Chapter 6 #2
“He pays my price.” She said it so easily, as though Kason’s death would be nothing less than what he deserved.
“I—”
“We agree to your terms,” Kason said.
I gritted my teeth. Stupid witch-hunter. Her terms were not clear enough to agree to!
“Excellent.” Rhianough touched a finger to Kason’s forehead.
Instantly, the fatigue that had dogged Kason for days disappeared from his body.
It was like a weight lifted from him, even as he lay on the floor.
His skin lost the pallor I had gotten used to seeing, and his eyes brightened with energy.
The witch-hunter’s magic surged forward too, crackling with eagerness.
As he sat up, he looked like the man who’d hunted me for so long. The return to his old self sent a frisson of unease through me—at least, that’s what I attributed the shiver to. Certainly not the way Kason smiled at me, free and open, looking so joyous and…
Pretty.
No. Do not go there, Mokido .
Before I could say anything incriminating, such as how good Kason looked, Rhianough was suddenly in front of me.
She was not as tall as she’d seemed—I supposed her godly presence made her appear larger than life.
In reality, she was a head shorter than me.
Though, of course, she didn’t seem intimidated by my height in the least.
“I shall claim you. Yes, I believe I shall.”
My eyes widened. “You’ll—” I broke off with a cry as one of her snakes snapped out and sank its fangs into my neck. Pain flared, stealing my sight for a moment, but I didn’t miss Kason’s shout or the sound of his sword leaving its sheath.
Rhianough laughed. It was surprisingly musical, hearty, and jovial. Not at all what I would have expected coming from her. In the next second, the pain was gone, replaced by warmth, and when I clapped a hand over the wound—once the snake had retreated—there was no blood to be found.
“Make good use of your time.” With that intonation, Rhianough disappeared again, somewhat less dramatically than when she’d graced us with her presence.
“What in all the hells was that?” Kason strode over to me, ducking in close to get a good look at my neck.
“Apparently, I’m claimed. Whatever that means,” I added under my breath.
“Generally, it means you have the favor of a particular god.” Kason’s gloved hand brushed across my neck, and I held in a shiver and a fervent wish Kason wasn’t wearing gloves. It would be lovely to feel his skin on my?—
A soft chuckle reverberated through my skull. A chuckle that was definitely not my inner voice.
Oh no. I swallowed, ignoring that new presence and hoping it would go away. “What does it look like?”
Kason tilted his head to get a better look.
“The two puncture wounds aren’t wounds any longer.
They’re a pair of violet dots, with a design radiating out from them.
It cascades from here”—Kason indicated the joint of my jaw, under my ear—“to here.” His fingertip drifted down to the curve where my neck met my shoulder. “It’s actually quite striking.”
And identifiable. Great. One more feature to add to my Wanted posters. “Hopefully, once we complete this task, it’ll go away.”
Kason made a noncommittal noise as he withdrew his touch, but didn’t disagree, and for that, I was grateful. I couldn’t deal with the idea of being permanently marked so visibly—at least, not today.
“We’d best be on our way,” Kason said. “Connell Cross is about half a day’s walk.”
Thankfully, he didn’t suggest we spend the night at the temple, considering our time limit didn’t start until dawn.
He led the way out, and the sun-dappled forest was far more comforting than it should have been.
I had thought the forest surrounding the temple overbearing in atmosphere, but it had nothing on the temple itself.
Or Rhianough’s own presence. In fact, the forest felt positively light despite the shadows at the base of the trees and in the underbrush.
Once we were well clear of the stone walls, I smacked Kason’s arm. The big oaf flinched, even though I knew he’d likely barely felt the tap. “You…you…”
“What?”
“You agreed to her terms too quickly!”
“Did you expect me to negotiate? With a goddess who was literally killing me?”
“Well…no. But you could have asked for more information. Or given me time to negotiate.”
Kason snorted. “You mean yell at her.”
“It got her attention, didn’t it?”
“I don’t feel as though we should push a goddess’s patience though.”
Grumbling, I had to admit he had a point. Not that I’d utter those words aloud. “Half a day to this village I’ve never heard of then? Let’s go. It will be dark too soon.”
“Mo, I—” Kason broke off even as he stopped on the trail. “Sorry, Mokido.”
“Mo.” With my eyes, I dared Kason to make something of it.
A smile flashed over Kason’s lips, there and gone in an instant. “Mo, I can do this on my own. I’m sure whatever the issue is, I can handle it. You don’t need?—”
I glared at the stupid, stupid man wasting time. “Shut up,” I said, and started down the path again.