Chapter Three (Part 1)
I shot off the bed to go downstairs and Peace and Wisdom followed after me, also having felt Idris’s presence approaching the gates.
Peace and Wisdom generally didn’t interact with Idris when he came by. They were uninterested in him, but this time they thought it necessary to squeeze me in on either side, almost like they were protecting me. It was odd, but it was also possible they knew my earlier upset was caused by Idris, and they wanted to back me up in case Idris was still being a fuckwit. It was sweet of them, but not really necessary.
We came to the front entrance just as Idris was passing through the gates like he fucking owned the place, and behind him I saw Coda and Helel, his brother, fighting over a piece of food. The other Sublime Ones were just behind them, occupied with their own pieces of meat.
I fucking knew it. The asshole’s been bribing my kittens.
I came to a stop at the top of the steps with a glare, causing Idris to pause before the first step, looking up at me.
He inclined his head, smiling faintly. “Peace. Wisdom,” he greeted calmly. Peace and Wisdom also inclined their heads in acknowledgment but kept their eyes on Idris warily.
“What do you want now, asshole? Aside from making my kitties fat,” I asked coldly, folding my arms over my chest.
“I’d like to talk. Privately, if possible,” Idris said, and I rolled my eyes. Of fucking course you would. “The guards I picked to guard the swampland are on their way.”
I paused at that, tilting my head slowly. “You’re letting them find their way through the forest on their own?”
Idris frowned, coming up the stairs so we could speak without shouting. “Yes. They’re all very skilled. Why?”
I fought to keep the smirk off my face. “Oh, I’m sure they are. Regardless. You may have little difficulty navigating the forest for reasons I still don’t understand, but it’s another story for others. Skill doesn’t mean shit here.”
Idris looked to Peace and Wisdom, as if waiting for them to contradict me, but they just stared at him blankly. “I don’t understand. I warned them about the shadow creatures. I told them not to eat or touch anything. I know everything here is poisonous.”
I couldn’t keep it in anymore. The smile spread across my face, probably looking absolutely evil to Idris. “Yes. Everything is poisonous. And poison certainly is one way of catching prey.”
Idris’s white eyebrows slowly came down over his eyes, his natural rosemary and cedarwood scent beginning to sharpen in alarm. I breathed in deeply, savoring his panic like fine wine.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “Prey?”
My smile widened, and I spoke slowly on purpose, knowing that every passing second gave the forest more chance to take its meal. “Everything here eats, Idris. There’s a food chain, and while plants may be at the bottom in any other environment, those made of flesh and blood are at the very bottom here, no matter what. You’ve given my forest a buffet. How kind of you.”
Without another word, Idris pivoted on his heel and practically flew down the steps, rushing off to rescue his guards. When he was out of sight, Wisdom nudged me in the ribs with her elbow.
“That was kind of mean. You could have warned him beforehand.”
I shrugged. “He waltzes in here often enough, I thought he knew better. My bad.”
Wisdom and Peace shared a look, but they were both amused as well. Wisdom shook her head chidingly and then said the most perplexing sentence I’d ever heard her say, and that was a feat considering she said perplexing things on a daily basis.
“The forest likes Idris. It’s never actually attacked him before.”
I scoffed, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. “Likes him? The forest likes no one.”
Wisdom shrugged. “Except you. And Idris.”
“…Why?”
I could understand the forest liking me. I was its master, and it knew me intimately, but it hadn’t been kind to me at the beginning. I had experienced every horror it had to offer, and through that pain, I had grown closer to it and it to me. I just assumed Idris made it to my palace safely every time because he was the king of the gods. That distinction made him a badass, as much as it galled me to admit it.
Wisdom tilted her head in a way that was eerily similar to me, reminding me of the fact that I was basically her dad. Weird.
“He’s the god of creation, Rook. He created everything, including the venomous forest.” She paused to look out where Idris had disappeared. “The forest respects its creator.”
I didn’t have time to process that bombshell, because as soon as Wisdom finished speaking, Idris returned with a retinue of obviously battered guards following along behind him like little ducklings. There were six of them, all dressed in the official uniform of Idris’s palace – white, form-fitting pants and matching armored long-sleeved shirts with light blue stitching. Dark blue belts hung around their waists to hold swords, supplies, or other weapons. Luckily, the fabric of their uniforms was enchanted to repel dirt and resist tearing, otherwise, they would look even more miserable than they did. Each one was bleeding from at least one spot, and they all were covered in bruises. A couple looked like they were sporting burns, possibly having taken a dip in one of the acid pools.
Idris looked – well, he looked royally pissed, but oddly, I didn’t feel like it was directed at me. When they reached the gates, my Sublime Ones came out from their hiding places to growl at the guards, causing one to literally faint, and the others to shrink in on themselves like delicate little flowers in a thunderstorm.
…Pussies. And Idris expected them to guard the swamplands? The swamps were a thousand times worse than the path from the meadow to my palace. They’d be dead within a day.
I whistled softly, and the Sublime Ones backed off the guards. Had it been my choice, I would have let them take a nibble, but one look at the storm on Idris’s face and I knew it would be unwise to keep tormenting them.
Peace, being the lover that he was, went out to the gate to help them carry the guard that had fainted. Meanwhile, Idris came back up the steps to speak to me. And though it had initially appeared that Idris was unscathed, as he came closer, I noticed blood soaking the right side of his white shirt. I glanced at Wisdom, as if to say, ‘the forest likes him, huh?’ but she just rolled her eyes at me.
Unfortunately, Idris noticed me looking at the wound and an oddly embarrassed expression came over his face. “Gabriel accidentally hit me. It was dark.” Below, a guard flinched at the words, meaning he was probably Gabriel, and he looked like a kicked puppy, so he definitely felt like shit for stabbing his king.
I frowned. Great. So it was friendly fire. I bet the grass didn’t even drink up his blood when it hit the ground, since the forest seemed to be fucking obsessed with Idris or something.
“I know you don’t like having people in your palace, but it’s too dark to head back now. Can we stay here and rest?” Idris asked.
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