Chapter 27

Ok, so technically the Silver Shore didn't have any monsters. Something about the place repelled them. It was, however, smack dab in the middle of the Black Forest, a region of many little forests, all of which were completely overrun with monsters. I'd recently paid the area a visit. Truth be told, I hadn't looked forward to returning any time soon. Or ever.

I'd also well, accidentally, lost the last airship the Legion had given me not far from the Silver Shore, due to the aforementioned monsters. So I wasn't surprised that Nyx was watching me with a wary eye as the airship trudged along toward its destination. The Silver Shore was all the way across the ocean in Europe. This journey would be a long one, especially with Nyx glaring at me.

"It wasn't my fault," I said to the First Angel, for what seemed like the millionth time.

We were alone in the garden library tonight. All of the other soldiers were busy, and Arina had finally had the good sense to lie down and take a nap.

"Not your fault." Nyx shook her head very slowly. "So you say."

Angels had short tempers but long memories.

"Monsters attacked that airship," I told her. "Lots and lots of monsters."

"You also crashed an airship only a month after you joined the Legion."

"That wasn't me," I protested. "A bunch of crazy, vengeful shifters set off bombs all over the airship."

Nyx was clearly not impressed by my defense. "In fact, you've crashed every airship you've ever been on."

"That's not true. I didn't crash the one Nero and I once took to Purgatory."

"If you're referring to the time you and Windstriker went rogue and snuck off to the Lost City, Pandora, you aren't helping your case."

I didn't know I was on trial.

"Well, it all worked out in the end," I said with a smile and a shrug.

Nyx shook her head in exasperation, then walked out of the room, leaving me alone in the garden library. I was pretty sure Nyx's exasperation had as much to do with her being stuck here as it did with my apparent talent for crashing airships.

With no one to talk to, I returned to my knitting. Since I wasn't allowed to rush into dangerous situations—or do anything particularly athletic right now—I'd decided I needed a new hobby. Something safe. Something that came with the Legion's stamp of approval for expecting angels.

I'd have chosen bantering, but that wasn't necessarily safe, particularly if my opponent didn't like what I had to say. Also, bantering wasn't something I could do alone. There wasn't always someone around, especially at this hour. I glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning local time, but my mind was too busy to sleep right now.

Stash was waiting in the hall, just outside the room. He was keeping true to his promise to guard me. I could have bantered with him, but he'd been rather quiet lately. He slept even less than I did.

So with bantering off the table, I'd picked knitting as my hobby. A mother really should know how to knit. I'd once read that in a book.

There was a rustle of movement beyond the potted plants.

"That's lovely, dear."

I looked up from my knitting as Grace sat down beside me on the sofa.

"What is it going to be when it's finished?" She glanced down at my knitting project.

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe a onesie. Or a baby bootie."

There was another rustle of movement.

"Those are two completely different things," Faris said, sitting down on my other side. "You can't just start knitting randomly and then decide what it is when you're done."

I kept knitting, determined not to let his sour mood ruin my project. "Why not?"

"Because that's not how things are done," he said sternly. "Plans must be made. And followed."

"That's what I'm doing. I made a plan to knit something. And that's precisely what I'm going to do."

Faris looked like steam would soon shoot out of his ears. He truly couldn't stand my chaos.

I just smiled at him pleasantly. "I'm just going to wing it."

"It's certainly an original idea," Grace told Faris.

He made a derisive noise. "It's irresponsible."

"It's just yarn, Faris," I said.

"This is not just about yarn."

I rolled my eyes. "No, this is about me and my unborn child. And how my chaotic ways will upend your precious plans for us."

Suspicion narrowed Faris's eyes. "What are you planning?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to wait and see how it turns out."

"This isn't funny, Leda."

I sighed and set my knitting down on the coffee table. "Did you just come here to make fun of my hobbies while glaring maniacally, or was there something else that you wanted?"

"I just wanted to check in on you," Grace told me cheerfully. "And Faris tagged along. He is afraid of what might happen if I'm alone with you. He believes I'm going to fill your head with evil demon schemes."

He glowered at her. "The demons are always scheming."

"As are the gods." Grace looked at me. "This whole immortal war that's been raging between us and them for centuries…just so you know, it's all their fault."

"How absurd." Faris's voice burned like acid. "The war started when the demons trespassed on one of our holy sites."

Grace jumped out of her seat. "It's not yours! Calamity is a site of treasures the Immortals left for us all."

I latched on to the familiar name. "Calamity?"

"Yes, the name is very dramatic." Grace smoothly lowered herself back into her seat. "Like it's meant to be a disaster. But the only disaster is the one the gods brought there…by trying to hijack the Immortals' treasures all for themselves."

That wasn't what I'd meant. Calamity was familiar. Bella had told me about it.

"There was a great battle at Calamity twenty-five years ago," I said.

"One of many," Grace said. "For centuries, there have been great battles at Calamity. Though that one twenty-five years ago was especially violent. It went on for months. It soon became known as the Battle of Calamity, as though there hadn't been many more battles there before it."

