Page 129 of Threaded
The woman only smiled, somewhat mischievously, at Mariah. “Who I am is not important. As for how I am here, the soldiers of those idiot Royals have been chasing me around the palace grounds ever since they caught wind of my presence at the ball.” Her violet eyes twinkled. “But I could hardly call myself a Priestess of Callamus, God of the Night Sky and Hidden Things, if I were to have let them capture or find me.”
For the second time in only a few short minutes, Mariah was once again gaping.
Impossible. Everything about this woman being here, in the library, right now, was impossible.
And who thefuckwas Callamus?
“I saw you in the game park. They were about to capture you.”
The woman waved a gloved hand dismissively. “They were never even close. I sent them on a three-day trek into the Attlehon Mountains while I circled back to the palace.”
“But how did you even get into the palace? And why didn’t you tell me who you were at the ball?” So many questions spun through Mariah’s head, she could barely pick which ones to ask, the words simply rolling from her tongue unchecked. The thought she’d had moments before slipped out next, something about the name both unknown and familiar to her at the same time.
“Also … who in the Goddess’s name is Callamus?”
The woman answered her with a knowing smile. “This palace has many hidden and forgotten secrets, Your Majesty. I simply rediscovered what was lost. As for who I am, as I said, it was—and still is—not important.” Her expression then turned serious, something urgent filling her gaze. “I only revealed the identity of the god I serve because that is absolutely crucial to your success. And listen to me, Your Majesty: youmustsucceed.”
Icy fear filled Mariah’s veins. “Must succeed atwhat?”
“At the Solstice. At claiming your throne and your power. All of it.” The woman took a single step closer, her palms upraised. Mariah’s hand was still on her grandfather’s dagger, but she didn’t tighten her grip.
She always trusted her instincts. And at this moment, her instincts were whispering to her totrust, tolisten.
So, she did.
“I read theGinnelevéjournal. As you suggested. I know whose magic I carry. And now that you’re back, I’m assuming there is more you want me to know. So, tell it.”
The woman’s smile was full of white teeth flashing against her dark complexion.
“You are right, Your Majesty, that there is much I want for you to know. However, most of it must be discovered on your own,” she paused, shifting on her feet. “But time is of the essence, so I will offer you what you need to know for the Solstice. That is, after all, the entire reason I have traveled all this way.”
Mariah kept her expression guarded, her thoughts and emotions locked away, as she met the woman’s eyes expectantly. She was aware of Ciana and Delaynie still beside her, shock and confusion radiating from them.
She would fill them in later.
The woman inhaled once, shooting her gaze once around the abandoned library, before returning her violet eyes to Mariah and beginning to speak.
“Much has been forgotten since the time of the First War. When the nations fractured apart and the borders were drawn, so much knowledge was taken and lost by each country. Not just knowledge, but the gods themselves. Here, in Onita, Xara laid claim over three: Qhohena of the Golden Moon; Priam of the Northern Star, Qhohena’s consort; and Qhohena’s sister, Zadione of the Silver Moon. But those are not the only gods of this world; in fact, there are eight.
“The southern jungles of Vatha, and later Idrix, worship Ydros of the Earth. The voyagers who docked in the Kizar Islands claim Krilene of the Seas, whose consort is Ydros. The settlers of the Kreah desert honor Rulene of the Day Sky, and my people, in our dark northern Luexrithian mountains, follow her Consort, Callamus of the Night Sky. And, of course, we cannot forgetFlétrir, the Scourge who calls the pit of Enfara home.
“As time passed, so too did the flow of knowledge between the peoples of our continent. Distrust of those different from us grew, as it does, but for some reason it festered more here in Onita than it did anywhere else. It worsened after Zadione fell from grace, the blame people assigned to her for the deadly losses of the First War making her a figure of hate and evil, a scapegoat for the tragedies of war. If not for the silver moon that still hangs in the sky, I’m sure she would have been forgotten, just as the other gods were. The only vestiges of the gods that persist in Onita now are the number of warriors tied to you, the group of men you call your ‘Armature.’”
Mariah’s eyes widened. “Seven. Not including Scourge, there are seven gods. And the queen has seven members of her Armature.”
The woman nodded to her solemnly.
Mariah looked down at her hands, curling them into fists and then relaxing them as she thought. This was … so much, but she still had that feeling it was the truth. She was far more calm than she would’ve expected, as if she’d always known about the truth of her world and was just now remembering.
She supposed, in a way, a part of herhadalways known. The coils of her magic wriggled slightly in response.
“While that explains who Callamus is, I still don’t understand how this helps me with the Solstice.”
The woman’s lips tipped up in a grin. “Ah, yes. Well, I was just getting to that. As I said, Onita once claimed not one, buttwopatron goddesses. But for so many centuries, only one has been called to by the Queen when invoking the Solstice. So, of course, theallumecaptured has only been half of what is returned to the gods each year.”
Those words washed over Mariah, settled under her skin, soaked into her bones.
“You’re saying that if we want to change the Solstice—to increase theallumeproduced—we’ll need to open the window to Zadione, as well as to Qhohena.”