I needed Trent to be there.

  Nevah brought us into the RV so we could be more comfortable, but I was feeling anything but comfortable. The man lounging on the couch seemed perfectly at home. His winking and flirting with all the women got old very fast and his shamelessness had me hoping that this man wasn’t my father.

  I’d experimented enough with my bloodline ability to know that I could charm most available women if I put some effort into it. Knowing that my ability didn’t work on those who were connected to someone else or sealed against persuasion turned my stomach every time I felt the pulse of Aura leave the God. After a while, I wasn’t sure if he even realized that he was doing it. It was like he turned on his ability every time he spoke, which I supposed would make some people more agreeable, but I wondered if he knew that Nakten was the only one it was having an effect on.

  The Anubis woman revered Nevah like he was the greatest person in the world. Which didn’t do much to endear her to me. I wasn’t that big on the harem idea to begin with, but I knew that if I was going to add someone to my team, it was going to be someone who wanted me. Not someone who was doing it to get back at their father or please their idol.

  I waited until Ether sat down in the booth on the bunk side, then slid in beside her. It felt like I needed to be the one closer to the God who was making himself at home. For some reason he had taken a liking to me and if things went badly, I assumed that I had the best chance of making him pause before killing all of us.

  Though I was starting to wonder if Nevah could purposely kill anyone. He definitely gave off the ‘lover not a fighter’ vibe, but there was no denying that he was powerful. I didn’t know what his level was, but I knew that he could flatten the whole town if he wanted to.

  “So what do I have to agree to?” I swallowed as the others took their seats.

  Fray leaned against the wall to my left. I knew she wanted to be out of the harem, but she still had the protective instincts. The offer to make her one of my personal guards seemed like an even better fit and one that she was taking seriously.

  Miel sat across from us and turned in the booth to put her back against the outer wall. Justia sat in the passenger’s seat and turned it to face the rest of us, then Aelin sat down in her lap.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Nakten stood in the middle of the RV and looked around for a seat. I knew we could sit three wide in the booth if we squeezed together, but I didn’t feel like having her between me and the Nevah and I didn’t want to get up and put her between myself and Ether. Miel wasn’t getting up either, which meant the only empty seat was the driver’s seat. I cringed inwardly as the Anubis walked over and sat in the empty seat.

  Aelin’s smile turned into a frown as Nakten turned the seat around to look at the rest of us. While I couldn’t blame the Anubis for not knowing that was Aelin’s place when she wasn’t with Justia, I knew the demihuman had just lost some points with the member of our team who wanted her to join the most.

  “You said there was a treaty.” I put my hands behind my neck. “What do I have to do to keep the Primus from killing us?”

  “Pretty straightforward.” Nevah traced his finger in the air. “You get your mother’s Mantle and only your mother’s Mantle. Any of your team takes a Mantle of the Gods and this deal is off.” He held up a second finger as he continued to wave his hand like he was directing music. “That includes your teachers and anyone who shares your seal.”

  I swallowed. “What about the Godlings with Rix?”

  “Are they part of your class and do they have your seal?” Nevah grinned.

  “They’re part of a class?” I saw what he was offering, but we had too many people at the Cathedral right now.

  The ivory man shook his head. “Doesn’t matter; besides, they don’t have your seal.”

  Which meant I had to get them to the Cathedral and figure out a way for Mavery to enroll them in my class, except my teams were full.

  “Do they have to be on Trent’s team or just at the Cathedral?”

  Nevah waffled his head. “Up for interpretation.” He smirked. “There’s what? Four of them, plus your Bandit, your Priestess, and our lovely Nakten…” He held up eight fingers. “I think you’ve got a solid case that keeping them at the Cathedral would be sufficient enough.” He winked at Ether. “Oh, and they don’t know about your awakening, by the way. Congrats on that!”

  I rolled my eyes but thought for a moment about just how many of us there were. If we moved Pixie from a Healer to a Hitter like her stats were distributed, then we could have a full team while still missing a Hitter, a Healer, and a Buffer. And that was just the god-sired that we needed to protect. I didn’t want to abandon any members of my team that I’d already grown close to.

  Basically, we had almost a whole new team that we were adding. I sighed. “So all we have to do is get them registered at the Cathedral and we’re good?”

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