Mage Assassin 4 Chapter 3

“Hi,” Cinis said in a clipped tone, and the man’s grin faltered.

Then he turned to me and held out a marble-like hand.

“Feroxis,” he introduced himself.

“Dex Morgan,” I said in an even tone, and I shook his hand.

But the man’s grip was much firmer than I expected, and I kept my face as still as stone when he attempted to crush my fingers out of existence with a pleasant smile.

“Dex this is my father, obviously,” Cinis sighed.

“And God of Irascible Flame,” he added, and he finally relinquished the casual death grip he had on my hand and approached Cinis.

I noticed that his movements held a hint of caution, despite the apparent casualness of his attitude.

As an assassin, I’d gotten incredibly good at reading people, and this sky god seemed human-like in enough ways for me to get an idea of what he was playing at. Or at least, one thing he was playing at. I suspected there were many more. But at the moment, I was sure that he had approached me first as a sort of test to see how his daughter would react to his presence.

He was nervous, and this became even more obvious when he gave his daughter a tense and one-armed embrace.

Cinis remained frozen in place with her arms stiff at her sides, and I narrowed my eyes a bit when Feroxis chuckled uncomfortably.

The idea of this fiery, intimidating god being nervous around anyone seemed ludicrous, but I knew from experience that matters of the heart could be different.

For example, as someone with the ability to be emotionally distant by nature and stone-cold by training, I never would’ve expected myself to be entangled in this affair with a descendent of the gods. Now I was experiencing the slightly nerve-wracking introduction to her father, the God of Irascible Flame.

But nerve-wracking or not, it was worth it.

And besides, I wasn’t just in this for myself at this point. I was in this for Cinis. And I was in this for…

“A baby!” Feroxis marveled in a voice that proved he was actually a bit annoyed about the development. “What a… gift.”

He cast another brief but red-eyed glance in my direction, and fear shot through my veins in spite of myself.

“A gift to most normal beings,” the queen agreed quietly. “But apparently not for you.”

The god seemed to forget the anger he was subtly threatening, and he stepped back with a hurt look on his face.

“Whatever do you mean, child?” he asked lightly.

“I’m not a child!” Cinis snapped at him. “I’m a priestess, and you haven’t even dropped in to say hi for the last… How long has it been? Do you even keep track anymore? Or did you actually forget you had a daughter?”

“So I’ve been a bit distant,” Feroxis admitted with a small shrug. Then he turned and took a step toward me with searing red eyes as he continued speaking casually to Cinis. “And you are a bit of a child, my dear. Think of how young you are compared to me. So much left of your life to live, so much to be accomplished and gained… But here you are, sharing your bed with this world-dweller, a random human who didn’t even have the courtesy to--”

“The name is Dex,” I interrupted in a clear voice. “And I’ve been around for quite a while now. I plan to continue with that for as long as she’ll have me.”

Feroxis took several steps closer with his eyes fixed on mine, like a wolf that had scented its prey. I met his flaming red gaze with a little more calm than I felt, and he stared at me for a long moment as I felt a wave of heat come off him.

I realized with a start that his pale skin was now marbled with dangerous-looking flickers of shifting red and gold that were flaring brighter and brighter the longer he stared at me. It looked like flames were licking at his skin from the inside and trying to find a way out, and the more furious he grew, the brighter they became.

“Dad!” Cinis scoffed as she moved to my side.

The god blinked and gave his head a little shake like she’d broken some sort of trance. Then he seemed to realize he was radiating a blast of heat that actually caused my stark white hair to billow back from my face.

“Oh, pardon me,” he chuckled as he examined the marbled appearance of his arms and hands. “Must have gotten… distracted.”

He waggled his fingers and then shook his hands like they’d fallen asleep and he was trying to snap the feeling back into them. The flames beneath his skin dwindled and died out to leave it looking pale and statuesque again, and he flashed me a devilish smile with his red eyes gleaming.

“Wouldn’t want to accidentally harm the mere human, would I?” he purred.

“Oh, shut it,” Cinis snapped. “This is the life I want, and Dex is who I’ve chosen to be by my side for it, not just in my bed.”

“Well!” Feroxis resumed his previous casual tone like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “I did raise you to do as you please, I suppose.”

