Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) by India Drummond

add, “Only if he wants to. If you make him stay, of course he would, but I don’t want anyone forced on my behalf.”
    The emperor’s smile widened. “I have no doubt that he would choose to stay simply because his emperor asked, but very well. I’ll make it plain that this is an invitation, not a command. Anything else?”
    An idea popped into Octavia’s head. “Do you have a library?”
    “An intriguing question. And yes, of course. The citizen’s library in Durjin is the largest in the empire. I have a private library as well. Some of my personal collection are close to a thousand years old.”
    “Perfect,” she said, her thoughts ticking. “Religious texts pertaining to the eight Spirits are the most relevant to me. The older, the better.”
    “May I ask why?” He leaned forward, his eyes fixed on hers with interest.
    “Braetin said something strange to me. She used the phrase Child of Eurmus and Servant of Eurmus to refer to conduits. Before now, I’ve had no way to find out what it meant. I didn’t have access to the library in Vol, since it’s restricted to citizens. I’d very much like to search your texts for references.”
    The emperor hesitated only a moment. “I’ll ask Dul Stahte to assign you a research scribe. You can begin your investigation immediately, if you wish. I’ll interrupt you from time to time as the need arises, but otherwise, your time will be your own. I’ll see that my personal library is always available to you.”
    That phrase had even featured in her nightmares. Children of Eurmus are not to be trusted , the goddess had said to Octavia. Braetin considered Eurmus to be her enemy, and Octavia wanted to find out who he was and why the Talmoran Spirit feared him.
    “Very well,” she said. “I’ll stay. For now.”

Chapter 9
    Rumors had begun to float around the temples about the demi-god Zain, born of a lowly acolyte. When asked by the priests of Braetin, Graiphen confirmed he knew the claims to be true. This caused some grumbling amongst their number. They wanted to know why Braetin had not chosen to honor her followers in the same way. What a privilege it would be, they said, to bear the child of a goddess or to be the one selected to plant the seed.
    Graiphen didn’t listen long to these conversations. He told his fellow priests not to question Braetin’s will. He suspected she would not relish the idea of participating in mating with a human. If she did, he doubted the process would be as pleasurable as it had inarguably been when he took Kiarana at Pang’s command.
    He recalled the conversation where he’d heard Pang and Braetin arguing. His ways were perversion, Braetin had said. His ways were successful , Pang had replied. Could this be what they’d been talking about? He also recalled how Braetin had hesitated in the face of Pang’s argument. He shuddered at the thought.
    He reflected that the priests who spoke of such things had never truly felt Braetin’s presence the way those in Vol had. He wondered if it would be of benefit to send some of them to her, to rotate the priests in various parts of the empire so all could learn how to serve her better and teach her ways throughout Talmor.
    Today, for the second time since arriving in Durjin, he’d been summoned to Kiarana. He wished the emperor would answer his requests for an audience; Graiphen knew no good would come of staying too long in Pang’s presence. She was by nature a temptress, and he’d learned long ago not to give in to the whims of a fickle and seductive woman, whether mortal or divine.
    A temple servant dressed Graiphen carefully in his formal robes, and once again, the Ultim Qardone set out across the temple complex to obey Pang’s request. As he walked, Graiphen considered another rumor he’d heard. It was said that his own son Korbin and the witch Octavia had arrived in Durjin the day before. According to reliable witnesses, they’d gone to the palace at the emperor’s request