Page 82 of Winds of Destiny

“He wasn’t,” I point out. “Clearly. He was just…having fun.”

“He needs to have fun someplace he’s less likely to fall and break every bone in his fucking body!”

Turo’s not wrong, but there’s something incredibly charming about seeing the enthusiasm in Camrael’s face now that he’s secure again. He’s laughing and hugging Dian even as she and her god fly back to the ground.

“—never thought I’d actually be able to do it myself! It’s incredible, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Dian said. “But I suggest you practice with both feet on the ground a bit more before you go leaping into the air again. Otherwise, your lovers might kill you.”

“Husbands,” Camrael corrects cheekily as he slides down from Laigha’s back.

She raises an eyebrow. “Both of them?”

“Soon enough, yes!”

We’ve caught up to them by this point. Turo reaches out, grabs Camrael’s shoulder, and spins him around to face him. His mouth is open for what is probably an epic rant, but it evaporates in the face of Camrael’s sheer glee.

“Did you see that? Wasn’t it incredible? Flying! Iknewthere had to be ways for us to fly, even in stronger winds, but no one has bothered to think about it for twenty years and my father keeps all the most interesting books to himself, because ofcoursehe does, and—mmph.Mmm.”

Turo stops him with a kiss, one that starts hungry and becomes absolutely ravenous after a few seconds. I can’t decide whether I want to look away or dive in myself, so I turn toward Dian instead.

“I take it you’re leaving, then.” I gesture to her perch on her god’s back.

She nods. “It’s been months since I’ve been home. I’ll be surprised if Antasa hasn’t fallen apart in the time I’ve been gone.” Broken and bloodied as she is, she still looks beautiful. Strong, despite her ill-use at the hands of her husband.

“I’m sorry for the help I gave him,” she says, and now even Camrael and Turo have stopped kissing to listen. “Embros would never have gotten so far if I hadn’t aided his progress. He just…” She looks away. “He sold me on stories of majesty and power, and he told me he loved me and would share it all with me. By the time I realized he was lying, it was too late to extricate myself.”

“You did what you could to help me,” Camrael says far more graciously than I could manage. “And you probably saved all of us in the end by killing Embros. I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job ruling Antasa…and Kamor?”

“I’ll appoint a regent for Kamor,” Dian says, immediately understanding that Camrael is asking about her own plans for domination. “I have far too much to do in my city to bother with ruling a second one. And I don’t want them to get the idea that they should adopt Laigha as their god if Shevara is really gone.”

“It will be interesting to see what becomes of them.”

“It will indeed.” Dian glances toward Turo’s god, sitting politely at his feet as if she hadn’t just been a massive black beast with a jaw that could probably bite all the way through a person’s body. “Who knows? Perhaps they’ll create an entirelynewgod in a few years. I wouldn’t have thought it possible before today, but it’s clear that there’s a lot I don’t know about this world.”

“Safe travels,” Turo puts in before either Dian or Camrael can keep chatting.

Dian inclines her head with a faint smile. “And to you.”

Laigha turns and spreads his wings, utterly majestic as he rises into the air, taking his most loyal worshipper with him. They fly south, gradually disappearing in the haze of clouds, and only then do I remember why that was a bad idea.

“Shit.”

Camrael looks at me. “What?”

“She was our best shot at a ride off of this island.”

He shakes his head. “Laigha is too small for all of us to fit on.”

“Some gods change their physical forms based on the necessity they’re faced with,” Turo says. “She might have been able to take us.”

I throw my hands up. “Then why did you encourage her to leave so quickly?”

“Because I have no intention of riding on the back of Dian’s overgrown barn cat,” he replies. “We’ll find another way. There has to be a boat that’s survived somewhere in this wreck.”

“You’re so untrusting,” Camrael teases as he turns and wraps his arms around Turo’s neck. “It’s adorable.”

“You’retootrusting,” Turo retorts, nevertheless looking at Camrael like he’s the moons, the sun, and all the stars wrapped up in a single being.

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