Cinis hissed. “You did not raise--”

“From afar,” he amended. “I’ve always looked after you, darling. You know it’s true.”

“Have you?” Cinis crossed her arms. “Where was my hut in this land before I became queen?”

Feroxis’ expression remained a perfectly smooth mask for a long moment.

“Which one?” he finally asked.

“The one I’ve been in for the last century,” Cinis growled.

“It’s that way.” Feroxis pointed in the general direction of the fiery lake, which technically was near the Ember Fields, but he was still pretty off.

Cinis’ wings flared with red, and for a moment, the god actually looked guilty. But it was the kind of guilt I always saw on my nipitar’s face when I walked into the room and she pulled her long, crocodilian snout out of a box of fresh skrewblers she’d gotten into while I was gone.

I turned the laugh that threatened to burst out of me into a slight cough, and Feroxis’ eyes fell on me again. He seemed entirely at ease with me now, and I saw no sign of the rage that had been threatening to spill out of his very flesh just a few moments ago.

So far, his personality seemed to consist mainly of the two polar extremes of Cinis’ moods: vengeful rage or charming and dangerous charisma. Apparently, there was absolutely no warning of when he would switch between the two, but I was sort of used to that, too.

Unfortunately, this brought some pressing issues into mind.

Like what the hell would my own little god descendent be like? What powers would this baby possess? Would they come out of Cinis with wings on its back, or just on fire?

Then I wondered if Feroxis might have answers to these questions, but I couldn’t quite figure out how to pose the questions.

“The child will likely have some fire powers,” the god told me bluntly, and I blinked in utter shock. “But nothing so… showy.”

Feroxis grinned as he waggled his perfectly-shaped eyebrows, and tendrils of fire crept up the sides of his face. Then the jet-black hairs on his head started to crackle with sparks, and they shot off in all directions and bounced to the ground. His eyes gleamed like the hottest fires I’d ever seen while he held my gaze through it all, but after a moment of this, Feroxis winked and extinguished his blaze in the same half-second.

I almost gave a reluctant chuckle, but I quickly bit the inside of my cheek when I glanced over and realized Cinis still looked unamused. I couldn’t say that I blamed her.

“Dad,” she growled.

“I did not burn the human, darling,” Feroxis hummed. “Look at him. All soft and unshiny, just how I found him. But his mind is in an absolute tumult, so I thought I’d… ease his worries.”

“Wait.” I furrowed my brow. “You can read minds?”

“You can breathe?” He flashed an unsettling grin. “Shall we be less dim-witted about all this? My daughter seems to actually admire you, so I’m certain there must be some sort of worth within you.”

I ground my jaw, but damn it if I wasn’t on the verge of chuckling again. This god had the quickest wit and a mountain of charm to smother it all in, and I couldn’t help being impressed.

He did seem eager to make amends, though. That much I could tell by the way his features softened every time he addressed Cinis. He was still standing here, despite how unwelcoming his daughter was being, so I decided to take advantage of this apparent openness to talk about my future child.

As this phrase passed through my head, I felt myself sway a little again, but I covered this up by gesturing toward the nearby benches.

“Shall we sit?” I offered.

“Lets,” Cinis agreed. “And to be clear, my father can only read surface level thoughts as they come to your mind. He cannot dig out every secret you have in your brain or know every little thing you’ve done in your life.”

“Oh, good,” I said with a nervous laugh.

I saw her father’s mouth twist into a rueful little smile before he walked along with us, but then he seated himself casually on the closest hunk of rubble a few feet to the side of my bench. I turned to face him, and he patted the empty hunk of stone next to him while he looked at Cinis.

“Come now, darling,” he crooned. “You know you’ve missed the presence of an elite fire being. Bask in the glow of family.”

Cinis sighed and went to sit on the rubble next to him, but she stayed just out of reach of the fatherly arm he was clearing longing to sling over her shoulder. I rubbed my jaw to discourage the grin that sprang to my lips.

“So,” I said briskly. “A child that’s one-fourth fire deity, and one-fourth… priestess, and half--”

“Feeble, powerless human?” Feroxis suggested with just a hint of annoyance.

“Dex may be human, but he has some magic of his own.” Cinis’ eyes narrowed.

“Magic?” The god looked slightly intrigued now. “Of what sort?”

