Page 45 of Claim the Twilight
Lorenzo and Hemlock entered the room last, the former looking rested and sharp as usual. As far as I was aware, he hadn’t brought a change of clothes with him, but his shirt and pants were unwrinkled. Hemlock, however, was a rumpled, mussed-hair mess. His gaze snagged on mine for beat, and a zing of awareness shot through me before he looked away, leaving me cold.
Ordell hugged me tighter.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek to his chest, accepting his silent reassurance.
“Right.” Ezekiel clapped his hands together. “Now that we’re all here, I believe that Kaster has a story to tell us.”
Everyone looked to Kaster, but if he was fazed by all the attention, he didn’t show it.
He crossed his arms, gaze sweeping across the room. “There is something that you should all know. Something that Orina recently discovered. Loviator only feeds on the souls of those who have done evil or will do evil in the future.”
Murmurs broke out across the room.
“Quiet!” Ezekiel ordered. “Kaster, please continue.”
Kaster cleared his throat. “I’m not certain as to the reason for her preference, and up until tonight, I wasn’t sure how much stock to place in the rumors. But Loviator has confirmed the fact to Orina directly and?—”
“She spoke to you?” Hemlock’s eyes blazed. “How? When?”
“Calm down,” Ezekiel said. “It was during the cold one attack on Raffleton earlier and?—”
“You were attacked?”
“Maybe if you’d come down to greet us when we got back, you’d know that,” Ordell said coolly.
Hemlock shot him a narrow-eyed glare. “You left Orina alone out there?”
His insinuation that I couldn’t handle myself grated. “I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, well you shouldn’t have to,” he snapped. “Or have you two forgotten what happened to the last woman that Ezekiel loved?”
A thick, heavy silence fell over the room.
“I’m fine,” I bit out. “If Loviator wanted to hurt me, then she could have. She didn’t.”
“Yet,” Hemlock added.
“Maybe we should get back to what Kaster knows,” Ezekiel said.
Once again, all eyes turned to Kaster.
“It’s not wise to trust Loviator,” he said. “Despite the rumors about the horrors of her past.”
“What horrors?” Merry asked.
The corners of Kaster’s eyes tightened. “It is believed that Loviator was violated by several other gods. The violation spawned nine sons.”
His words hung in the air, and even Ezekiel looked uncomfortable.
“Edwin wrote about Loviator’s sons,” Padma said. “But he mentioned there was a tenth son named Encantor.”
Kaster nodded. “Yes, there may have been a tenth, but we aren’t certain. And the tenth may have been a daughter, not a son. Either way, the tenth child was never seen. My battalion and I were charged with watching over Loviator and her spawn. To ensure that neither the goddess nor her offspring harmed humanity. We were able to keep her judgments in check, ensuring that she only hurt those that had done great harm to others. We prevented her proactive judgments. We kept a balance.
“Over time, her spawn found their place in the world, becoming a natural part of the order. And in time, I became complacent. I failed to notice that Loviator was building an army of zealots to wield her power and do her bidding. They called themselves her faith warriors. The goddess wanted a world cleansed of those that would do harm.”
“And why is that a bad thing?” Padma asked.
Kaster gave her a stern look. “Humanity must be given the chance at redemption. The chance tochoosea path, good or bad. The problem is, Loviator does not believe that we have achoice. Her judgment looks for evil, and if she sees such a path, she believes it to be inevitable, and by her judgment, that person must die.”
