Page 27 of Courting War
I die at night but resurrect in the morning.
What am I?
Well fuck. Kellyn was screwed. He had no help, minimal reading skills, and no idea how to solve the riddle.
Chapter Ten
THEODRA
Extremely Enraged Ex-God
ROUGELAND SUITE, CITY OF THE GODS
“What are you doing here?” Cecile asked, releasing Theo’s arm after pulling her into the Love Champion’s rooms.
Cecile showed no fear in the presence of Theo. She was forged from steel, bowing to no one, and taking no prisoners. Theo had spent the last eleven years shaping her Godmarked into the representation of War, and the girl was more than perfect. Smart, strong, and willing to fight for what she wanted. Gone was the timid little girl, and in her place was a true warrior.
Theo greatly respected her. She respected any human who could hold their ground against her—any human with a backbone.
“What are you doing here?” Theo raised a raven-haired brow, the corner of her lips pulling up into a smirk. “Oh right, you’re here because my sister has a sick sense of humor.” Theo didn’t know if Andromache had forced Cecile into the games because she was Theo’s servant or for other nefarious purposes. But Andromache always had a reason.
The response flustered Cecile a bit. She stepped back but didn’t have time to formulate a response because the bird tattoo on Theo’s wrist squawked and wagged its tail feathers—a sign of happiness. Theo’s gaze momentarily landed on the creature until a second distinctive squawk came from Cecile’s wrist—her War Mark.
The tattoos were talking to each other.
They trusted each other.
It was both surprising and inevitable. Godbonds forced a connection between the marked and the god. It stood to reason that the same would be true for tattoos. The bond was why CecilesawTheo for what she truly was instead of a human who slightly resembled Havyn. The human mind shouldn’t have figured it out, but Cecile could.
“You haven’t shown up to the Sacrifice in over 500 years. Why are you here now?” Cecile bit her lip. “Is it for me?”
Theo gulped. She hadn’t even thought of that as an option, and she didn’t know if she would’ve come if Cecile was in trouble in the games. She probably would have sent Destruction—her second in command of the War Court—because Theo boycotted the games for a reason. She didn’t like taking innocent lives, and nine times out of ten, the champions were innocent. Theo preferred killing vile men who deserved it.
“No . . .” Theo started. She didn’t want to lie to her Marked, but she also didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “It’s complicated.”
Cecile’s raven tattoo squawked, and the girl eyed it before lifting her gaze to Theo. She cocked her head and examined the Goddess-turned-human intensely. “Something is off about you. I feel it, and so does my raven.”
“It is.”
Cecile squinted. “You’re human,” she breathed, clutching her mouth in shock, knowing she was correct.
Theo stepped back as if slapped. How did she know? So quickly? The girl had inhuman insight; something that far outreached the gifts of a Marked. “Are you an oracle?”
“No.” Cecile blinked. “I just have a feeling. The bond is different, and you look . . . human.”
“It’s because I am human,” Theo said bluntly before telling her Marked everything. Theo didn’t trust many people, but once she did, she trusted them with everything. The War Court and Cecile were bound together. They couldn’t betray each other, even if they wanted to.
So while the story made her look weak and wounded her pride, Theo knew it was better to put all her cards on the table and trust because if she were going to get out of this situation and get her divinity back, she needed help. To best Nefeli, Theo needed allies.
“So . . . you’re fully human?” Cecile asked. “Not just in the games?”
“Yes.” Theo’s mouth drew into a flat line.
Cecile scrunched her nose in apparent disbelief. “Fully, entirely, completely, absolutely, totally, wholly, unreservedly—”
“Are you just going to name synonyms?”
“ . . . human.” Cecile finished almost as if she didn’t hear Theo’s question. “Meaning, if you die in the Sacrifice, you die for good?”