“Well… ” I began, and then I shifted uncomfortably. I typically made a habit of not discussing my mirroring powers with anyone outside my tiny circle.

“We’re all family here,” Feroxis joked, but then he seemed to actually hear his own words, and his smile curdled a little.

I guessed there was no point in hiding it from him. It wasn’t like he’d run around the city telling all the other mortals.

“I’m a mirror mage,” I explained. “If I touch another human’s skin, then I can essentially take on their appearance.”

“Oho!” Feroxis said, and he sat up a little straighter. “That’s a new one! Don’t tell me humans are suddenly becoming interesting down here.”

“Dad,” Cinis sighed.

“What?” he chuckled. “You know, it even gets a bit boring being around the sky gods these days. One does get sick of having thunderbolts thrown at them. Just no creativity at all… but look at this man! Mirror magic? That is not something I’ve had the pleasure of fighting against.”

He drummed his fingers against his thigh in an almost giddy way, and I had to laugh.

“Yeah, that isn’t quite what the magic is most useful for,” I told him. “It gets me where I need to be, under the noses of anyone who might report me, pretty much through any door in the city. But any actual fighting I do in my line of work is done with decades’ worth of skill and rigorous training behind it.”

“Aaaand we’re back to boring,” Feroxis sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to say these next words, they’re incredibly dull… but… Tell me, Dex! What do you do for a living?”

I chuckled again as the man practically gagged on the small talk, but then Cinis chimed in, and she was finally smiling for the first time since her father arrived.

“He murders people and always gets away with it,” the queen purred.

I waited for the man’s response as a slow, wide smile spread across his face. His pristine teeth practically glittered as a low chuckle slipped from his lips, and suddenly, he actually looked impressed.

“My, my,” Feroxis crooned. “An assassin for a father… The ember certainly doesn’t fall far from the flaming tree, does it?”

“You are not an assassin,” Cinis scoffed. “You just like burning people alive! That doesn’t count! Dex is a professional!”

I smirked when she over pronounced this last word with the utmost sass, but before I could give my two-cents, Cinis carried on belittling her father in my name.

“Dex is calculating and thorough in his work, he chooses every action carefully and carries out his murders with genuine care. When a man dies at his hand, it is done only after meticulous consideration of every detail, and any remains left behind could never be traced back to him. He doesn’t just leave charred trails of bodies all over the world like some careless gods I know! He doesn’t just slaughter innocent beings because he’s bored or wanting to hear some blood-curdling screams today! He’s a legitimate assassin, Dad. An artist! And infinitely more impressive than you when it comes to killing things.”

My eyebrows shot up as Cinis finally went silent, and she haughtily flicked her long hair over her wings as if the discussion was closed.

Feroxis was grinning more than ever now, and he eyed me up and down in a way that made fear shoot through my veins all over again.

“Goodness, you actually love this human, don’t you?” he chuckled. “You unpredictable little fire minx.”

“I do,” Cinis shot back. “So… stop being an ass.”

“Anything for you, darling,” Feroxis said with a bow of his head.

“And Dex has… other powers, too,” the queen added.

“Really?” Her father looked expectantly at me like he was waiting for me to do a trick of some sort. “There’s more?”

“Yes, the powers of the Water Goddesses flow through me,” I said with a nod. “I’m still exploring their uses, but they’ve come in handy in a more ‘fight-worthy’ way lately. I’ve exploded a few beings with them, and I recently fought off a wind goddess with them, but that--”

“Hold.” Feroxis held up a pale hand. “You claim to be in the good graces of the Water Goddesses? The elemental deities of all water in this world? So much so that they have imparted their powers unto you?”

“Sort of,” I confirmed.

“Impossible.” He shook his head.

“Well, I stole the powers,” I clarified. “A witch I know embedded their waters into me, which did lead to a rather messy battle with the goddesses, but when all is said and done, we understand each other better now, and they’ve accepted me as a follower of theirs. They’ve agreed to guide me as I explore what the strength of their powers will translate into from here forward.”

“Ha!” Feroxis’ eyes flashed with intrigue. “I like you much more now.”

“Thanks,” I chuckled.

“But tell me…” Feroxis leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees as he lowered his voice. “What of this wind goddess you mentioned?”

