Meta Gods War 3 by B. Miles (the ebook reader txt) 📕

Cam turned and let his eyes drift over his girlfriends. Miuri had her back straight, her lips pulled into a frown. Felin looked bored as she stretched herself like a cat. And Key met his gaze, her head tilted very slightly to one side.

“What do you think?” Cam asked Key.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Miuri stiffened, half turned to Key. “You can’t possibly think what Galla did was okay.”

“Of course not,” Key said. “She got an innocent man killed, and we all know that’s wrong.”

“There’s a but coming,” Felin said, her voice sing-song.

“But,” Key said, glaring at Felin, “these are extraordinary times, and I agree with Galla that we need Cam in a position of leadership and authority right now.”

“That doesn’t justify what she did,” Miuri said.

“Doesn’t it, though?” Key asked. “I’m not really sure.”

“She said one life is a good trade to save thousands,” Cam said. “She thought the whole Mansion would fall into a civil war if she didn’t make a strong move right away.”

“Maybe she’s right,” Felin said. “I’ve seen it before. Packs with two strong leaders going at each other can break into pieces.”

“We’re not a pack,” Miuri said. “And I can’t believe you’re all entertaining this.” She looked at Cam, her eyes pleading.

He had to look away. His gaze swept across the kitchen area then lingered on a blackened spot on the stone floor near the bedroom. That was where the body had fallen, where his flame and magic had scorched a permanent inky darkness. The rooms still smelled like charred flesh, even with the window open, though it was getting better.

Firelight flickered in the breeze. Cam turned back to the flames.

“I’m not sure we’re going to solve this problem right now,” he said.

“I doubt we’ll ever agree,” Miuri said.

“The real question is, what do we do?” he asked.

Silence from the girls. Silence from the room. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

It was moments like this when he wished his father was still alive.

Galerick the Great would have had an answer for him. His father had traveled all over the world, had made a name for himself, had amassed power and wealth and prestige. His father would know what to do about Galla, but his father was gone, swallowed up by the great wolf horde that creeped up the valley.

“I say we do nothing,” Felin said. “I say we forgive her.”

Cam turned back to them. “Key?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“We can’t just forgive her,” Miuri said.

“What do you propose?” Cam asked.

Miuri opened her mouth then closed it again. She let out a frustrated breath then pushed Felin’s feet off her lap. She stood, paced to the window, and stared out at the distant white peaks.

“I like Galla,” she said, her voice soft and swallowed by the wind. She turned back to them. “I don’t want to punish her.”

“Then what else can we do?” Cam asked.

“I don’t know, but I know I can’t trust her now,” Miuri said.

“I agree with that,” Cam said. “She’s incredibly good at the political game in here, but we can’t trust her if she’s not going to keep us involved in all her schemes.”

“Do we really want her to?” Key asked. “I mean, we might just get in the way. That girl’s scary.”

“She’s terrifying,” Felin agreed.

Cam looked at Miuri. “Extraordinary times,” he said.

She let out a breath and closed her eyes. “If things weren’t dire, I’d never consider this,” she said, opening them again. “But perhaps we can keep a closer eye on her.”

“How’s that?” Cam asked.

“Make her move in here.”

Cam took a step back and felt a laugh bubble up from his chest. “Seriously?” he asked.

“Seriously,” Miuri said. “Get her out of her comfort zone. Force her to stay here where we can keep an eye on her.”

Cam looked at Key and Felin. “What do you two think?”

“It’s a good idea,” Key said.

“I like Galla,” Felin said. “More opportunities to play with her will suit me just fine.”

“So her punishment is to come live with us,” Cam said, looking back at Miuri. “And you think that’s enough?”

“I think she got an innocent man murdered,” Miuri said. “And she did it for some very abstract yet noble reasons. I think this is complicated.”

“Okay then,” Cam said. “She’ll move in here, and we’ll keep an eye on her. I already told her that I’ll leave her if she does something like this again without speaking to me first.”

“But better to watch her on top of that,” Miuri said.

“Perfect,” Felin said, sitting up with a grunt. “Another pretty girl living in close quarters here. You’re going to be drowning in us soon, Cam.”

“I hope so,” he said with a smile. “I’ll send for a Warden and call Galla in here.”

He walked out into the hall, grabbed a lamp from a wall hook, and walked through the halls until he spotted a Warden, a small girl with ruddy brown hair and sunken cheeks. She looked surprised when Cam approached, and more surprised when he tasked her with fetching Galla for him, but she bowed her head and ran off.

Cam lingered in the hall at the base of the steps that led up to his rooms. He heard voices echoing down the sloped stone, smelled cookfires and meat roasting. Signs of life were creeping closer and closer to his little secluded paradise, and soon enough the world would invade.

But it was always temporary, he knew that. He couldn’t have expected to have an entire wing of the Mansion to himself forever. It felt strange, almost melancholy, to imagine the empty rooms around him filled with families and life, but maybe it was better that way.

He went back up the steps and into his rooms. He helped Miuri prepare their lunch while Felin and Key sharpened their knives, swords, and spearheads, oiling them and cleaning them as necessary. The time passed, and as they