"Thank you," Luca said deeply. "Kelsey and I will never forget your kindness."
"Don't thank me yet," she replied. "If we proceed this way, one of us will surely die. Are you prepared for that?"
"I am willing to die if it means protecting her."
"Good."
In the next breath, Luca's consciousness snapped back into his body, while the Great Goddess returned to the chessboard. Moments later, the god seated before her regained awareness and slammed his hand onto the table in suppressed fury.
"Why the sudden temper?" she asked coolly. "Did my niece offend you?"
"Your brother is alive!" he snapped. "Why did you never tell me?"
"And allow that arrogant elder faction to hunt him again?" she replied. "I am not foolish."
"At least you could have trusted me."
"Says the one who concealed my niece's existence for centuries," she countered calmly. "I only discovered my brother's survival five hundred years ago. You knew the child lived a thousand years ago."