“So…” I said as I realized this man could potentially be useful to me in this issue. “I seem to have angered one of the deities--”

“Who was it?” Feroxis smiled with a bit of glee and rested his chin on his fists. “Was it Saviria? She’s always been terribly touchy… Or Melatephelus? She’s a biiitch, but a fun one, although she’s incredibly disgusted by human interaction so… I’m guessing it’s not her. Let’s just hope it’s not one of the Gilim. It’s not, right?”

“No…” I frowned. “Well, I don’t think so. This is a wind goddess I’m dealing with. A sky god.”

“Aaaah.” Feroxis nodded knowingly. “So none of those, then…”

“She goes by the title ‘Goddess of the Prevailing Winds,’” Cinis added. “Does that name mean anything to you?”

“Nothing.” Her father frowned and shook his head. “There are way too many wind goddesses, though. I’ve known a good deal of them personally, but there are also many that I only vaguely know of… and there are likely some that I have no idea of at all. And knowing wind deities, it wouldn’t be surprising for one to take up some fancy name, even if it’s not their true title. Can you describe her?”

“Well, at first, it was me battling her human underlings,” I sighed. “But now we’ve moved on to her personally trying to kill me. I saw her take a human-like form once as my vision was traveling through the waters of the city, but she wasn’t fully ‘there,’ she was more wispy at the time. Kind of pearl-colored with long, flowing hair, delicate facial features, but unsettling. Then I saw her again outside my window last week, but not all of her. I do remember that her eyes were a yellow-gold color and reminded me of a hawk, though. They were almost… liquid-like, but that could have been because she was partially materialized. Either way, she looked beyond pissed with me.”

Cinis’ father leaned back with a knowing expression on his face, and he actually looked on the verge of being concerned about all this.

“I think you’re dealing with a goddess named Mihany,” he mused, and he stayed lost in thought for a long moment. “I will never forget those eyes of hers, and her face… a bit feral, but absolutely gorgeous.”

“That’s the one,” I said and straightened up.

“It shouldn’t be,” he amended. “She should have been destroyed by now, but I’d know Mihany anywhere. She was riveting to behold.”

“Mihany,” Cinis said quietly, like she was tasting the name on her tongue. “You knew her well?”

“For a little while.” Her father nodded. “I used to call her Miha. She hated it.”

“That seems like an odd thing to hate,” I mumbled.

“She thought it was sweet at first,” he said with a charming grin. “Then she started getting big ideas, and she decided it was juvenile. She wanted to be worshiped and feared. By everyone. So it’s not too surprising for her to dabble with the lesser humans. Her and her two sisters. Called themselves the Wayward Wind Goddesses.”

I shared a look with Cinis. “Did you know them, too?”

“No, I only knew Miha,” he said. “But I knew of the others from their origins. You see, there was once a goddess named Lina. She was one of many… many goddesses I used to, ah… spend time with.”

Cinis made a disgusted face, and he mirrored it back at her before he went on.

“Lina and I used to wreak havoc all over the world, really. Long before Cinis came into being. And before your type of mortals were even in existence. My unbridled fury and her relentless winds played very well together. The fires we swept across this world were a thing of beauty, and we thought everything was a laugh. Or I did, at least. Lina, on the other hand, started taking things very seriously once she got a good taste of the awe and adoration of the world-dwellers. Somehow, their fear flattered her.”

He rolled his eyes to show what he thought of this.

“But how do the Wayward sisters fit into all this?” I asked.

“Well…” Feroxis hesitated. “What you have to understand about these three sisters is that there was a bit of an uproar about them when they came into being. It was whispered that there was too much power concentrated within one sky deity, so she was torn apart and split into three different goddesses. Around the same time, Lina vanished from existence.”

“Lina was the one who became the Wayward Wind Goddesses?” I stared in awe.

“That is our suspicion.” Feroxis nodded. “One of them was obviously Mihany. The others were Meluna, and… Belinay, I think? I just remembered them as Mel and Bel.”

He chuckled and then paused like he was thinking again, and when Cinis motioned for him to hurry up, he gave her a scowl that looked so much like the scowl I sometimes saw on Cinis herself that a snort of laughter burst out of me.

“Sorry,” I muttered as they both turned to me with identical facial expressions. “Continue.”

