Page 39 of A Song of Saints and Swans
ANTHIA
“Well, brats? Start talking.”
Feeling exactly like a kid caught misbehaving, I glanced over my shoulder to find the god of the Nav looming over us, looking decidedly less friendly than the last time I’d seen him.
“Veles!” Rena gasped, desperation making her voice crack. “There’s something wrong with Jarilo—”
“Of course, there’s something wrong with him!” he shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “That’s why I’m here. This idiot has completely abandoned his duties, which left me no choice but to consult our family lawyer to see if I couldmakehim bring spring to the land…like an adult.”
Marena attempted to explain. “You don’t understand, Vel, he’s—”
“Oh, I understand perfectly!” he continued to rant. “Because guess who I ran into at Rahim’s new office in Moscow? A certain ill-tempered witch and her ragtag band of degenerates. Luckily, all I had to do was pull Taneer aside and ask if he’d seenthisdeadbeat god lately and out came the word vomit!”
I wonder where he inherited that trait.
“Father, please…” Rena croaked, tears running freely down her face.
Thatgot Veles to stop his monologue. Refocusing on the scene before him, he first squinted at where Rena and I were holding hands before his fiery gaze drifted to where my lips were hovering over a god who was obviouslynotjust taking a leisurely afternoon nap.
“Oh,” Veles said, swallowing hard.
“Something’s truly wrong with him,” Marena repeated earnestly. “I thought he was simply getting himself worked up over Anthia these past several months, but even after she accepted his—our—offer of consortship, his health has declined. He’s also been uncharacteristically secretive, so I challenged him to race me up here. I… I thought it would finally get him to talk, but it only made things worse.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Why would he overexert himself if he knew this was going to happen?”
He knew…
“Because it was the only way he could bring himself to tell you!” I gasped, sitting back on my heels and squeezing her hand in solidarity. “Rena, he gave you permission to enter his mind if he lost—so do it.Find out what your brother has been struggling to say.”
“You’re right,” she whispered, releasing my hand to roughly scrub away her tears before turning to Veles. “Will you… help me, Vel? Two seers are better than one.”
“Of course, Rena.” The god approached, all fury gone and replaced by a tenderness I hadn’t thought he was capable of.
Maybe youcanteach old dogs new tricks.
Gingerly placing her fingers on Jarilo’s temples, Marena closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly blowing it out. Then, her body went eerily still—indicating she’d mentally left this plane to venture into the dark recesses of her brother’s mind.
Veles crouched down and placed his hand on her forearm. I absently wondered if he was lending the goddess his power or grounding her with an anchor to reel her back.
All at once, she gasped, her green eyes snapping open in alarm. “H-he’s turning…mortal!Ever since he came in contact with that substance in the lab, his powers have been fading, along with his immortality. It’s why he insists on being around Anthia—something about her recharges him. She’s given himhope.”
“What?!” Veles squawked, releasing Rena and frantically crab-walking backward in an extremely undignified display. “Those bastards figured out how to kill agod?”
Marena rolled her eyes. “You’re not going tocatchit, Vel. I spend most of my time with Jarilo and haven’t suffered from the same affliction.”
My mind was whirring as I absorbed this bombshell. Back when Matthew was still alive, he’d taken countless blood samples from captive shifters, including me. He’d also been testing bullets on creatures he knew weren’t human.
Like shifters… and his own son.
“It’s all related,” I rasped, bringing the gods’ attention back to me. “The contents of the bullet Matthew shot Nox with, that Nox later used to kill him. The substance at the lab, the distillery Vasi and her Riders are investigating, and whatever was in the absinthe Margo drank before she died—”
“Who’sMargo?”Veles muttered, obviously trying his best to keep up with the conversation.
“She’s a Rusalka who remembers her human life,” I replied. “And Rena thinks it’s because shedidn’tactually commit suicide…”
I trailed off as I caughtthe lookMarena was throwing my way, but it was too late.
“Is that a fact?” Veles gritted out, rising to his full height again to better intimidate. “Are you implying there was a…mistake,Rena?”
