Page 26 of Married By Wind
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At sunrise, I snorted awake to find that Nika had stopped walking to nibble on a dry bush. Barren ground with patches of dried grass stretched in all directions. The crack in the ground was gone, which meant we were lost. I groaned and sat up straight, my shoulders and legs aching when I realized Leban’s tribe stood in front of me.
I gasped and stared round-eyed. It wasn’t his entire tribe but the drummers and himself, looking ashamed. He stood maybe ten paces away as though he’d been watching me for a while, waiting for me to wake up. I rubbed my eyes again and blinked to make sure it wasn’t an apparition. After my adventures in the desert, I wasn’t sure if I should trust my vision.
Leban cleared his throat. “We came to apologize.”
I raised my eyebrows, impressed.
“We had no choice but to give you over to the goat man. He threatened to destroy our families.”
Now that was a threat I understood deeply. How could I hold their actions against them when I would have done the same?
“What he did to you wasn’t right though, and he did not warn us against following you. We came to make what we did right, especially because you and Vinn helped us. Without water, our tribe would not survive, and now our source is pure again, thanks to you. As for us, we will do our best to help you.”
I straightened my shoulders. This was my opportunity to build an alliance between my tribe and a desert tribe. I choose my next words carefully. “I will forget what happened here if you will assist me on my journey home. Vinn is gone for now.” I paused, a lump swelling in my throat. Would he return? Or would the gods send someone else to guard the desert? “I’m going to my people, who dwell by the river, and I would encourage some of you to come with me that we might form a trade alliance.”
“It would be agreeable to us.” Leban nodded, and his tribe fell into step with Nika.
The journey back to their campsite was much faster, and now that I was surrounded by people again, the nights and days were less lonely. When we arrived at their camp, the tribe welcomed me the way I assumed they’d meant to before Tallen had interfered. I was given a tent, food, water, clothes, and a private place to bathe. Clean and dressed, with a full belly and fresh bandages on my ankle, outwardly I appeared much better, but deep inside, the root of sorrow had taken place. Despite the work I would throw myself into, that it would be a long time before I was happy again.
32
Vinn
“You spied on me,” I fumed.
Justice and I were back in the halls of Val Ether. Sunlight streamed in, making the walls appear gold, and around me, a crowd of spirits whispered. How much did they care about the world and the lives of mortals? Or where they more concerned with the drama of being amused?
They were relegated to watching instead of participating in life, and it made them lack empathy. Especially for me. I’d, once again, gone against their wishes, and now, thanks to Tallen, the time I’d spent with Ulika and her tribe before the sand devils were freed, was no longer my secret.
“Tread carefully,” Justice said, but her attention was focused on the lamp.
I crossed my arms over my chest, fighting down the urge to glare at her. “Did you send Tallen?”
At last, Justice lifted her head. “That’s why you are here.” Then she turned to the hall and waved her hands. “Tallen, come forth.”
His hooves clopped over the stones as he strutted into the golden light, holding his ax in one fist. Thick black brows lowered as he glared at me, as though everything that had happened was my fault. Tallen, I suspected, was jealous of me, and did everything in his power to ruin my peace. He’d also dwelled among the fae for a time instead of with the gods, but he was disliked for his sulky demeanor and actions, driven by envy and spite. Eventually, the gods brought him to the halls of Val Ether—which was what he wanted—to watch over it and prevent those without magic from entering. I hadn’t considered that he might want more power and authority, like Justice, and the little he had dominion over was not enough. Which was why he’d interfered with my quest.
A throne sat on a dais, and Justice took her seat under the rays of light. Tallen stood beside me but far enough away that we would not touch, even if we spread our arms. Meanwhile, the spirits gathered, watching the proceedings. My jaw went tight. I didn’t like this, didn’t want it. Instead, I longed to be free to roam the desert, to show Ulika the beauty of the land, and live, with no one keeping watch and holding me back from my desires.
If this was what it meant to be a god, was it worth it?
“We have gathered to discuss the fate of Vinn, the god of wind, and Tallen, the god of might,” Justice began.
She told the spirits of my faults. How, long ago, I’d visited the mortals in their form and pretended to be one of them. She explained how I’d freed the sand devils and caused chaos in the desert, how a mortal had trapped me in a lamp, and with her help and the power of a fire, we’d freed the desert of the blight of those devils.
Next she spoke of Tallen and the task they had given him to guard the halls of Val Ether. She told of his desire to earn a higher place among the gods by meddling in the affairs of others and setting himself up as judge and jury.
“Here I give you two gods who have gone against our wishes. It is unfair to let them walk free without punishment, and so I ask you to decide. Has Vinn, the god of wind, paid for his deeds by freeing the sand devils? Does Tallen, the god of might, deserve punishment for acting against another god without our blessing?”
The last time I’d stood in front of the jury of spirits, they’d sent me to the desert. This time, I wanted to ask for something more, the ability to keep my magic and yet live life with Ulika. But it was impolite to speak out of turn in the hall of the gods, and they would only hold my impudence as another mark against me.
When the spirits ceased their mutterings, Justice rose. “It has been decided. Vinn, you will return to the desert, and if we hear more of meddling with mortals, you shall lose your divinity. You are a god, above such mortal urges, and you shall act in accordance. Tallen, for your misdeeds, you shall go to the far north and defend the highest mountain peaks from the wildest beasts. Once you have learned humility, you may return to our halls.”
Tallen growled, a low rumble, but I readied my winds for my return.
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