"And since then." Faris leveled a scornful look at Grace. "The battles will continue to play out at Calamity for as long as the demons operate under the misconception that they are welcome at our holy site."

"Give it a rest, Faris." Grace flashed him a vicious smile. "There aren't even any cameras here to perform for."

Faris opened his mouth to shoot back an argument, but I cut in first, before this battle became the next Battle of Calamity—and my shiny new airship became collateral damage.

"Tell me about the Battle of Calamity," I asked them.

"The demons attacked from the shadows, and they got lucky," Faris said curtly.

"My sister would take issue with that statement," said Grace. "Ava doesn't get lucky."

"No doubt."

I snorted. The way Faris looked at me made me think he hadn't intended his statement to be an innuendo. He probably didn't even know the meaning of the word. Then again, you never knew when it came to gods and demons.

"Ava wins through skill, not luck," Grace declared.

His voice dipped lower. "On the rare occasion that Ava does win, it's by cheating."

She shot him a threatening look. "Don't speak ill of my sister, Faris, or there will be dire consequences for you."

"I'm shivering in fear."

"As you should be, you self-righteous megalomaniac," she snapped.

"Bella told me about the Battle of Calamity," I said, cutting through their silly fight. "She said one of the demon squadrons was tasked with destroying an enemy supply camp high in the mountains."

"Yes. And the gods ambushed them along the trail." Grace pointed an accusatory finger at Faris. "Talk about sneaking out and attacking from the shadows. Only three demon soldiers survived the ambush."

Three demon soldiers plus Thea, Bella's mother. I wondered if Grace knew that Ava's son Khalon had saved Thea's life.

"Your version of events is highly suspect, Grace," Faris said. "You're counting on those three demons being the only survivors who can speak of that day, and we all know that demons are liars. None of my soldiers survived. Over a hundred gods killed! And so we shall never know what truly happened there."

"Many more soldiers died in the battle in the valley," I said. "On both sides."

"Yes," Faris confirmed.

"Is that typical of battles between gods and demons?"

"Losses are not typically that high, no," Grace answered. "We are immortal, but not particularly good at repopulating our numbers."

That was due to the abysmal fertility of powerful deities, which was even worse than the fertility of angels.

"Usually, the demons and gods just flex their muscles a bit and shoot off their mouths—and sometimes a little flashy magic," Grace told me. "But they get cold feet as soon as things get very real."

Faris puffed out his chest like the pompous peacock that he was. "I take issue with the implication that I ever get cold feet."

"Duly noted," Grace said coolly. "But you can't take issue with the facts, Faris."

He frowned.

"What made the Battle of Calamity different?" I asked. "Why were the losses so high?"

"I wasn't there, but from what I understand, things there just escalated very quickly," Grace said. "So many soldiers were already dead on both sides before anyone could even think of getting cold feet. "

"The first dead soldiers were in the mountains?" I asked.

"Mainly," she replied. "Thanks to Khalon."

So Grace did know about Khalon and Thea.

"Khalon? What was Ava's son doing in the mountains during the Battle of Calamity?" Faris frowned. He clearly hadn't known about that.

"What was Khalon doing? Kicking your soldiers' asses, it would seem," Grace told him. "Against overwhelming odds. He must have had something worth fighting for."

Like Thea's life.

"You know more than you're saying, Grace."

"Yes. As always, I know more than you, Faris," she replied with a sugar-coated smile.

"I will find out what you know." He kept his voice calm and level, but I could tell he was fuming. Cold, menacing fury dripped off his every word.

"Good luck with that." Her smile had turned decidedly sardonic.

I was almost starting to like Grace. I could certainly see where I'd gotten my spunk.

But I had to be careful. The demon might be manipulating me, trying to make me think we were the same. Well, we weren't the same. Not at all. I wasn't like either one of my parents, god or demon.

"I've seen how much a bit of emotion can boost a deity's powers," I said to Grace. "Or reduce their powers."

"It is true for some," Grace agreed.

"You think Ava riled up Khalon to get him to win her a big victory?" I asked her.

Faris's penetrating glare shifted to me. "You know something too."

"How does it feel to be the only one who isn't in on the secret?" I asked him pleasantly.

The look on Faris's face was all the answer I required.

"A victory at Calamity wasn't the only thing on Ava's mind that day," Grace replied to me. "My sister has never been one for wasted opportunities"

"I see." I nodded. "This conversation has been very informative."

I stopped short of thanking her. It was dangerous to thank a deity; they might take that as an acknowledgement that you owed them something. Like angels did. Only deities were worse. Much, much worse.

Even after my parents left me alone in the garden library, leaving me with a knotted pile of knitting that had failed to amount to anything, my mind dwelled on the Battle of Calamity. Something had happened there. Something else. Something important. Something hidden beneath the surface and behind the scenes. I just knew it. Somehow I knew it. I couldn't explain how I did.

I was sure there was something important about that day, and this wasn't just about Ava scheming to keep Thea alive and making sure Bella was born. Something else had happened there. Some great scheme had played out that day at Calamity, unbeknownst to the soldiers fighting there.