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"Because they were a threat," said Deka

"No No Gods, do both of you only ever listen to teaching poems and priests’ tales? You’re Aralared at theain, as he’d done as a child, as he’d probably done in every Litaria lesson since "Their blood was poison to gods --"

"And they could pass forThey could, and did, blend in" I stepped closer and looked into his eyes If I wasn’t careful, if I did not work hard to keep the years hidden, mortals were not fooled by my outward appearance Noever, I let him see all I had experienced All the aeons of mortal life, all the aeons before that I had been there nearly fros Deka would never comprehend, no matter how brilliant he was and no matter how diminished I became as a mortal I remembered So I wanted him to believe my words noithout question, the way ordinary ods Even if thathim fear me

Deka frowned, and I saw the awareness coh he lovedto knohat desire meant, he stepped back I felt a moment’s sorrow But it was probably for the best

Shahar, sweet, beautiful betrayer that she was, leapt to my point before her brother did

"They madeus, yes Interbred with us Passed on their ic, and sometimes their poison, to all their h it was the poison that was of immediate concern -- one ofoff -- there was also the fear of ould happen to our h a mortal lens We saw that sos" I looked at Deka as I said it I couldn’t help myself He stared back at me, still shaken to discover that his childhood crush was soe, oblivious to uess that soht be born with as e reality itself on a fundaestured around us, at the room, Sky, the world, the universe "You don’t understand how fragile all this is Losing one of the Three would destroy it Gaining a Fourth, or even so close to a Fourth, would do the sa shock "And e did … you think the Three would see that as the culh we did anything har reality is harain, even to heln, p ic works What happens if you odword? If the two of you try to use this power to rehed, and faced the truth I hadn’t wanted to admit "Well, think of what happened last time You wantedthat I could never have been as a god You would have grown up and understood how different I was You would have become proper Arameri and wondered how you could use htly "If I had stayed a god, our friendship would never have survived this long So you, so that could be your friend"

Deka took another step back, horror filling his face "You’re saying we did this? The collapse of the Nowhere Stair, your hed and went back to the wall, sliding down to sit against it "I don’t know This is all guesses and conjecture Your will, if it had this strange h to cause a change, but then it backlashed … or so None of that answers the fundamental question of why you have this power"

"It isn’t just us, Sieh" Shahar again, quiet again "Deka and I have touchedcae"

I nodded bleakly I had figured that out as well

Silence fell as they digested everything I’d said It was broken by the loud gru of my empty belly and my louder yawn At this, Dekarta shifted uncomfortably "Why did you come here, Sieh? There are no servants this far down, and this roo at the pile of ancient rags

A foul place for a fouled god, I thought "I like it here," I said "And I’o anywhere else Go away now, both of you I need to rest"