Page 22 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Adriana’s dark eyes narrowed. ‘We are here to help.’
‘Are you?’ Mal kept her attention fixed on Adriana, ignoring the creature now gliding closer. ‘You are a goddess, and from what I have learnt, gods are dangerous. They play dangerous games.’
‘That we do,’ Adriana said quietly. ‘But you are one of us.’
Mal narrowed her eyes. ‘How much doyou know?’
Adriana stiffened, her gaze slipping towards her goblet. ‘The real question is how much doyouknow?’
‘Enough,’ Mal replied with a quiet sigh. ‘And yet nowhere near as much as I should.’
‘Your husband…’
‘Which one?’ Mal’s stare could have frozen stone as she fixed it upon Adriana.
‘So you know the truth about…’
‘Thanatos?’ Mal lifted the cup again, letting the wine’s bitterness coil around her tongue, mirroring her own. ‘I assume you recall me from back then.’
Adriana bit her lower lip and nodded. ‘We met a few times, yes. We are, in a way… related.’
Mal tilted her head. ‘Explain.’
‘Your father, Hades, is Keir’s cousin. They were three cousins: Hades, the Sun God, and Keir.’
Mal went rigid. ‘And Thanatos…?’
Adriana waved her concern aside. ‘Do not fret, you are not related to Thanatos. Thanatos shares a mother with Eris, but not a father.’
‘Eris’ father is Keir?’
Adriana nodded.
‘But you are not her mother.’
Adriana’s expression cooled. ‘No. Keir’s first wife was a goddess named Nyx. She bore him one child. Eris. Before that, she had birthed Thanatos.’
‘Nyx?’ Mal murmured, unable to ignore the coincidence. Her wyvern carried the same name.
‘There are no coincidences, Mal,’ Adriana said flatly. ‘You named your wyvern because, despite being reborn mortal, some remnants of your old life cling to you.’
‘Where isthis goddess now?’
Adriana lifted one shoulder in a shrug. ‘No one knows. She vanished. Some say Keir discarded her because he fell in love with another goddess and wished to marry her instead. He remarried, to Hera, and with her he had a daughter named Enyo.’ Adriana leaned back in her chair. ‘Eris and Enyo became inseparable, though only half-sisters. No one knows why. But Keir’s marriage to Hera did not endure.’
‘And then he met you?’ Mal asked, her tone a cool prod.
Adriana nodded. ‘He did.’
‘And you had children?’
Adriana nodded once more. ‘Three daughters. You may know them as the Moirai.’
Mal’s purple eyes widened ever so slightly.
‘They were goddesses once, long before they became the Moirai.’
‘How does that even happen?’ Mal asked. ‘My father never explained much to me.’
