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

And he’d follow through.

He stepped closer and took her hand. She glared at him, but didn’t yank it away.

“I love you,” he said. “I always have. And I love that baby already. I swear to you now, Key, we’ll be married. In one week, we’ll walk to the Urspirit’s stone and say our vows in front of Kraed and the entire Mansion. I swear it to you.”

Key softened just a touch. “One week,” she said. “Why that long?”

“I’m taking the Lordship in three days,” he said. “Then we’ll need time to spread the word.”

She smiled a little. “You really want to invite everyone? Even though you’re already married to Galla?”

“I can take more than one wife,” Cam said. “I think Galla will be more than happy to have you as a real sister.”

Key laughed and stepped closer. Cam kissed her, nice and slow and deep. His Key, his beautiful Key, and his future baby.

She gently took the blanket around his waist and unwrapped it.

“Well then,” she said softly. “Maybe we should go in and celebrate.”

“I think that sounds good to me. I know Felin’s already in a celebratory mood.”

Key grinned, bit his lip, and let the blanket drop to the ground. She took his hand and tugged him back to the room.

Cam followed with a stupid smile on his face.

45

The great entry hall was packed with Elders, military general staff, and villagers preparing for their journey back home. Old women tugged at shawls. Children ran in circles shouting at each other. Fathers shouldered spears and mothers hefted baskets. The low din of slow chatter rolled over him like a wave.

A small platform stood in the center of the space. It was four feet high and ten feet by ten feet. Two chairs sat on it, each carved from local wood and inlaid with leaf, fig, and antler motifs. Boar snouts stared out from the feet. Cam lingered behind the platform with Galla, her hand tucked into his, her eyes gazing restlessly over the crowd. She wore a long gown of dark blue with gold, and her hair was in a tight but intricate braid wrapped around a glittering silver crown.

“Are you ready?” Cam asked.

She glanced at him. “I suppose so.”

“I know this is difficult. But they’ll understand.”

She shrugged. “They all know what’s about to happen. Whether they understand or not, that’s another matter.”

Cam chose not to speak again. He could sense her discomfort and he couldn’t blame her. Galla would do what was necessary because she loved him and she respected his wishes, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy every second of it.

He wouldn’t ask that of her. The fact that she was going through with it was enough.

It wasn’t like he wanted this. When he left Medlar village for the Mansion, the idea of power never once occurred to him. He only wanted to get his people from the horror of the forest to the safety of the mountains. Beyond that, he never dreamed of something bigger.

But now it had been thrust upon him. He took it up like a mantle and wielded it like a sword, and he’d use this power to break the spirits of any that opposed him and his people.

Even the gods, if necessary.

Kraed shouldered through the crowd to Cam’s right. He wore his patchwork cloak, and his beard had grown longer. His eyes looked tired but still sharp as he met Cam’s gaze.

“Are you two ready?” he asked.

“Ready as we’re going to be,” Cam said. “How many people are here?”

“Hundreds,” Kraed said. “All the Elders, plus all the pilgrims that planned on leaving today.”

“It’s a good crowd,” Galla said, though she didn’t sound happy about it.

Cam grunted in response and took a deep breath. “You should speak first,” he said. “Do you know what you’ll say?”

“I know,” she said and looked at him. “Don’t worry, Cam. I won’t let you down. And I won’t embarrass you.”

She slipped her fingers from his and stepped forward to the platform. She ascended the stairs and a hush began to roll across the crowd.

“Are you sure about this?” Kraed asked, his voice low.

Cam looked at him. “I’m sure.”

“Your wife doesn’t seem to be.”

“My wife will do what’s necessary.”

“That’s fair. I’ve never had a wife. Too busy traveling the land to marry one, then too drunk to make one settle for me. Now I’m much too old.”

“So I guess your opinion doesn’t mean much.”

He smiled and tilted his head. “I suppose not,” he said. “But then again, I’ve known many people and I’ve seen many relationships in my day. I do wonder if it’s better to compromise.”

“There’s no compromise here,” Cam said, frowning up at the stage.

Galla glittered in the sunlight. She was gorgeous, a force, an angelic being, almost a goddess herself. She seemed to dazzle the crowed in front of her as she smiled and looked at them with her chin held high. She was born for this, bred to rule one day, and Cam knew sharing her position was the most difficult thing she had ever done.

Worse than watching her own father die, he’d guess.

“But if there was, now’s the time to consider it.”

“You know why I’m taking this position,” Cam said. “You understand why it’s important.”

“I do,” Kraed said. “The legitimacy of your little shaman army is at stake. I understand it all too well. But perhaps there are other ways.”

“Too late for that,” Cam said.

Galla began to address the hall.

“Thank you all for coming today, from the bottom of my heart. Elders, Captains, Generals, friends, thank you all. Even you who are passing through on your way to somewhere else, thank you.” She scanned the crowd again and Cam felt a surge of pride.

Followed by a surge of uncertainty. Galla was a gorgeous force and belonged up on that stage—and he was about to take away a measure of that power for his own purposes. He knew his reasons were sound and important, but even still, it was like cutting