Page 60 of Jeweler to the Blessed
“It’s not the way this gem forms. Any pressure or heating would be on the outer layer of the stone, the one the minerspry through. The center has had the most time to compress and harden. The stone is hardest in the center.”
“But the center wasn’t always the center, right?”
I guessed that was correct. At one point, the center was the edge, but that would have been ages ago. Years of pressure should have smoothed out this internal mark, and I told him as much.
“What do we know about how adamas is formed, though?”
He was right about that. Everything I knew was about quartz. I only assumed adamas was the same because they looked identical. They weren’t, and I knew that better than most.
I was sick of his questions and wanted to turn them on him for a while. “What do you know about adamas?”
He arched his brow, indicating that he was fully aware of what I was doing, and chose to allow it. “Everything I know comes from stories of the Sibling Goddesses.”
Out of habit, I glanced at the mirror above the workbench, angled into the front shop to ensure no one was listening. The shop was empty. I could see passersby on the street, but none slowed to enter. It was unlikely anyone else would today. I worked for the Glanmores. Now that I’d taken the Selecteds’ measurements, I had everything I needed until tomorrow.
“How are they related?” I asked.
His smile reached his eyes. It was one of the more genuine smiles I’d seen on him. My curiosity made him happy.
He gestured toward the circular blade, his foot resuming the pace. It was clear he wanted me to keep working while he spoke. “I’m so glad you asked.”
I sighed and stepped back into place.
“Do you have any siblings?”
I shook my head.
“Ah, well, I’ll use this example anyway. Eris was said tohave a little sibling complex. She hated that her older sister, Themis, always thought she was right. Hated having to do things a certain way because that’s how Themis had always done them.”
“You sound like you know this complex.”
His voice sobered. “I have a younger brother. I’m sure he would say I’m a classic Themis.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see his gaze held the middle distance like he was lost in thought. He took a moment, but the sound of the adamas, as I let it slide against the blade, seemed to pull him back.
“Themis wouldn’t change. So, Eris decided she would create her own chaos. She called the first champion to challenge the Order Themis had imposed on Linia.”
“Why?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Who knows the whims of goddesses? It’s clear they won’t fight each other directly, but they seem happy to do so through those they rule. A descendant of Chaos’s Champion still rules Linia.”
It was one of the reasons the Library of Linia had appealed to me. Yes, it was widely considered the best source of information on magic, but it was also a kingdom that was said to be different from Kavios in every way.
“Have you ever been to Linia?” I asked.
I’d never met someone who’d left Kavios, but maybe there was more than one reason why Alaric had chosen Hart to escort me through the Oldwood.
His nod sent a chill up my spine. It was possible. I knew it had to be. The obvious next question drew down my elation. Why had he wanted to leave? Why hadn’t King Rodric’s calm kept him complacent?
He continued before I could voice them. “When Themis realized what Eris had done, she summoned her ownchampion to fight for the throne—to reimpose her order. The Sisters continue to let their champions determine the fate of each of the continent’s three kingdoms.”
I thought of the copy ofChampions of Kaviosin the storage closet. That book didn’t speak to the origin of the goddesses’ champions—only that neither champion in Kavios had yet been victorious.
Even that I questioned, since King Rodric publicly worshiped Themis, but I didn’t know whenChampions of Kavioswas written. Regardless, everything Hart said was precisely what Alaric believed.
“So, when Eris and Themis’s Champions finally meet in Kavios, one will have to kill the other for the throne?” I asked.
He sighed. “That is certainly what some believe. And definitely what Themis desires, but I’m not sure that was Eris’s original intent.”