“Anyways,” Feroxis chuckled. “There was always something wrong with Miha. Just… a feeling like something was off. I kept an eye on her for a while once I suspected she was a part of Lina. Without her mother, of sorts, around, she really needed someone to keep an eye on her. And she was always chasing something, but once she got it, it still seemed like she was wanting something more. I think when she found out about the existence of her sisters, it just took over her. That was what she thought she was missing all that time, maybe.”

“Wow,” I murmured as I tried to take this all in. “But… you didn’t think so?”

“I’m still not sure,” he admitted. “Wind goddesses are hard to know. They’re just… intangible. Wild in a different way than Cinis or I. Fire beings are intimidating, yes, but we, and even me as a sky god, can be more human-like than we’d like to admit. We can often understand each other. Our impulses, our desires, our needs. When we burn, there is always a purpose to it, and a reason why we lash out. But wind goddesses are a whole different type of wild. Miha was just completely foreign to me at times. That girl could never be calmed, and it was as if it never even occurred to her that she might be able to sit still for a moment. She’d much rather scatter herself across the world over and over again.”

Cinis looked like she couldn’t help but be a little impressed with the wind goddess she loathed so much. “So, did she manage to rejoin her sisters?”

“Last I knew of her, she was trying to,” Feroxis sighed. “But she was clearly willing to go to drastic lengths to do it, and she didn’t want to stop there. She had a whole plan. World domination… Yada yada… It was a bit much for me, you know.”

“I doubt that,” Cinis muttered.

“A whole world is a lot of work, darling.” He grinned lazily at his daughter. “Since when have I sought responsibility like that?”

Cinis fought against a smirk but failed miserably, and her father turned back to me to continue.

“I had to cut ties with her,” he continued. “But it was lucky I did, because the true elemental deity of the wind stepped in and ended all three of them. I may be a bit wild myself, but I didn’t have a death wish.”

“Understandable.” I nodded and then steepled my fingers. “But as we now know, this goddess, Mihany, was not fully destroyed. So maybe her sisters weren’t either.”

“Perhaps not,” he agreed. “The question is how that is possible.”

“Dex knows,” Cinis said with obvious smugness.

“Yes, the Water Goddesses filled me in a little,” I agreed. “Apparently, some mortals of our world tried to preserve some part of the Wayward Wind Goddesses in order to help them rise again one day. But the Water Goddesses said there had been no talk of this actually occurring since then.”

“Those little brats.” Feroxis smirked. “Leave it to the Water Goddesses to keep all the best secrets for themselves. If I’d heard of this, I would have found these scraps of Mihany ages ago, and--”

The man bit his tongue when he realized Cinis was glaring at him, and then he offered her another charming smile.

“And I… would have left all the scraps right where they were!” he lied through his teeth. “Such a shame she’s up and about again. So dangerous.”

“It is dangerous!” Cinis snapped. “She’s after Dex! My Dex! And anyway, why are you following this Mihany anywhere? It’s not like she’s a daughter of yours!”

“Because she’s Lina’s daughter,” he said defensively. “She was a young and very unruly goddess, she needed someone fatherly to look after her. It’s just her bad luck that her form of creation left her without a parent in sight, I wanted to keep an eye on her.”

“You don’t even keep an eye on me,” Cinis growled. “And I’m your actual daughter!”

“And it appears that’s a good thing,” Feroxis chuckled. “Look how Miha turned out! You’re doing much better than her. But I am sorry she’s after your beau, darling. He might live, though! Perk up!”

“She hasn’t blown over my entire estate yet,” I agreed. “But what if she’s trying to get her sisters together all over again? I don’t know how likely that is to happen, but--”

“Incredibly likely, of course.” Feroxis shrugged. “This is Miha, we’re talking about. Restless, roaming, and entirely obsessive Miha. If she has arisen, she will stop at nothing to regain her power, and after tasting the might of her sisters combined… she’ll be even more determined than before. But I have to ask, why does she care at all about you? You’re a human.”

“I assassinated her assassins,” I said, and he frowned more deeply than I’d seen him frown yet. “They were after the King of Ocadia, but I have no idea why. I only know that they were her puppets from the southern kingdom, I’ve snuffed them out, and now she’s royally pissed at me about it.”

“Hmm…” Feroxis tapped his chiseled chin. “Miha, Miha, Miha… what in the name of the gods are you dabbling in now?”

