Page 170 of The Blade in the Ashes
She looked... well, normal.
And yet, I knew, deep in my gut, that I was speaking to another member of the divine.
She tilted her head as she examined me, the ghost of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
“I had heard of your appearance, of course,” she continued, stepping towards me with her hands folded neatly behind her back. The flowing lines of her ivory gown trailed behind her. “And still it is remarkable. You look so like her.”
My chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. “Isidore?”
Her lips quirked again, amused. “We call her Queen.”
The Goddess walked in a circle around me, taking in my appearance with careful appraisal and a hum of approval. When she stood in front of me once more, she sighed, eyes darting to the bands on my palms for the briefest of moments before she met my gaze again.
“You do have his eyes, though. Hers are green, like the purest of emeralds.”
I nodded. Caldrius had guided Hyrax in creating me as a near identical replica of Isidore, but one only had to look at my father to see the shared resemblance between our eyes. It was as if he couldn’t help but gift me one part of himself.
“I am Athene,” she introduced herself.
Quickly, I scanned through the memories of the mythology and history lessons I had endured to prepare for my trials.
“And you have come for your Forging.”
Her identity locked into place with sudden force. Once more, I nodded at her, struck mute as I recovered from realizing that I was standing before the Goddess of Wisdom.
Athene rolled her neck, her voice taking on a cadence of warning. “It is not a simple process. The Forging will force you to face things that are sometimes better left unknown. The truth, the fear, and the possibility.You should consider carefully whether you can face those things before beginning.”
My brow lowered into a frown. “You make it sound as if I have a choice.”
She smirked. “Don’t you?”
“Hyrax is in the Mortal Realm,” I snapped, irritation leaking into my words. “I don’t see you or any of the other Gods coming to help us.”
Athene laughed, a small, bell-like sound that sent my blood boiling.
What about any of this wasfunny?
“Are you not the Goddess of the Veil? Yet, you are shocked that we remain blocked by it?”
The Veil.
“The Veil still exists?”
She lifted her head and lowered it in one single, meaningful nod.
The Gods were blocked by the Veil.
Which could only mean that when I had freed Hyrax, I hadn’t lowered the Veil at all, at least not permanently. My portals had been nothing more than temporary gateways to the Underworld, allowing him to walk free while the other Gods remained sequestered in the Upperworld.
They weren’t ignoring us. Theycouldn’thelp us.
“And so, the question remains,” Athene cleared her throat, stealing my attention once more before I could unravel that line of thinking any further. “Will you embark on the Forging?”
I swallowed. Her question remained, but my answer was unchanged.
There wasn’t another option.
She tilted her head to the side, somehow reading my thoughts though I hadn’t spoken a word. “This will not bring your powers back.”
