Page 51 of Winter Queen
I frown, somewhat irritated by his response.
“Poetry? I thought it was knowledge and light.”
“Yes, that too,” he says dismissively. “And music, art, archery, take your pick. I’m quite talented, in more ways than one.”
He raises an eyebrow suggestively.
And so it begins… I had hoped there wouldn’t be any flirting, but it seems these hopes were just destroyed by a God as bright as sunlight.
“That’s good to know,” I say, keeping my voice level. “Are you good in a fight as well?”
He roars with laughter. “Straight to the point, I see. Giving up on the small talk?”
I grin. “Why would I bore someone so talented with useless chatter. And if you’re really the God of knowledge, you’ll be aware of what’s at stake.”
He turns serious immediately. “I do indeed. Your Realm isn’t the only one affected. My guards caught three parties of demon spies this week alone. I’m sure more are slipping through unseen. I hear you have a theory of who is controlling the demons?”
It’s obvious that he knows already.
“It’s not a theory. We know for certain that the Morrigan is in charge of the demons. She took over their Realm, effectively enslaving them.”
“The Morrigan, eh? Do you have any proof? She’s been gone for a long time now. What reason does she have to control demons?”
I’m not quite sure what to make of Apollo. First it seemed like he understood the problem. Now he’s asking obvious questions like he’s doubting me.
“Revenge. My mother took everything from her. It seems she’s done lurking in the shadows and is out to show how powerful she still is.”
“Only Beira and Angus are more powerful than her,” Apollo says in a low voice. “If she controls the demons… you don’t have much of a chance against her.”
“Well, we’re not going to just sit here and wait for her to invade our Realm,” I reply sharply. “She may be strong, but we’re not alone. We have allies, and now that she’s started killing Gods, more are joining us every day.”
That’s a bluff, of course. The only one who’s joined us recently is Flora. The Goddess of Spring is sitting on one of the tables at the other end of the hall, animatedly talking to another Goddess who’s dressed in an elaborate green dress decorated with real flowers and vines. Some nature deity, perhaps?
“She’s killed Gods?” Apollo raises his eyebrows, visibly surprised. I guess that news hasn’t spread yet. Maybe we should make sure that everybody here knows that Fav was killed. In fact, I’ll do exactly that.
“She has indeed,” I tell him and get up, banging my fork against my wine glass to get the attention of our guests.
“I apologise for interrupting your dinner, but I realised you may not know the tragedy that has befallen one of our guests tonight. I would like to invite you all to stand and have a minute of silence for Favonius, who was brutally killed by the Morrigan just days ago. His widow, Flora, is here with us, and I’m sure you’ll all join me in declaring her my sincere condolences.”
The hall falls quiet. Shock shows on most of the guests’ faces, and some of them are beginning to whisper to each other.
“Do you have proof?” a burly God suddenly shouts, his large red beard hiding most of his face.
Flora gets up, her pale lips trembling slightly. She reaches into the tight corset hugging her delicate figure and produces a raven feather that she’s been wearing between her breasts.
“One of my messengers saw her meet with Angus,” she says shakily, but her voice steadies when she grips the feather more tightly, holding it up for all to see. “She tried to poison me, but my husband ate what was intended for me, and died. This feather was left on his chest, a clear calling sign of the Morrigan. She killed a God to stop the information from getting out. Angus is working with her, and together, they won’t stop until they rule all the Realms. The God of Summer has long been wanting to upset the balance, but you all remember what happened the last time. Winter and Summer need to be equal, or we’ll all feel the effects.” She takes a deep breath, clearly audible in the silent hall.
“The Morrigan doesn’t care about the balance. All she wants is power. Once she’s conquered this Realm, she might even challenge Angus until she rules the Winter and Summer Realms. Imagine what that would mean for all of us. Nobody would be safe.”
She raises the feather even higher. “We all need to stick together to fight her and drive her off for good. I have pledged to assist Queen Beira and her daughter. Will you do the same?”
She stands for a moment, looking around the assembled Gods. Then, with a flourish of her dress, she sits down.
Did she just do my job for me?
Before they have chance to start talking again, I shout, “A minute of silence please, for Favonius.”
With a rumble of chairs, some of the Gods get up, including the one with the red beard who challenged me earlier. He holds up his large tankard and roars, “For Favonius!”
