The hall bore undeniable evidence of the fight. More than a third of it was rubble. The hole in the ceiling stood out like the oddest of monuments. Most of the other deities were gone. About a dozen remained, watching her as she strode into the room. She wanted to hold her back straight and keep her head high, but the weight of her exhaustion rendered such pretense unappealing. Instead, she held every gaze that met hers and tried to recall their weaknesses.

A god stepped up to her, confident and energetic.

“Excellent work,” he said. “Is he dead or only turned back?”

His tone was so commanding that Aria had to confirm that he had not ordered her to attack Garo. Before she could recover, he was speaking again.

“I have portioned out the spoils based on each person’s contribution. I didn’t think you would care for a palace, but I have the servants picking out whatever is valuable - “

Aria shook her head to brush off the encroaching confusion. “Who are you?”

He smiled, looking as handsome as a god should. “Vagran. It’s unfortunate that we should meet in such times, but also fortuitous. A beautiful woman like yourself needs strong allies and I -”

Aria hit him. The sound of his voice felt like sharp nails on her brain. The discomfort, paired with her exhaustion, contributed to a remarkably low tolerance for his nonsense.

She had moderated her force, remembering how effective it had been during the battle, but she had still misjudged her strength. Vagran’s jaw caved in with a sickening sound, and he collapsed with a cry of pain.

She tensed, waiting for him to retaliate, but he did not. Instead, he rose to his feet with a furious glare and mumbled something that his broken jaw did not properly relay. When it became clear that he would not attack her, Aria relaxed slightly.

“Thank you for the offer,” she said, “but I’m not in the market right now.”

She turned to the others and found them watching her curiously but warily.

“I am not in the best mood right now,” she said, “so if anyone wants to challenge me, please do so in an orderly manner.”

No one moved. In the back of the crowd, a god chuckled. “No one’s going to challenge you, little girl. Only Vagran is that stupid. I like my intestines nestled inside me, and stealing Garo’s loot would imperil that dream.

Aria eyed him. “Then what are you still doing here?”

He shrugged. “Fair point. The show is over, after all.”

One by one, they left, Vagran included. Eventually, Aria was standing in the ruined hall attended only by Ritu, one priestess, and the orange-haired goddess. As the last of the others departed, she, too, inclined a head to Aria and took her leave.

Evera’s body was gone. Upstairs, a crowd of attendants was tearfully tending to it.

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“Forgive my intrusion, Your Eminence,” Ritu bowed, keeping his gaze down, “if it would not offend you, could the attendants remain a little longer? Most will need time to pack their belongings.”

Aria wanted to tell him to lift his head; his reverence made her uncomfortable. Instead, she focused on his words.

“They can stay as long as they wish,” she said. “This place is yours.”

Surprise flitted across his face, but he schooled it.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Your Eminence, “but we wouldn’t be able to defend a palace. You avenged Evera. By right and morals, it is yours.”

Aria looked around the ruined place. It still looked beautiful, but the thought of living in it made her itch. All she could see was Evera’s face, defeated in its last moments.

“Even if I had the staff to maintain it,” she said, “it would be a hassle to defend. Let the attendants take any treasures they can carry. They’ll need it.”

Ritu looked surprised again and suspicious, but he inclined his head and thanked her.

“There is one more thing,” Aria said. Ritu immediately grew wary, but she tried to keep the suspicion from bothering her. “If there is any information on Garo or the other deities, books or records, or things of the sort, could I have them? I wouldn’t ask, but it would be a significant help.”

Ritu looked surprised but not offended. “If that is all you require, I don’t foresee a problem. No one else will need them.”

The books filled a large trunk as tall as her knees and wide as a table. The sight filled her with terror, but she gritted her teeth, picked up the first book, and began sorting them into piles. All the while, a ticking resounded in the back of her mind, warning her of Garo’s eventual return.

The books were more extensive than she had expected. Some covered history - of the gods, of the world, and even of human civilizations. Others were in-depth examinations of individual deities’ characteristics or of individual abilities and weaknesses. It was easy enough to find the ones dealing with Garo, but difficult to sort through the dense texts filled with unfamiliar words.

Surprisingly, Ritu made himself useful. For hours, he explained every strange word or tale and filled in the gaps left by the books. Aria attempted to shake him off, but he sidestepped all her hints with a dancer’s skill. Eventually, she stopped. He was helpful, and they were both driven - he to do something about Evera’s death and she to survive Garo’s retaliation. Her only remaining choice, afterall, was death.

That thought continued to haunt her - that she need not work so hard, that she could not escape Garo, that she could not escape Tivelo. She thought constantly of how easy it would be to give up and how much peace it would give her. Stubbornness kept her going, but she did not feel that she was winning against the doubts, only delaying their victory.

Ritu left once, when the attendants informed him of the end of their preparations. He took leave of Aria to attend Evera’s subdued funeral. Aria, for her part, chose to stay away. Thoughts threatened to overwhelm her, of Achi and Evera dead in quick succession, but she forced them down, enforced calm over herself, and returned to her reading. Outside, in the garden behind the palace, the attendants burned Evera’s body. While it was still burning, Ritu returned to assist Aria.

By mid-morning of the next day, Aria knew as much about Garo as the books could tell her, and had a better idea of how difficult robbing him would be. She was not deterred because her only other option was still death, but she was terrified. Despite her refusal, Ritu gave her several of Evera’s belongings and, despite his generosity, none of them would be of much help in her task. She sensed that he was hiding the truly valuable items, but she had no desire to search for them. He gave her enough gold to outfit a palace and several valuable objects, and that was enough kindness. Aria reasoned that if he possessed something capable of killing Garo, he would have given it to her.

By Ritu’s order, the attendants had all left before Evera’s body finished burning. When Aria had packed her items into several trunks, there was no one remaining in the palace. The silence was chilling and almost ominous. She buried the books and gold far away from Evera’s property, making sure to leave no trace of the hiding place, and then teleported herself toward Garo’s palace. The storeroom she had previously used was still available, so she hid there and watched, taking stock of Garo’s defenses and plotting her heist.