Maisara stared at Fortia’s letter.

  If it came from Alsaria, from Essa, if it came from a Fortia, she would have ripped it up a up the defence against Arascus’ new vehicles. But it came from Fortia. She knew what she was doing.

  Maisara sighed and got around to pnning an orderly retreat.

  “You made a Divine?” Kassandora asked. “You actually made a Divine?” Fer leaned ba her seat, closed her eyes and dropped her as she started to think, those two ears oop of her head shot down as her brows furrowed and she started to think.

  Essa wiped tears from her eyes. “Please don’t… I’m…” She blew her nose. “I only told you because I know you won’t…” She stammered out. “I think… please don’t kill her.” She shook her head and colpsed back down oable, dark hair spreading out over the wood. Fer quirked a smile as she looked to Kassandora.

  “That was less impressive than I thought it’d be.” She said. Kassandave ion, she assumed Fer would have seen the flood of possibilities that had just cracked its dam, but maybe Fer didn’t see it. But this? A mortal being made into a Divihe pret it set… It was amazing. If Gods and Goddesses could be manufactured at will, then… Well, then there was nothing on Arda that would stop them.

  “Wh…” Essa trailed off as she looked at the Goddess of Beasthood. Fer’s smile revealed her fangs.

  “I thought I’d see drama between you two. This.” She shrugged. “What am I supposed to say about it?” That wasn’t the way the versation should be steered, Kassandora tur ba track.

  “How did you do it?” She may have been asking what the weather was like, but she didn’t want to show off her excitement.

  Essa shook her head. “It was Anassa, it was her own work. I merely gave her what she needed.” She spread her arms out. “I don’t know how.”

  “What did she need?” Kassandora asked. Essa finally got to wipiears. Her pulled up her dress and blew her nose, and sat up. And blue eyes met scarlet.

  “I ot tell you.” She said. Kassandora leaned back with a smile.

  “ot or will not?” She asked, arms crossed. And Essa’s tone dropped, her eyes hardened. She finally looked like the Goddess she was supposed to be.

  “Kassandora, you are one of the simplest people I know.” Essa said. “I actually do not know how to create an army of Divines for you, not that I’d do it in the first pce.” Kassandora sighed, the first ent, she would just ignore. Frankly, she thought she was simple too. Her finger idly tapped out a code for Fer. The Goddess of Beasthood leaned over and smelled Essa.

  “She’s telling the truth.” Kassandora sighed and stood up. This interrogation hadn’t been a waste of time, it had given Kassandora an idea her pessimistid would have never sidered. How was she supposed to know anyway? They had ras in the past precisely because Divinity, as om and omnipotent as it was, was still a mystery. Diviook decades to inate if their demesne owerful enough, less for iions, but iions were hat strong. The ons were a mere exception pared to the rest.

  Essa may not know, but Anassa? Anassa was her dear sister. Temperamental, arrogant, pretentious, but her dear sister still. Frankly, Kassandora had a right to that knowledge within her sister’s mind. “Thank you for the hoy.” Kassandora said. “Fer, you’re on Essa duty.”

  “What are you doing?” Fer asked from the side, her eyes trailing after Kassandora.

  “I’m going to indulge my demesne before the war’s done.” Kassandora stepped out of the room as she listeh. She mao get down two flights of stairs.

  “She’s always like that.” Fer said as she turo Essa. The Goddess of Magic leaned away from Fer as the Goddess of Beasthood came closer. “Why did you pia?” Essa blinked in fusion. She had expected torture. She had expected her secrets to be beaten out of her. She had expected them to question her on how to breach magical barriers and how to best y siege to Olympiada. Or Arcadia for that matter.

  “Why?” Essa asked and Fer smiled.

  “I’m not hungry right now, I’m not going to eat you. Why did you pick her?”

  “She…” Essa’s mi back to Worldbreaking. When she found Anassa. When she sensed potential. The excitement at that endless growth within a human. And then awe as Anassa maintaihat growth. And then fear when power was the only growth Anassa achieved. “I… I’ve never seen anyone like her back then. Even now. She broke every rule, every tradition we had written down.”

  Essa put her hands oable. “And these aren’t just s for the sake of . They’re learned lessons, you cast a spell wrong, you burn out or you scar yourself or you die. I’ve seen it before, I’ve seen it after. But on her…” Essa shook her head. “It was almost like she was wanting to break them. She aimed for them specifically. I told her catalysts were needed fic, she swore o use a gemstone. I told her spells had to be spoken at the start. She began casting silently. I told her patience was the key. She rushed ahead at every step.”

  Essa stared at Fer’s smile, at those warm golden eyes, at the Goddess’ rosy cheeks. And she heard the woman’s tone, so full of pride Essa had to go back to Anassa’s assion to know such a feeling. “That does sound like my Ana.”

  Arascus saw Kassandora quickly prang dowairs he was walking up and humming a tuo herself. Well, she was happy today. Although she would be, the war had been won. Kirinyaa had been saved from the White Pantheon, that didn’t matter too much, but now came Kassandora’s favourite part: the final -up. “Oh!” Kassandora said, her eyes widening. She stopped and saluted. Arascus merely waved her down. “When did you get here?”

  “Ten minutes ago.” Arascus said. “I’ve talked with Iniri, she’s filled me ouation.” He took Kassandora’s hand and turned around. He wasn’t going to meet Essa, the Goddess of Magic could wait. With Fer looking over, Essa would go nowhere and now there were more important things to do. But first, Kassandora deserved the praise he knew she would never ask food job.”

