The Goddess of Blood and Bone by Nattie Kate Mason

Author:Nattie Kate Mason [Mason, Nattie Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-10T16:00:00+00:00

18

The God of War

The plan was sound. Basic and predictable, but sound. Thorn knew that arrogance would be the downfall of the Land of the Gods one day, and that day might have arrived. In the eras he had watched over the mortal realms, Thorn had utilized every tactical strategy imaginable. In the end, it was always complacency that was a Kingdom’s biggest downfall. Too often did a Kingdom of immense power became blind to potential threats against them, over-confident in their defenses and abilities.

In recent times it had almost been Alearia’s downfall. By Deity standards, the several mortal years since the Battle of Alearia had ended seemed like mere days ago to the God of War, and he was still hostile about the outcome. Stanthorpe, the invading Kingdom, had been one of his most prized Kingdoms. An entire territory of warriors who fought with their swords first and asked questions later. A stupid bet had meant that the Kingdom of Stanthorpe now fell under his sister Lilith’s domain. The loss had meant reduced worshippers to strengthen Thorn’s powers. Since he also gained power from all wars regardless of their location, the loss was not as significant as it would have been for his sister had the fates not fallen in her favor.

Thorn straightened his back and breathed deeply.

“I’ve seen this coming for a while,” he confessed to Agnes. He didn’t know why he was confiding in her since he owed her nothing. Perhaps he just needed to talk.

“The first sign something was amiss, was the decreased activity in the mortal realms,” Thorn continued. “The wicked creatures’ numbers had been dwindling for some time and, initially, I’d thought they might have been poached and killed into near extinction. But Nushka must have been slowly retreating them to The Pitts. I fucking knew she was raising an army!”

Thorn slammed his first on the cabinet, cracking the glass top. He ignored the choked sound that escaped the girl behind him. Thorn poured himself another knuckle of whisky and gulped it down. The amber liquid burned like The Pitts but it helped take the edge off.

“What astonishes me the most is Lilith’s involvement,” he confessed. “Since you’re clearly only here as Nushka’s pawn, there is no way in Moor that you managed to deceive her or prove your worth, she has to be involved in all this.”

Agnes said nothing, just sat there and took in his words. Likely trying to glean any way to use his ramblings against him. He didn’t care. No one would believe her if she tried to rat him out for keeping his theories to himself.

‘Perhaps the endless, monotonous years of isolation and guarding the Gates have turned Lilith’s heart sour,’ Thorn mused. ‘Though, I saw the way she favored her people during the war, especially the former young Queen. Lilith’s heart is virtuous at its core, but perhaps the eternity she was subjected to is not enough for her.

‘Nushka had always been the type to crave power. An act of rebellion from her was inevitable.

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