Page 116 of Jeweler to the Blessed
“They won’t kill him if you’re gone. They will need him.”
I sighed. Hart may have a point, but it still didn’t change my mind. “I won’t leave him with them.”
“This is not a choice, Chaos. It’s the illusion of such, something Rodric is far too good at.”
I knew he was right, I did. It just didn’t matter. I tried to explain. “You’ve shown me that Blessed don’t have to be mindless servants, forever grateful for the power Rodric grants. I can accept the adamas and never use it. That keepsAlaric safe and me close enough to find a way to eventually free him.”
Hart looked like he would argue.
“We need to keep going.”
Silently, Hart recaptured my hand and continued our hike. The strength of his grip told me we weren’t finished with that conversation. As we neared the foothills, the slope increased, and every step, every crunch of dirt and leaves beneath our feet, had me wondering what we were walking into.
I focused on our mission for tonight: to free the captive. If we could succeed at that, it would ease the pressure on everything else.
“We’re headed toward the original mine entrance,” Hart said. “If Alaric was captured days ago, I can confirm Rodric and Elias still don’t know about it. It hasn’t been guarded since you took the position of jeweler.”
I wondered how he knew that. Is this where he went at night while he left other guards at my door? He didn’t give me time to ask.
“When the Glanmores first found the quartz deposits and dug to see how much was here, they used the path in the foothills to haul it out.”
“That must have been … hundreds of years ago. That was Rodric’s father, right?”
Hart nodded. “Phillip Glanmore was a simple explorer once. Sometimes, I wonder if he knew what his actions would eventually bring.”
I turned to face him. “Before his grandson became Themis’s Champion and the Cursed King?”
“Exactly.”
“When you first told me about the goddesses and their champions, I asked if you knew the Cursed King’s story. You said we’d save it for another time.”
He nodded slowly.
“Will you tell it to me while we walk?”
The Cursed King’s part in this still didn’t make sense. He was a Glanmore. He was Themis’s Champion, but he hadn’t directly attacked me. I guessed he might not know I was Eris’s Champion, but being Jeweler to the Blessed had been enough for the Feared. They supposedly acted in his name.
We hadn’t seen his power unleashed since the night of the Selection Festival. No matter what power I had, I knew that night hadn’t been me. It was too big, too bold, and too connected with the Feared’s escape. Why do it then? Why not use it again since?
While Hart might not have those answers, I’d take anything I could learn about the figure of legend that sat opposite me in this game of goddesses.
Hart tipped back his neck, offering his face to goddesses I wasn’t sure he worshiped. “I’m not sure I could deny you anything.”
His words sent a shiver up my spine that had nothing to do with the forest.
“Phillip discovered the mine and built the city. Rodric inherited the Kingdom. The mines continued to produce, and new settlers joined. Some say Rodric was content with his power. It was his firstborn who pushed further. His firstborn who unearthed mysteries that weren’t meant to be found.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What did he do?”
“He took Order to a new level. Introduced schedules for the mines and grand plans to dig deeper and find more quartz for export. He wanted to inherit a city twice the size his father did.”
“That sounds like what Themis would want in her champion.”
“Ah, but the firstborn wasn’t yet summoned.He pursued whathewanted. The firstborn’s plans were what unearthed the adamas. He is responsible for all of this.” Hart gestured back toward the city.
“How so?” I asked. If this was what the firstborn wanted, why didn’t he sit on the throne now?
“Themis summoned him with his discovery.”
