The family gapes at me—which is always satisfying.
I turn back to Griffin. His expression is stony and unreadable, although if I had to take a wild guess, I’d say it was tending toward ominous.
“I’m not staying here to write sonnets to Cerberus,” I tell him. “I’m called the Kingmaker for a reason. I go with you.”
Griffin’s eyes darken. He flashes me a look that promises…something.
“The Kingmaker,” Piers echoes with a jolt.
Heard of me, has he? I’m not surprised. He reads a lot of old scrolls.
“Go where exactly?” Egeria asks, her now worried gaze shifting back and forth between Griffin and me.
“To the Ice Plains,” Griffin replies stiffly. “That’s where magical creatures are.”
His entire family erupts in unison. It’s impressive.
“But we have our own Ice Plains to the north,” Carver finally says over all the denials and arguing. “Why go all the way to Fisa?” He shakes his head in confusion, setting loose a few strands of jet-black hair that curve toward his angular jaw.
I think what he really means is why go anywhere near that death trap at all? Carver is an expert swordsman, lean, sinewy, and strong. He’s smart and fast, but magic leaves him out of his element—and possibly with no means of defense.
“Because the Ipotane could be anywhere from our northern border with the Ice Plains to Mount Olympus in the far northeast. We need someone to help us locate the herd and tell us how to ensnare it. A Chaos Wizard lives just over the Fisan border, on the south shore of the Frozen Lake. I think he can help us.” Or, more to the point, I hope the Gods will.
“What are Ipotane?” Kaia asks. She’s young, southern, and Hoi Polloi—all good reasons she’s never heard of the creatures.
“They’re like Centaurs, only fiercer. Bigger.” I look sternly at her from under lowered brows. “Something you never want to meet in the dark. Or the day.”
Kaia’s blue-gray eyes go wide and sparkle with curiosity. She giggles.
“A single blow from one of its massive hooves will crush a man’s rib cage. A human skull doesn’t stand a chance. One flick of its long tail feels like a hundred lashes from a stinging whip. Two flicks will flay the skin and muscle from your bones. They have glowing, amber eyes that can see farther than a hawk’s, and equine ears that can hear a man unsheathe his sword from a mile away. They don’t eat meat, but I’ve heard they bite.” I snap my teeth at Kaia, and she giggles again. I probably shouldn’t joke. Ipotane are no laughing matter.
“Have you seen one?” Kaia wiggles toward the edge of her chair, as if chasing down a herd of murderous Ipotane sounds like a fine idea to her.
“Not yet.”
“Then how do you know?” she asks.
I think the smile that twists my face must scare her a little because her eyes lose some of their eager glitter. “Bedtime stories.” I leave out Mother’s favorite part—how if I didn’t rat out someone’s lies, she would stir a herd of Ipotane into a frenzy and then drop me into the middle of it, weaponless and alone.
Nerissa gives me a disapproving look, sweeping it to Griffin next. “These don’t sound like creatures you should approach.”
“That’s why we need the Chaos Wizard,” I explain. “So we don’t blunder around and get ourselves killed.”
“Chaos. Sounds like fun. Not very reassuring, though.” Carver picks up a goat cheese–filled phyllo wrap and inspects it with a critical eye. “Can’t we find a Tell-Them-What-They-Want-To-Know Wizard?” he asks.
I push my own wrap to the far side of my plate because goat cheese—gah! “Life would be too easy if we had any of those,” I say dryly.
“What about an Oracle? They seem to like you.” Carver pops the goaty atrocity into his mouth.
I shrug. “I’ve seen two, and neither of them killed me.” In fact, they were more than helpful. “But Oracles are about judgment and doling out magic, weapons, or death. You can’t just ask questions and get answers. And a Chaos Wizard isn’t—”
“He has nothing to do with wreaking havoc or creating disorder,” Piers interrupts me.
I blink. Set down my fork. “Perhaps you’d like to finish my explanation for me?” I ask sarcastically.
Piers does, as if that were a real invitation. “In this case, the word reverts to its original meaning. Before the cosmos took shape, there was only Chaos—a whirling mass without form.”
“I just had this lesson!” Kaia exclaims. “From Chaos, Gaia emerged. Her son, Uranus, fashioned the first world. From the two of them, all life was made.”
Piers nods. “Their children, among others, were the Titans. The Titans birthed our Olympians.”
“Then the Titans and the Olympians warred. I’m not sure why.” Kaia’s face falls. “My tutor hasn’t gotten to that part yet.”
I jump in before Piers can. “The Titan king was so intent on maintaining his power that he started swallowing his babies whole to keep them from growing up and overthrowing him. Poseidon, Hades, their sisters—they all went right down the hatch, unharmed, but gone. No one liked that, especially not Zeus, who escaped being eaten and then freed his siblings. He slipped his father a potion that made the Titan king vomit everyone back up. The New Gods and the Old fought bitterly and for a small eternity before Zeus and his brothers finally killed their father. Their victory ushered in the new age.”