Sky Breaker (Night Spinner Duology) Addie Thorley (best english books to read for beginners .TXT) 📖

he’ll be begging to tag along. “First of all, there is no we,” I say gruffly. “And the word of a Zemyan, especially Danashti’s heir, means nothing to me.”

“But—”

“If our roles were reversed, would you reveal your hand so soon?”

He grumbles something indecipherable and rolls to face the other direction.

I let him stew for a good ten minutes, listening to the foreign croaks and chitters playing around us like a symphony, trying not to imagine the horrid creatures they must belong to. Then I finally put him out of his misery and take the first step toward my miraculous “change of heart.”

“The stone mounds were monuments to the First Gods,” I murmur into the quiet.

Ivandar sucks in a breath and holds it, as if afraid I won’t continue if I remember he’s listening.

I smile. “Several generations ago they populated the plains of Ashkar like globeflowers. Travelers would stop to pray and pay tribute to them—until the Sky King denounced the old gods and destroyed the mounds.”

Ivandar hmms and mumbles, then says, “If the monuments have already been eradicated, why would Kartok ask about them? We know he wanted to nullify your Kalima power. Did he plan on using a prayer mound to ask the Lady of the Sky and Father Guzan to strip Their own children of power? They would never listen.”

Because they don’t exist. I grunt and hum a few times, so I appear cooperative.

When we resume our trek the next morning, Ivandar is still lost in thought, puzzling over what little information I gave him. Apparently, it was enough to curry favor, because he holds a few branches aside for me with his hands instead of his magic. He also plucks hard green berries from the vines and offers me a handful, even showing me how to peel them.

We make camp that night in another miniscule clearing, even smaller than the first, and as we’re sweeping the ground of debris, I toss him another bread crumb: “Kartok had a rather shocking theory about the stone mounds….”

Ivandar whirls around, dropping a rock on his foot. We both laugh as he kicks it away. He thinks I am laughing with him, but I am most definitely laughing at him. I could say anything, make up all sorts of lies, and he’d hungrily devour them. But the best deceptions parallel the truth—like two paths winding through a forest, so similar, it’s easy to mistake one for the other, until you’re lost.

“He thought the mounds were gateways to the land of the First Gods,” I offer, shaking my head as if the theory is ridiculous. Because it is.

Ivandar’s icy blue eyes widen. I swear I can feel him trembling as he settles on the ground, quietly repeating the word gateway. “Do you think it’s possible?” he finally asks, lying on his side so he’s facing me instead of the briars.

“I don’t know. I’ve never worshiped the First Gods, so I’ve never had any desire to reach them. Kartok shouldn’t either, by the same logic. Your goddess doesn’t dwell with the Lady and Father, right?”

“No, but She used to. Maybe he feels Zemya’s entitled to a portion of the sky, since it’s Her homeland too. Maybe he sees reclaiming it as a sort of recompense for casting Her out? He’s always been zealous in his devotion.”

“How do you think the Lady and Father would feel about relinquishing part of their kingdom to Zemya?” I ask, tempted to pat the poor, witless prince on the head. “After hundreds of years of war and animosity, do you honestly think they could live together peaceably?”

“Well, no …” Ivandar’s brow furrows.

“So Kartok would have to wage war against the Lady and Father and depose them.”

“That’s absurd!” Ivandar cries. “And undoubtedly impossible. They’re gods.”

I shrug and lie down. “You’re probably right. I don’t worship any of your fool gods, so I haven’t a clue what’s possible. I’ve just been ruminating, from the viewpoint of a fellow commander. But it doesn’t matter. All of the stone mounds have been demolished.”

“You’re certain they’re all gone?”

“I haven’t scoured the continent, if that’s what you’re asking.” I close my eyes, as if settling into sleep. I wait ten seconds before saying, “Don’t think me insolent, but why would you care if Kartok infiltrated the realm of the gods and waged war against the Lady and Father? They betrayed your goddess. Shouldn’t you want to see Zemya restored and exalted?”

Ivandar stares at me across the dark, the pale blue of his irises blending into the whites, making his eyes look too large, too empty. “Of course I want that. But I also want my kingdom and my birthright. Who do you think my people would choose to follow? The prince whose own mother doubts and overlooks him? Or the generál supreme, who defeated the First Gods and restored all glory to Zemya? If this is truly Kartok’s aim and he succeeds, I might as well never return to Karekemish. There may not be anything to return to, depending on the consequences of his actions. Waging war against the gods could break the sky itself.”

“What do you mean ‘break the sky’?”

“Exactly that. Zemya was born of the Lady and Father. They created all things. There’s no telling what would happen to us, and everything under the sun, if the Lady and Father were overthrown or killed.”

Ivandar’s looking at me as if he expects a horrified reaction, but it’s difficult to fear fallout from the death of gods you’ve never believed in. For the sake of my plans, I manage to purse my lips in concern. “Surely Kartok would have considered such things? He may be grasping for your throne, but he couldn’t be desperate enough to shatter the sky. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.” I smile gently, knowing my misplaced certainty will make him doubt the sorcerer more than ever.

The higher we climb up the mountain, the thinner the trees become until we finally break free of