“Exactly.”
I thought about that as I toyed with the buttons on my robe. “Then he would have to be a Primal god of a Court.”
“If he was, we’d know his name.”
True, but that tingling sensation was at it again. If Attes was that old, it meant he was one of the first Primals born instead of created. He would’ve ruled over… “Vathi,” I whispered.
Kieran paused as he reached for his glass again. He looked as surprised as I felt to hear myself speak the name of the Court belonging to the Gods of War and Peace.
“The Primal God of War and Accord to be exact,” I said.
Kieran blinked. “Setti—”
“Is the name of Attes’s…vellám. The extension of Attes’s will, his essence. Each Primal god who oversees a Court gains the ability to summon their bloodsteed.” I frowned, having never heard nor spoken that word before. “Setti was Attes’s bloodsteed.”
Kieran stared at me, a little slack-jawed. “It’s so weird that you actually know this stuff. I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
I frowned.
“But how is that possible?” he asked. “Unless Lailah and Theon are lies.”
“They’re not.” I drifted toward him. “The only thing I can think of is that Attes…abdicated his throne and gave it to Theon.”
Kieran let out a low whistle. “He did mention that he had spent the last several hundred and then some years in stasis.”
Instinct told me that was something the Primal gods had to do to, well, basically stay sane. Something we would have to do at some point. And, gods, that was… I couldn’t even think about that. But back to the matter at hand. They didn’t hand over their Courts unless… “He must’ve planned to be in stasis for so long that he knew he couldn’t rule.”
“Maybe,” Kieran said.
I couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve caused Attes to do that. I didn’t know the answer, just as I had no idea why he would’ve endured the pain of draken blood for me. But I didn’t think that was something a Primal god did often—or at all. In both cases.
I shook my head as I glanced toward the chamber door. “Did Casteel ever say why he named his horse that?”
“Ego,” he said with a snort. “Only Cas would name his horse after a Primal God of War’s steed.”
“How did he acquire Setti?”
“Thevadentiaisn’t telling you that?”
My eyes narrowed.
Kieran smirked. “It was about fifteen or so years ago. Maybe closer to twenty.”
“That long?” Surprise rippled through me. I knew Atlantian horses were different than others. They were several hands tallerand longer than a shire horse, able to carry two people and pull significant weight. And I knew they could live longer, but I hadn’t realized it was by that much.
“Setti is a sirtian—a breed of Atlantian horse rumored to have originated from Iliseeum. Who knows how true that is? But sirtians, if taken care of, live for many decades.” His brow pinched. “Anyway, he was part of Elian’s herd.”
My eyes shot to his at the mention of Casteel’s ancestor—the one who had summoned the gods to smooth things over between the Elemental Atlantians and the wolven after the war with the deities. Elian was obviously important to the history of Atlantia, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to that. What? I had no idea.
“We were visiting his estate—Valyn, Cas, and I. Malik was…well, we know where he was,” he continued. “Elian was long gone by then, and the estate was being run by one of Valyn’s stewards. Setti was a colt, alone in the field, filling himself with orchard grass—which was odd. Normally, you don’t see a young horse by itself.”
I’d have to take his word on that.
“The moment he saw us, he started following.” Kieran tilted his head, and his eyes narrowed. “I forgot about that.” A wry grin tugged at his lips as he glanced down. “It made Delano nervous as fuck at first.”
“Interesting,” I murmured, mulling all that over as I picked up my glass. The warhorse named Setti would’ve been Attes’svellám.The only way for his will to have transferred to Theon was through death, and clearly Attes didn’t die. And even if he were dead, Theon wouldn’t have named hisvellámthe same as Attes did. That would be like naming your next child after one you lost. But Casteel found Setti when he was a colt, so how could he be Attes’s bloodsteed? This…feelingI had, one that made absolutely no sense, had to be wrong. Right?
Still, a part of me wanted to rush down to the stables to see Setti.
