim as they stand, and we haven’t seen any of the church’s hidden cards yet."

"What if I...what if I were to find a way?" I asked tentatively.

I half expected him to snap at me. He’d let me down as gently as he could, and maybe it really was too much to keep pushing him like this. But I’d promised Fate I would do it, and I meant to. I couldn’t give up yet, or...or what was it all for?

"A way?" Luke looked at me, meeting my gaze. "What way?"

My words had far outpaced my thoughts, so I thought quickly, biting my lip. Even if it came off as desperate, that I was grasping for straws, it was better than breaking down and crying.

"What if I were able to get you to the southern continent? You wouldn’t have to build boats or deal with any kind of barrier, right?"

He rubbed his horn. "I appreciate the effort, but don’t promise things you can’t–"

"But what if I can? The church uses the shards to teleport, right? What if we could figure it out? And if that doesn’t work, I could find a way to contribute more than those demons would have."

"More than you are already?" he asked. "Your horde is comparable to mine now, but in a few months, with the descent in swing, mine will number in the millions. Tens of millions, even."

I gasped. "So many?"

"You didn’t think we’d overwhelm ninth-level beings with a few hundred scions, did you?"

"I, um...no?"

His lips twitched, and my cheeks warmed. His smile grew until he sighed, the tension flowing from his body.

"Arguing with you is impossible, you know that? You’re just too damn naive," he said.

My face fell. "I...I’m sorry."

He chuckled, reaching out and smoothing a lock of hair from my face. A jolt of warmth passed from his finger to my cheek, and I flinched, drawing back and clasping my hands tightly.

"Sorry." His hand darted back. "I couldn’t help myself. But I’ll tell you what: two weeks. I’ll give you two weeks to find something to trade for those shards."

My breath caught, and I looked up, eyes wide. "Really?"

He nodded, his smile lingering. "Really. There are three small kingdoms southwest of Sylvarus with a handful of shards between them. It’ll take us about that long to take those kingdoms. From what I’ve heard, they don’t even have an eighth-level between them."

"But is that...will the others be okay with that?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Probably. It’ll force the horde to backtrack some, but we’re already ahead of our plans. I’ll tell the demons we’re waiting for a few more gates to build our forces before matching against the elves. They are, after all, the last true power on the continent."

"Luke, I...thank you."

A wave of relief washed over me, the tears that had threatened drying in an instant. I broke into a smile, my tail swishing back and forth. I barely noticed until Luke chuckled, and I glanced back, mortified to find the appendage practically wagging. I squeaked, bashfully stilling it, struggling to keep my face from going crimson.

A quiet laugh escaped him. "The most powerful demons in the abyss have nothing on that look right there...It’s utterly unfair."

"I-I’m right here," I stammered, a little swish returning to my tail unnoticed. "And I, um...I won’t disappoint you. I promise."

He smiled and gestured back toward the fire. "Just as I expect from my little star. Now, shall we rejoin the others? Looks like they’re getting ready to eat."

R’lissea patted the ground next to her as we returned. I sat down carefully, smoothing my tail out of the way and sitting with my legs tucked to the side. She leaned forward eagerly.

"Well?"

"We just talked. About the shards," I said carefully.

"Is that right?" She eyed my tail, a grin spreading across her face.

Without looking, I swept it behind me, cheeks turning pink. Or maybe my blush had never faded.

"He said we have to find something to trade for them. I don’t know how, or what, but we have two weeks."

Her grin faded. "Two weeks. That’s a tall order."

I nodded. "But we can do it. We have to."

"And convince two parties it’s worth it," she said.

"Two?"

"Luke, and the elves. Just like Blacksand, we’re going to have to persuade them to surrender," she said.

"Oh. Right." I looked down, then back up again. "I don’t know what I’d do without you. I didn’t even think of that."

"That’s what friends are for."

"You guys hungry?" Edrin asked.

The apostle stood by the fire, slowly grilling what looked like an entire haunch of...something. It sizzled with juices, filling the air with a savory aroma. My stomach rumbled softly, causing R’lissea to giggle.

"Ready when you are," she said.

Constance broke out a wine bottle, which got passed around with the food. When he tried to hand it to me, Elise quickly intercepted it, giving me a wink and stealing it to where she and Evla were talking. At some point, Luke engaged R’lissea on the matter of the spell Requiem. He seemed curious about how we created something like that in the first place, but I quietly disengaged. Even if he showed no ill will, I still felt guilty about hiding it from him.

With everyone else engaged, I found myself sitting quietly, watching the flames. They were bright and hot, reaching almost fifteen feet in the sky. I was tempted to hold out my hands, warming my fingers, but I hesitated. Would that be too childish?

A presence appeared at my side, startling me. It was Jessia, and for once, she wasn’t grinning.

"The shards, hmm?" she asked, giving me a side eye. "A curious test. Which god did you say gave it to you again?"

A shiver ran down my spine and tail. "I...didn’t. You were listening?"

She shrugged. "How could I not? Sneaking off on your own...I was worried he’d try something devious with you."

She grinned, but it seemed forced. I was pretty sure all of her grins were forced, or at least part of a performance, yet this seemed...different.

We sat in silence a little longer, letting the others do the talking. At last, I turned to her.

"Um, Jessia? Why do you think Fyren said the Divine doesn’t have many worlds left?"

"Hmm? Why ask me? Just as the demon himself."

I sighed, rubbing my horn. "He’d just tell me I’m not ready to learn it. That’s all everyone does."

"So why come to me? If you can’t handle it, what makes you think a mortal like me would understand immortal politics?"

I flushed, rubbing my horn. "I...can’t imagine you would let something like that go."

She leaned forward, smiling. Her eyes sparkled, her lips a whisper from mine. My blush darkened as she touched my cheek. She was close, too close. I felt like a mouse in front of a cat.

"You know me too well," she purred. "And maybe I do. But I had to pay a heavy price for that particular secret, and I’ll not part with it lightly. What would you be willing to give for that?"

"A vision?" I offered

Her eyes lit up. "Really?" she coughed, composing herself so quickly I wasn’t sure if I had just imagined it. "I mean, I suppose that would suffice. I’ll find you sometime tomorrow, and we can give it a shot. If I’m satisfied, the secret’s all yours."