“I think the more important question is how do I destroy her before she gets her sisters in on any of this,” I pointed out.

Now Feroxis looked impressed. “You’re not going to flee from her?”

“No, of course not,” I snorted. “I just need to figure out her weakness. She’s a sky deity, so she’s not invulnerable, right? So how do I destroy her?”

I had a feeling that Cinis’ father could be a big help if he was inclined to, and luckily, this seemed to be the case at the moment.

“I may have some knowledge that can definitely be of use to you,” he announced. “But you world-dwellers aren’t supposed to know about it, even the magical ones. Are you prepared to keep this secret?”

I nodded my agreement. “I have a lot of experience with keeping secrets.”

“Cinis?” Feroxis glanced at his daughter. “Can I trust you?”

“Me?” Cinis’ wings flared with flames. “Can you trust me? The very fact that you have the gall to ask me about trust--”

“That is a yes,” Feroxis muttered and turned back to me. “Now, it is true that sky deities are not invulnerable. Don’t get any ideas, though. I would absolutely destroy you, young man.”

“I’m… not planning to kill you,” I said. “I would actually love to have zero involvment with deities, but somehow I just keep getting mixed up with them and nearly dying.”

“Yes, we’re fun like that.” Feroxis flashed me a scary grin. “That being said, killing us is more complicated than killing a man, one might say.”

“More complicated, how?” Cinis asked.

“With world-dwellers, if you want them dead, well, you just kill them,” Feroxis said. “Isn’t that right, Dex? Destroy their body, and that’s it. They’re gone. But sky deities have something more within them. We call it the shadow self, and it’s basically another version of our spirit that exists in sort of another plane of this realm. It’s complicated. But essentially, if you kill a sky deity, their shadow self will just be roaming around, lost in a version of reality that is very close to ours. Think of it as a world that’s vastly unrecognizable, yet only separated from us by a hair’s width.”

“Okay.” I raised my eyebrows. “That sounds like something a necromancer would say.”

“Precisely.” Feroxis smiled again. “That’s because this vastly unrecognizable world I speak of is a place that can theoretically be slipped into or out of. Similar to how your necromancers summon other dead beings from the land of the dead, but the process with sky deities is much more complicated and involves this very mysterious and often lethal barrier. To dabble successfully with that barrier requires quite a lot of gumption and knowledge.”

“So, it might be necromancers, or someone like them, who managed to bring this goddess back,” I realized.

“I would say it’s almost certainly your very necromancers who have done all this, yes.” Feroxis nodded like it was too obvious. “In fact, if I were a certain well-trained assassin who is oh so very thorough in his work, I might decide to visit some necromancers of high esteem in this particular case. Just a suggestion.”

He sent Cinis a winning smile that didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that he was sucking up right now. Cinis just rolled her eyes and looked away, but I nodded my understanding.

“Yeah, if their kind somehow managed to help these goddesses survive being destroyed by their elemental deity… they could definitely be helpful here,” I reasoned.

“Indeed,” Feroxis agreed. Then he took a deep breath and rubbed jaw as he thought for a moment. “You know, when I heard what was happening to Miha and her sisters, I came down here. It happened down here on the surface world, you know, but in the south. It had been quite some time since I’d even seen her, but I wanted to maybe… pay my respects.”

He looked away like he was ashamed of showing this emotion, and Cinis actually managed to stop glaring at him for a moment.

“But I think they were just… finishing,” Feroxis continued. “I saw the wind deities gathered there, along with their almighty elemental god. Quite a turn out for that one. The whole lot of them were rounding up these three sort of ghostly, horrifying, smoky shadows that were just… screaming and screaming. It was awful, really. And one of them had Mihany’s eyes. Those golden eyes you spoke of. They were glowing.”

The way he bit his lip in sadness reminded me so strongly of Cinis for a moment that it made me sad, and I wished there was something I could say to comfort the man. But then he went back to his previous self in the blink of an eye.

“So that was that,” he said in a crisp voice. “Or at least, I thought it was. You see the shadow self of your loved ones, and you assume they’re moments from utter destruction. I suppose I’m not as smart as I like to think I am.”

As I thought over his words, a strange feeling of familiarity was creeping over me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was that this conversation reminded me of.

Then it struck me like a thunderbolt as I realized where I’d seen ghostly shadows just like this before.

