Page 172 of Children of Fallen Gods

Filias was watching me carefully. He leaned forward, hazel eyes glinting. “I hope that what you’re telling me means what I think it does, Tisaanah.”

I inclined my chin. “The Arans’ war is over. Now it is our turn.”

Riasha uttered an amazed curse under her breath. A crooked smile spread across Filias’s face as he shook his head.

“I’ll be honest, I doubted you.”

“Always a mistake,” Serel said, giving me a proud smile that I couldn’t bring myself to return. I thought of Vos. He had trusted me, and it had been the biggest mistake of his life. Now he would likely spend the rest of his life locked up in an Aran jail.

Despite all he had done, I still had pulled for him. Pleaded for leniency. It didn’t feel like justice.

“We live a lifetime of disappointments,” I said. “Doubting me was only smart.”

“Apparently not as smart as I thought it was. I was beginning to think the day would never come that we could pay back those Threllian pricks.”

“It won’t be so simple,” Riasha said. “The Threllians were powerful enough to conquer seven nations at the height of their military prowess. Even with the Arans’ army…”

“You’ve seen what she can do.” Filias nodded at me, and a stone fell through my stomach.

What could I do, now? Nothing? Was I anything without Reshaye?

No. There was something else inside of me. I knew it — I could feel it. Reshaye’s presence had left an imprint on Max’s magic, one just as powerful as what I Wielded. Surely it had done the same to mine.

If it didn’t…

There is no “if,”I told myself.There is something, and you will find it.

“Riasha is right,” I said, carefully hiding my trepidation. “I need to do further negotiations with Nura, and work out the logistics. No matter what power we have, in a head-to-head battle with the Threllian military, we will lose. But the Threllians’ greatest weakness is their hubris. Even worse now, after fifteen years of comfort. They may have fine armor, but everything inside has gotten soft.”

“And who knows their inner workings better than we do?” Serel said, and Filias let out a short laugh, as if overwhelmed by what he was hearing.

“Gods below. I never fucking thought we would be saying any of this.”

“Let’s not get too hasty,” Riasha started, but before she could finish, there was a mighty crash as a small figure burst into the room, moving so fast it was little more than a smear.

“Thio!” she exclaimed, though the little boy paid no attention. “You little monster, how many times have I—”

Thio let out a laugh and then, with no hesitation, wriggled onto Max’s lap. He waved to me. “Hello.”

“Hello,” I replied.

“Excuse you,” Max muttered, in Aran, to the child, but seemed fully unbothered as he shifted to hold the boy securely. Easily, as if it were second nature. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged.

“Fiveyounger siblings, Tisaanah,” he said, and I chuckled.

Riasha looked from Max to me apologetically. “I’m sorry, my grandson is a terror.”

“No need to apologize,” I started.

Max waved away Riasha’s apologies. “Is fine. He can stay.”

He said it inThereni.

My eyes went round. Max made a show of looking very casual, though he gave me a sly, too-pleased-with-himself look out of the corner of his eye.

Serel, Riasha, and Filias shot each other confused glances. Filias in particular seemed as if he was frantically trying to recall whether he had said anything offensive.

“When did you learn Thereni?” I hissed, in Aran.

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