  “Thank you.” Arascus loved that shy tone.

  “Really, I mean it.” Arascus tinued as he started taking the stairs two steps at a time. Iniri had made the stairs for Divines, but he was twice the size of Iniri. Fer would probably do the same, but at least the corridor hollowed out withiree was rge enough for him not to have bend his head. “Do you think Fortia would have do? Or anyone else? You stalled the entire White Pantheon, practically singlehandedly.” He saw Kassandora’s cheeks go as red as her hair.

  “I had others.”

  “Ingredients make a meal but a chef puts it all together.” He took aep and turned left. To the first baly. Kassandora was looking at her bck boots, her uniform cut in odd pces, the bck coat around her was missing the fabric that fell down ts, severed when she donned her armour. “You should get ged.”

  “Thank you.” Kassandora said quietly, she coughed, brushed the sides of her shirt smooth with her palms. “I nning to.”

  “Pnning to, eventually?” Arascus asked.

  “Eventually.” Kassandora firmed with a smug tone. She took a step back from the baly out of the tree. It was just a simple branch without any railings. Arascus did not even know why Iniri made it, but it provided a good view over d the juo the north. The immediate area was buro ash, the red-yellow mountains in the distance were scarred bd Arascus thought there was less of them than before. Definitely less. “Now though, there’s a war to finish.”

  Arascus caught her hand and pulled her back to the baly before she mao slither away. “There isn’t, the war is over. Maisara has already started a retreat. Zerus and Sceo have gone missing, the western fnk is pulling away. The tral push will stop most likely when those two have made some distance.”

  Kassandora spoke up, but Arascus already knew her heart wasn’t in it. It never was when she spoke in that teacherly-voice. “Armies take as many casualties on a retreat as they do on an advanow’s the time when we strike.”

  “It’s not.” Arascus shut her down. He loved them all but each of the Goddesses he had adopted would destroy themselves if given total autonomy. Some, like Fer, didn’t need reasons. Others, like Kass, id out pin and simple. “Chasing them down wouldn’t be the end of the world, but they’d have no armies left.”

  “Isn’t that the point?” Kassandora asked.

  “And then what?” Arascus said. “A destru of the White Pantheon leaves us where?” He looked out over the great ashen nd. Trucks and men were digging through it. Iniri was on the ground, growing winding trees that spread out a down to make runways. Kassandora had to think for a moment before she answered.

  “Global quest.” Kassandora said and Arasodded.

  “We would win that too.” Arascus said. “And then?” Kassandora nodded.

  “We wouldn’t be able to hold it together.” She said. Kassie was fast like that, and the only time she pretehings were different was through a pessimist’s eyes.

  “Not unless we had every single one of us serving as enforcers.” Arascus said. “And that’s further down the line anyway, we would be made heroes of Kirinyaa, but what influence do heroes have? There’s already a bill being drafted against us, it’s called A try of Mortals Act.” He sighed. “Speaks for itself, doesn’t it? It limits us to having to make all discussions public.”

  “We were never ones for rules.” Kassandora said quietly.

  “No, but it only takes one and then it’s out the bag.” Arascus said. “Anassa would have to be removed from the public sphere, but how would you remove the Goddess responsible for the sorcerers that defehis try?” Kassandora sighed and Arascus smiled sadly to himself. Anassa had been a headache ba the Great War too, but then Anassa’s terrible reputation could be taio only the immediate area she was stationed in. Now with the i.

  “So what should I do?” Kassandora asked.

  “We let them go.” Arascus said. “This is my war now, the crusade for public opinion. And that is a marathon we have to be slow and steady in.” Arascus put his arm around her. “Recall Olephia from her post bring her back here.” He looked over the ndscape. “I’ll prepare the base with Iniri. We’re going to have KTV and EIE here tomorrow, it’s anized already. Helenna will e back.”

  “And then?”

  “It’s the end of Kirinyaa.” Arascus said as he squeezed Kassandora close to her. She leaned her head against his chest. “Do you want a break?” The God of Pride already knew she wouldn’t, but it was better to ask anyone.

  “We take a break when we’ve won.” Kassandora said and Arasodded sadly. That was one part he never liked about Kassie. Frankly, he doubted she even knew what the word break meant.

  “Two pns.” Arascus said. “To you only, don’t tell the others.” He thought for a moment. “Fer know too, she’s petent enough to know.”

  “And the pns?” Kassandora said. She pulled away and Arascus looked down at her. There it was, the burn in her eyes, the lips curling upwards. Mention of a break gave her nothing but mention of more work lit a fire iomach.

  “Ohe easier one. Make a unit, Iliyal. I want him in Epa when Wissel’s coalition decres independence from the Pantheon.”

  “Why?” Kassandora asked.

  “He’s there to make sure Epa starts losing.” Kassandora nodded.

  “Easy.”

  “When there’s a breakthrough, we will send our army as Epa. When they lift , it’s not going to be querors, it will be liberators.” Kassandora nodded.

  “And the sed?”

  “I will prime Kirinyaa. This one, work on first, I ’t tell you the time, but it has to go immediately. And it has to be the most bloodless pn you make. One bullet fired is one bullet too much.”

  “What is it?” Kassandora asked.

  “The Legions will mar Nanbasa.”