Page 1 of Bound Paths
PROLOGUE
500 YEARS AGO
Cassandra, Lady of the Veil, greeted Zrak with teeth clenched and blade drawn. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a god on the continent. You can’t just let yourself into my realm.” He had spilled through the space between realms like he thought himself a thief in the night. Unfortunately for him, all those who ventured beyond the veil fell with an unceremonious splash into the cold and raging river.
It would have been too much to ask that he not make the crossing. Part of her wished he could be swept up by the river’s current that dragged new arrivals to Veil Lake. She shook her head. Thinking of the lake only brought pain, followed quickly by anger—at the gods.
The gods of the continent traveling beyond the veil didn’t have access to all of their magic, but it appeared Zrak’s wind worked just well enough to shepherd him through the dangerous flow. She resented that he could make the swim across when so many spirits could not.
The unfairness of existence was something with which she was well acquainted.
Refocusing on the god before her, she took a moment to appreciate seeing him crawling from the river on hands and knees. His head tilted back to see her and the feline predators that formed a half-circle around him.
“You’re unwelcome here,” she continued, standing taller, her white-blonde hair falling to the middle of her back. The host of reddish brown veil cats echoed her words with a growl, baring their teeth at the intruder. The cat on her left was particularly angry—Zrak must have used Orion’s latest trip to the continent to make the crossing. Cassandra’s hand fell to scratch his head as another hiss tore from his throat. “Orion agrees. Justify yourself quickly, or I’ll let him express his displeasure to you directly.”
She’d met the gods of the continent before, and frankly, she’d been unimpressed.
This one was the worst of them. He always thought he knew best. Knees still on the ground, he sat back on his haunches to better evaluate his position. His tall and broad figure was usually so imposing. His otherworldly beauty and unshakeable confidence were annoyingly on display the few times they’d met.
They weren’t now.
She appreciated that none of his poise lingered in his current predicament. His dark brown hair was plastered against his face from the swim. Something like humility smoothed the lines of his face as he met her gaze. She cursed herself for wanting to know why.
Zrak had the good grace to look sheepish, probably at being caught so quickly. He had never visited her realm. She knew it for a fact. Her magic, now so connected with the land, alerted her to any new arrivals.
Briefly, she wondered what his plan had been. Had he hoped to hide himself in her realm and never be found?
“Lady Cassandra, I…” He stumbled over the words. This inarticulate start, so different from his reputation, only furtherpiqued her curiosity. Their interactions were limited, but she’d never heard him speak with anything less than utter confidence.
He ran his fingers nervously through his hair as he got to his feet. “Of course, I planned to present myself to you.”
She wanted to laugh—his usually stoic face gave too much away. Even if she hadn’t received gossip from newly arrived spirits, she never would have believed he planned to present himself.
Had he really hoped to hide himself away here?
Zrak, Arctos, Aurora, and Aterra had no right to visit her realm. The mess they’d made on the continent continued to spill onto her shores. And that didn’t even consider what their selfish choices had pushed Celeste to do… Her fists clenched inadvertently at her sides. Now wasn’t the time to rehash old wounds, no matter how much she still paid the price for them. She shook off the thought and unclenched her hands, running her fingers down the length of her sword as a distraction.
Her duty was to the spirits—to this realm. She’d been blinded before by hope. Betrayal wouldn’t sneak up so easily on her again.
She arched an eyebrow. “Well, isn’t it convenient I’ve come to greet you? I’ve made it easier for you,” she said.
The gods of the continent thought she had closed the borders and, therefore, her communication channels fifty years ago. They knew nothing about her though. She’d closed the borders to protect her realm—a realm she’d failed once to protect.
Spirits still journeyed beyond the veil, but without a veil cat’s help, fewer and fewer crossed the treacherous river. Those who did brought the detailed goings-on of the continent with them. The most recent additions said Zrak and the others had failed catastrophically. Not that she’d expected anything less.
“I…” The Osten God stumbled over his words again. “Lady Cassandra, I…”
She pushed her hair over her shoulder, a casual gesture contradicting everything she felt. “If you planned to present yourself to me, one would expect you to have prepared what you would say…”
The host of veil cats at her side tilted their heads. Each looked back and forth between her and the god, waiting for her signal. Their tails flicked like a drum beat keeping time. Orion growled again, a low rumbling sound matching the gurgling of the river behind them.
Zrak coughed. “Of course.” He finally seemed to collect himself. “The continent is in peril. The greed and selfishness of the gods has upset the balance and driven us to the brink of destruction.”
At least he was finally being honest about who was to blame.
“While we’ve done what we can to rectify the situation and created a system of checks and balances to ensure it doesn’t happen again…we also needed to pay a price for our mismanagement.”
Cassandra knew all this, but she was glad the gods of the continent had finally figured it out—even if it was fifty years too late.