“Shit!” I gasped. “Elis…”

“Who?” Feroxis turned to me with a blank expression.

“Uh… no one,” I said, but I shared a quick, significant look with Cinis.

Those shadows her father spoke of sounded eerily like the spirits Elis was capable of conjuring. I’d seen them for myself, and even I had been terrified of their ghostly images. But I hadn’t known much about them. There were no other conjurers within my estate, and even my former Master didn’t know exactly what to make of them.

I couldn’t help wondering if some of those spirits could be these shadow selves of the sky gods, though. What if Elis was actually capable of summoning these very spirits from the unrecognizable void Feroxis mentioned?

What if they could reenter this world permanently through him?

“One thing at a time,” Cinis breathed, and I realized she knew precisely where my mind was at.

“True,” I agreed. “So I need to figure out how to destroy this goddess’ shadow self. That’s the only way I’ll be able to banish her entirely from existence.”

“Correct.” Feroxis nodded.

“But that means arranging a meeting with some of the necromancers,” I realized.

“That sounds fun.” The god flashed another wicked smile.

“Which I don’t want anyone doing on my behalf…” I chewed my lip. “But I also have to go see the king today.”

“The king?” Feroxis asked. “That sounds odd for a man who just murders people for a living. What do you have to see him for?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on his security ever since this goddess showed up,” I replied.

He stared at me with his mouth slightly ajar, like he either didn’t know what I meant or didn’t entirely believe me.

“So… you not only kill things, but… protect things as well,” he mused, and I could almost see the gears failing to turn in his mind. “You just… do both ends of the spectrum?”

“Yes, because he’s a highly respectable Master Assassin,” Cinis hotly cut in. “He’s the sort of man a person can put their utmost faith and trust in, Dad. Why do you think I’m having a child with him?”

I couldn’t help smiling at this speech, and when Cinis looked at me, she suddenly blushed all over. A cute smile sprang to her pouty lips, and I was once again floored that she was in fact having my child. Both of us were going to be parents, and as crazy as that seemed, what with her handsome god of a father crash landing for a visit, the idea filled me with pride.

Cinis was an unbelievably complex and irresistible woman, and she loved me just as much as I did her. It was almost unfathomable how lucky I was.

“Ughhh,” Feroxis suddenly groaned. Then he tore his hands through his hair and sent flames flying through the strands before he glared at me. “I get it, alright! You’re stunningly superior in my daughter’s eyes. You don’t have to rub it in by making her all smiley like that.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I chuckled, and Cinis smiled even wider.

“You do plenty just by existing, Dex,” the queen purred, but when her eyes became a little dewy, I realized I did sort of owe her an apology.

“Sorry for earlier,” I said gently. “I should have told you about the goddess following me sooner, I just… I hate worrying you, and you’ve had so much to keep track of since becoming Queen of the Ardere.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “I’m sorry for lashing out and attacking you. I was upset, and I get a bit fiery when I’m upset.”

“Yes, I know,” I chuckled. “But I won, so…”

Cinis instantly glared at me, and I was about to laugh when I realized her father was glaring at me just as much.

“Well, I should be going,” Feroxis suddenly announced.

“So soon?” Cinis asked like this didn’t shock her in the slightest.

“Fraid so,” he replied. “It was really lovely to see you, darling, but if I stay here, I’m only going to get into some sort of trouble. You know that.”

“It’s okay, I get it,” she said with a shrug that seemed extremely hostile. “You don’t want to get involved.”

“Involved?” Her father looked taken aback. Then he puffed up a little. “In what? I congratulated you on the little spawn you created, what more--”

“I meant in the Mihany situation,” Cinis sighed.

This time, her dad didn’t make a smart response. He drummed his fingers on his thigh until little blue flames started to rain down from them, and then he narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

“You think I’m afraid, don’t you?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think you care enough to be afraid,” she said bluntly. “You just don’t want to help. You don’t want to put in any effort to assist anyone but yourself.”

“Now, hold on.” Feroxis seemed to be fighting against a grin. “I never said I wouldn’t help. You, on the other hand, have not dained to ask for my help.”

Cinis’ eyes flared red in an instant as her gaze snapped to her father’s face.

