Page 61 of Jeweler to the Blessed
As I asked my question, I pulled the gem back, not wanting to ruin my progress. “What …” What was I even going to ask? How did he claim to know a goddess’s intent? That was ridiculous. “How do you know so much of the Sibling Goddesses?”
The low rumble of his chuckle was back. “I know of many things, Chaos. Where do you think your uncle got all his books?”
My every muscle wanted to turn to the storage room, but I held firm. Some part of me still didn’t want to go through them with Hart, no matter how familiar he was with them. I returned the stone to the blade, smoothing the imperfection that had started this conversation. “What does this have to do with the odd patch in the stone?”
He paused. “Eris’s champions wield magic based on emotion.”
“Her champions are Blessed?” I cut in and immediately winced, thinking of my last conversation with Alaric. The daybefore his disappearance, Alaric had pointed out thatChampions of Kaviosnever said the Cursed King was Blessed, at least not how this city understood the term. It made sense Eris’s Champion wouldn’t be either.
“Never mind that question. How does the magic based on emotion work?” I asked.
He paused dramatically. “If you stop interrupting, I’ll tell you.”
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of telling him I was waiting with bated breath. I feared he already knew.
“Eris’s Champion doesn’t steal emotions to fuel her magic. She wields her own emotions?—”
“What about Themis’s?”
He glared at me, and I pressed my lips together, feigning patience I didn’t have.
“We’re talking about Eris’s Champion now, specifically, her champion in Kavios. The Cursed King is a story for another time.” The steady beat of his foot wavered almost imperceptibly. “Now, you want to know how she wields her own emotions?”
I nodded, not willing to trust my mouth to open. There was no telling how many questions would spill forth.
“The way power is taken in Kavios ... It’s a bastardization of what it could be. Power, at least how Eris imagined it, is granted by what the champion feels. Her Champion’s feelings inspire her magic.”
“So, if she feels fear, she wields nightmares like the Cursed King?” I challenged.
No wonder he and Alaric were friends. I hadn’t heard this story about Chaos’s Champion before, but Alaric studied Eris and Themis more than anything else. He believed, as it sounded like Hart did, that there was more to Chaos than we gave credit.
“She could.”
“You’re so sure Chaos’s Champion is a she; I thought no one knew their identity.”
He raised a brow that said I’d get nothing more on that subject.
I returned to his first point. “If Eris didn’t create a champion to fight Themis’s, then why summon one?”
“I have a few comments,” he said.
I pressed the stone harder against the blade, huffing out my frustration. “Of course you do.”
My focus on the blade meant I didn’t have to see the smirk curl his lip before he spoke.
“Eris doesn’t summon. She calls. Those she calls don’t have to accept.”
I spent so much time reading about the Cursed King and his rebellion against being summoned that I forgot Eris wasn’t the same as Themis.
Another piece of the stone fell away, revealing a perfect facet of the adamas. “What’s your other correction?”
“More of a response to your question. As I said, I think that Eris’s purpose in calling a champion was less nefarious.”
“Which is?” I asked.
“She didn’t want Themis making every decision unchecked. Eris’s Champion would challenge what is known.”
I stopped my work and turned to face him. “What does that mean?”
