It was funny.  The queen feared sending me to speak with a god that had presumably gone rogue and it turned out that my meeting with Manere was the easiest part of the day.  The gods weren’t known for being discreet, so I often had to watch what I told them, but the older gods had generally re-learned discretion.  I could update Manere freely with my suspicions about Count Hidere and Sir Carid’s concerns.

“I can devote some of my attention to protecting you,” Manere said thoughtfully when I was done.  “The city is noisy and it makes it hard to understand everything that happens here, but I can focus enough to keep you within my sight.”

She sat perched in an ornately appointed room.  It felt too perfectly arranged to me.  The god resided here, but she didn’t really live here.  This was just the birdcage they’d built for her, so that they could put her on display.  A god lived in the earth and the sky and in the beating hearts of their people.  The corporeal form was just a convenient vessel.  She sat unnaturally still as I talked, her chestnut hair arranged and pinned with delicate jeweled pins that matched her amber eyes.

“Actually,” I said slowly, an idea forming in my head, “let Sir Carid handle it.  Let’s give Hidere enough rope to hang himself with.”

She clearly didn’t like the idea of putting the Beloved at risk, but she reluctantly conceded to go along.  I didn’t say it, but there was another reason I didn’t want Manere watching over me.  The gods are not omnipotent.  The gods of smaller settlements might give off that impression, but that was only because they had so little going on around them.  The city gods struggled the most, as they couldn’t help but know what was happening in their territory and it was difficult to filter out the useless noise.  If Manere was focusing on me, it was likely she would miss something else that might be important.

“He is within my purview,” she said thoughtfully.  “How about I just take him?”

“Please don’t,” I said hastily.

She might be an old god, but she still lacked political acumen.  That was a chronic problem with the gods.  If Manere seized Count Hidere and rummaged through his mind, then she’d need to provide a justification for taking such extreme measures.  A dead god was certainly reason enough, but we didn’t want that public.  She couldn't not give an excuse, either, as the city already feared her from how she sunk all the ships in the harbor.

Younger gods might shrug it all off and do what they pleased.  They were gods, weren’t they?  Manere, however, understood that her existence was dependent upon the people of her city.

An antagonistic relationship with a god wasn’t sustainable.  Manere’s power was tied to her people and if they hated her - if they feared her - then it would taint her power.  Sour her, like wine can go sour.  It was a vicious, self-destructive cycle that could destroy a city.

“He’ll give us a reason to arrest him,” I continued.  “Just wait a few more days and you won’t have to damage your reputation further.”

She grimaced.

“I do regret what I did with the ships,” she said.  “It was just… I’ve never felt blood like that.”

“We might be able to smooth things over after we have Hidere in custody.  We can pin all the blame on him.  Say that you were punishing him for… whatever we tell the public he did.  He does own the harbor, after all.  Sinking ships is a reasonable retaliation.”

“What if he’s not involved, though?  What then?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” I laughed.  “Sir Carid is certain he’s thinking about eliminating me and you don’t take a risk like that unless you have something very important to hide.”

My theory was this.  Count Hidere was involved in the god’s death somehow.  The timing of him taking over the harbor was too beneficial for our assassins.  He didn’t want me finding out.  He didn’t know that I’d met that woman on the road and didn’t know that I was already aware of what had happened.  He did, however, fear that I’d find out from Manere.

Attempting to kill the Beloved was risky.  He’d only take that chance if he was forced to.  It’d happen after he realized that I knew a god had died but before I returned to the capital to report to the queen.

Manere didn’t need to know all that, though. If I was going to control when he made an attempt on my life, then I needed him to think that Manere wasn’t paying any particular attention to me.  He’d likely try while I was still within the city then, as he could control the circumstances the most and wouldn’t have to worry about a more observant god in the countryside.

Most people didn’t realize that the title of Beloved had a bit of truth to it.  It wasn’t exactly a secret.  It just wasn’t common knowledge.  The ritual had tied me to them and they couldn’t help but be drawn to me.  Throughout our conversation, Manere watched me closely, with a sharp, possessive edge to her gaze.  She’d rend Hidere into pieces if he harmed me, then put him back together and tear him apart all over again.

I wondered if he would have done any of this, if he’d known more about the gods.

“This is going to happen quickly,” I told her.  “I’m not going to waste time dancing around with Hidere.  I meet with him tomorrow.  I’ll let something slip that will force his hand.”

“And Sir Carid will protect you?” she asked, clearly worried.

“Yes.  Then we’ll have the evidence we need to arrest Count Hidere and find out what he’s done.”

She escorted me to the exit.  When we reached the door, she stretched out a hand and her fingers brushed my arm.  Her touch lingered on my wrist.  Wistfully.  She didn’t want me to go.

I tried not to think on it.  The God’s Beloved.  She’d keep me here, locked away in the temple with her where I’d be forever safe by her side if she could.  But she was an old god and she knew that I’d wilt like a flower starved of the sunlight and she knew that there was work to be done beyond her temple walls.

I felt the longing in her touch though.