I tried to discreetly inch away from them. The heat billowing from the Ember Priestess proved that Feroxis had struck a chord, and I honestly didn’t want to know what a genuine fight between the two would look like.

But Feroxis only smiled when Cinis’ wings began to smoke.

“Always so stubborn,” he muttered. “But my darling, as distant as I may be, I do keep an ear out for you. I always have. And you have never, not once, called to me for anything. Now… is this you asking for my help at last?”

His taunting tone made Cinis’ bat-like wings turn a terrifying shade of red, and she continued smoldering in silence for a long, tense moment.

Which I found interesting.

Cinis was always quick to jump into heated arguments with me, and it was one of the funnest things about her. I loved that we could genuinely fight when we were both worked up enough, and yet we still loved each other in the end. But now, despite how furious she clearly was with her father, she wouldn’t say a damn word.

So I figured he was in the right here, at least a little bit.

Cinis may have been angry at him for never coming to see her, but if she really never invited him down in all these years, well… They were just as stubborn as each other.

“Still waiting,” Feroxis hummed, and Cinis let out a smoky hiss as she looked away.

“Don’t make me say it,” she growled.

“I’m a simple god, my darling,” her father sighed. “I must hear clear words in order to know what in the world I’m supposed to be doing.”

“Fine,” Cinis said through gritted teeth. “Dad…”

“Yes?” Feroxis smiled condescendingly at his smoldering daughter.

Then the queen narrowed her eyes, and a devious smirk curled on her lips.

“Dad,” she started again. “I know you’re an unstoppable catalyst of chaos, so I won’t ask you to manage anything too difficult. But is there anything you’re capable of doing to investigate these Wayward sisters without causing even more trouble for Dex? It would be helpful if he knew for sure that they’re not all reunited already, or whether or not some faraway necromancers have succeeded in bringing them back from their shadow selves. Is that a level of responsibility you could handle?”

“Hmm …” Feroxis’ smile was long gone, and he nodded slowly. “I suppose I preferred it when you simply gave me the silent treatment, but… Yes. I can do some looking around for you and your beloved. Like I told you, there are many wind goddesses, and they’re widely scattered both by nature and by choice. But I will look as hard as I can, I promise you that.”

“Thank you,” she curtly replied, but she sounded genuine about it.

Her dad seemed to notice this, too, because he raised his arms like he was offering a hug. Cinis didn’t reciprocate, but she allowed him to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder instead, like she was a cat who might bite him.

“It’s good to see you, my darling,” he said with a smile. “You’ve really grown into a terrifying Ember Priestess.”

“And queen,” Cinis added as she smiled back.

“Yes, that, too,” Feroxis chuckled. “By the way, we all heard about Ignis up there. It’s been the talk of the Fire Realm for ages now. Certainly gave me plenty to brag about, I must say.”

“Well, Dex is the one who killed him for me,” Cinis informed her dad.

This seemed to annoy her dad all over again, but he offered me a begrudging nod.

“How gallant,” he muttered. “Anyway! I really must be going!”

I couldn’t help flinching when he suddenly stood up and came toward me, and I jumped to my feet to find him smiling that same intimidating grin again. Then he extended his hand to me.

“Thank you for taking good care of my daughter,” he said, and he only marginally tried to crush my fingers when I shook his hand.

“It’s been my pleasure,” I said with a nod, but then his eyes flashed red, and I cleared my throat.

“Dad, let go,” Cinis sighed, and my hand was suddenly released from its crushing cage.

“I will be back,” Feroxis announced in an ominous tone. Then he leaped up onto the tall ridge of the crater he’d created when he landed, and he ran a hand through his hair to make it flame a bit. “Oh, and Dex?”

“Yes?” I asked warily.

“Be careful,” he said in earnest. “Wind goddesses are mad, but Mihany is a different breed entirely. Watch out for birds.”

He gave me a brisk nod and didn’t wait for any sort of response before he leaped inside the crater.

Then Cinis immediately snatched up my hand and dragged me away from the scene, and I joined her in running toward the cave mouth. Two seconds later, a ground-shaking boom cracked through the air, and her father hurtled into the sky in a massive ball of flame.

It whistled off into the emptiness and left behind a trail of smoke and a hail of cobblestones that crashed down around us again, and I turned to find Cinis smiling the tiniest bit as she cupped her hand over her belly.