Goddess by Liv Savell (books for 6 year olds to read themselves txt) 📗

of men vie for my attention.” She swallowed more of the tea in a dispassionate manner. Aloof almost—aside from her smirk. “I don’t find them all that interesting. My skills are equal to or better than theirs when it comes to most things. Who wants to be bored?”

Etienne stared at her for a moment, struggling to decode her words. What particular skills was she referring to? Did she mean she didn’t like men? Etienne found the idea… disappointing, which was silly, of course. He did not care that Delyth and Alphonse preferred each other over male company. At least, not anymore. And he had only cared at all when he thought he was losing his best friend.

It wasn’t as though he had entertained any hopes when it came to the clan warrior. That would have been absurd. He was going home after they rescued Alphonse, after all. Still, he couldn’t help but press on. “Just what does interest you then?”

Meirin shrugged, eyes already covered in warpaint, sly as she finished her tea. “New things.” She smiled and stood, stretching her arms over her head, showing off her physique. “And you, mage?”

Etienne hesitated for a long moment, unsure of how to answer. He didn’t know what he was looking for, other than his best friend. If anything. But something about her answer rang true. He had always been fascinated by the new. It was what had gotten him in trouble in the first place.

“I think we have that in common,” he said finally, and Delyth landed behind them, putting a stop to the conversation.

“I’ve found them,” she said, “and they didn’t see me. We need to set the rune traps, quickly.”

Meirin held Etienne’s gaze for a moment longer before she turned to ready for the day.

Chapter XII

Tenth Moon, Waning Gibbous: Northeast of Lake Gastyr

They were traveling through open country again, far from any sign of civilization, and already the other Gods’ frolicking had put Va'al in a foul mood. They were still only three, despite the time wasted between Aryus’s tower and the search for a Vassal appropriate for the God of Death—more time spent crammed into a too-small, too-weak body.

One good thing had come of it, though; Va'al and the others were now headed south, towards the lands in which Esha’s people still flourished. Enyo had finally come around to the idea of releasing Esha, if only for convenience’s sake. Her lands lay closer to them than any others—Tha’et was next closest and would require them to turn and head back west. Not to mention Esha’s main temple was by far closer to Ruyaa’s domain, and they still needed a fifth God.

So, a few more days of dealing with the two wild Gods and he would have someone reasonable to talk to again. Reasonable and irresistible.

The idea made him smile, despite the probability of issues between the two Goddesses.

“How long do you think it will take to reach Gwynhafan traveling this way?” he asked casually, trying to hide his eagerness from the others.

❂

“Too long,” Enyo muttered, the dark clouds overhead proof enough of her mood. All morning she had been twitchy, glancing over her shoulder often as if hearing something. But every time she looked, nothing was there.

She supposed it was paranoia due to Aryus’s idiotic trick. She was questioning what was real and what was fake. But there was a nagging feeling—fingers down her spine, eyes on her back.

The ground beneath their feet was tense and irritable. The shrubs quivered with the oncoming storm. “Do you feel that?” she snapped at Va'al, preemptively angered for no particular reason. She felt like a bear with porcupine needles in her nose.

“It's probably nothing,” Va'al said, shrugging. “What in this world poses a threat to us any longer? The Sky Keepers brood over their treasure, The Sea Keeper beneath the waves. We are the only Gods of any real power left unbanished.”

Enyo opened her mouth to snarl some rude response when she stiffened. Something large cast a shadow overhead, and she spun to watch the figure arrow down. How had the bitch snuck up on them? Black wings and blue war paint came into sharper relief as the priestess landed yards away. Calamity purred from its perch, strapped to Enyo’s pack. It remembered the blood the priestess had fed it all those moons.

Enyo would let Calamity gorge on that power once more. Once she caught the beast.

“You!” Enyo stepped forward, hands reaching to grab the warrior’s throat despite the distance between them. Yet there was something else there—a fluttering in Enyo’s stomach. Fluttering in hunger, surely? Baffled at her reaction, she snarled again.“I knew you were too stupid to stay away, slut. Come to get your lover?”

Unsurprisingly, the big winged bitch didn’t take Enyo’s bait, though her face twisted in uncharacteristic emotion. She was usually more taciturn.

“Something like that,” Delyth growled, but she didn’t attack. That in itself was odd. The beast wasn’t exactly one for planning. Two others soon joined Delyth. The boy and another warrior woman, strong but younger than Delyth and warm-skinned where she was fair.

⫸

Meirin glanced between Delyth and Enyo, the hair standing up on her arms and the back of her neck. It was one thing to plan this little ambush and get their stones in a row, but another thing altogether to be facing the Gods. Even in their human forms, Meirin could feel the otherness about them. They stood in a loose formation, the man with bright eyes and a sly face in the back, beside Gethin. The clansman stood frozen and unresponsive, gaze fixed on Delyth. He didn’t breathe, didn’t blink.

And then there was Enyo, wrapped in the sweetest face and the smallest, frailest form. Her golden eyes flickered with hatred, none of the softness one might expect in someone meeting their lover after a long absence. She drew her lips back in a grimace, exposing teeth that were—Meirin swallowed and regripped her spear— sharp and elongated. Like