Page 11 of A Song of Saints and Swans
Naturally, Jarilo chosethatmoment to reappear—somehow still distracting me, despite his chiseled muscles being hidden beneath clothing again.
“Ooh, what did I interrupt? Was Rena giving you a full review of my bedroom prowess?”
Oh, please!
As Marena could only blink in resignation, I gladly put the god in his place. “In detail,” I replied drily. “She told me your performance was a solid three stars out of five, with an A+ for effort—but if I wanted to get anything out of the experience, I should plan on controlling the action.”
Instead of responding with the fragile masculinity I expected, Jarilo threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll take it! While my sister is selling me short on my performance, she is right about one thing. I do love a woman in charge.”
I did not see that coming.
As I was struck dumb yet again, Rena took over. “Enough, Jar. Now that we’re clothed and ready to depart, let’s decide on the best route north—”
“No,” I gently interrupted, recalling my fractured memories from last night and the compulsion I felt to answer Veles’ questions.
Or were theymyquestions?
“There’s an abandonedVardonearby that I need to visit first.” I cleared my throat and cautiously glanced between the gods. “I completely understand if you two have better things to do than traipse all over Siberia with me—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jarilo scoffed good-naturedly, grabbing my hand as if such intimacy between us was the most natural thing in the world. “There’s no one I’d rather traipse this world aimlessly with—besides Rena, of course.”
The last part was delivered with such a pointedlookat the goddess that I glanced at Marena as well. She returned his stare with an unreadable expression, but when her gaze drifted to me, her smile was genuine.
“Of course, we’ll see this journey through with you, ‘Thia. For as long as you want us both.”
Secrets Buried Deep
ANTHIA
We traveled on foot to the clearing where I’d last seen my mother’sVardo. Flying would have been faster, but I needed the extra time to mentally prepare myself to face down my demons.
It’s just an old wagon, Anthia.
Never mind, the last time I’d set foot inside was the day Gerard officially declared my mother dead, decades after she’d disappeared without a trace.
He’d always treated herVardolike a mausoleum—off-limits, even to me. When he abruptly decided to leave it behind during a clan move, I begged him to let me go through it first. I was desperate to salvage any piece of the elusive swan I barely remembered, as if I’d find something inside to help me know her better.
Be careful what you wish for.
After spending an afternoon collecting random items to bring back to my wagon, I’d taken one last look around, paying my final respects. That was when I noticed an envelope awkwardly tucked behind a cabinet. The letter inside was written in flawless calligraphy—as if whoever wrote it had taken great care—but the beautiful penmanship wasn’t what held my attention.
The words “our child” did.
My heart thundered in my chest as I read the short but damning message. The mysterious sender begged my mother to return to the arms of her “great love,” desperately promising to protect their daughter—Anthia—from “the living sea.”
The fading daylight illuminated my shaking hands through the worn parchment, and the large wax seal hanging from the bottom swung like a pendulum—marking the minutes that separated who IthoughtI was from someone I didn’t even recognize.
A stranger.
As my shock turned to devastation, I realized my entire life was a lie. With barely another glance at the letter, I burned the evidence, and recklessly ran into the surrounding woods.
Only to be rescued by Vasi.
An ongoing theme in our relationship.
“I am doing my bestnotto read your thoughts, ‘Thia,” Marena cleared her throat. “But you’re thinking very loudly over there.” She tempered her words with a kind smile, her green eyes flickering down to where I was still holding Jarilo’s hand.
How did that happen?!
