Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
For the next while, Seth talks.
And talks.
And talks.
God, he loves the sound of his own voice.
Guards move in and out of the room. Someone brings drinks for Margo and Seth, and I’m given a wine goblet and a tray of fruit.
I pick at it while Seth goes on and on about his plans.
He mentions cities he’s visited, the armies he’s been raising, and how he attacked and burned down some forest because an Aspect of a goddess was hiding out there.
That he’s made friends with Kassam, Lord of the Wild, who has returned after a long absence, and he claims to have him on his side.
“An army is nice, but it’s not nearly as necessary as good allies,” Seth replies. I eat a wedge of cheese and a few slices of apple, trying to drown the overly sweet taste of the wine I’ve been given. I’d rather have water, but none’s been offered.
No one seems worried about the supposed poison, which makes me wonder if it was just a lie. When Margo leans over to steal an apple slice from my plate, I decide it is, indeed, a lie, and they’re jerks for saying shit like that.
Fuck it, maybe I should try to get drunk.
I don't think I can, but no time like the present to try it out. Kalos won’t care.
Kalos hasn’t even looked in my direction.
Not once. I might as well be another chair in the room for all that he gives a shit, and that hurts my feelings.
I don’t know if we could be considered friends, but I thought we were more than this.
I’m giving my life over to him. The least he could do is acknowledge I exist.
Then again, if we’re not friends, why do I obsess over that stupid kiss?
I chew a slice of apple even angrier.
“An army is not necessary,” Kalos says evenly. “The temple of Aron of the Cleaver at Balsingra is full of worshippers. That means he has already ascended back to the heavens. If we are not fighting him, is there even a need for soldiers?”
“There is always a need for might,” Seth counters. “Think of it as a bargaining tactic.”
Yeah, because he’s so good at bargaining. I want to huff with irritation, but I still don’t know if I’ll be knifed in the back, so I say nothing. I just eat in angry silence.
They talk about armies and other aspects and places I’ve never heard of.
They talk for an endlessly long time, with Seth doing most of the actual talking and Kalos making bored noises of agreement.
I polish off my wine and the entire plate of cheese and fruit and slouch in my chair, trying not to yawn.
Seth wants to invade some kingdom I’ve never heard of and Kalos refutes that it’s too much work.
Everything Seth suggests, Kalos isn’t a fan of.
But Seth isn’t deterred. Maybe he expected this, working with Apathy, but he has plans for all kinds of things, and quickly moves on from one suggestion to the next.
Seth is a schemer with big dreams, and Kalos is… whatever the opposite of that is.
A low energy dickhead, I decide.
Seth pulls out a map and unrolls it over a table, only for Kalos to make the most pained, aggrieved sigh ever. “Are we going to do all of this tonight?”
“You don’t need to sleep. I don’t need to sleep.” Seth smirks at Kalos. “Why not?”
“Because my head is spinning with all your plans. I am weary of all of this.” He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair, like a petulant child. “I am done scheming for the day.”
“We’ve barely even talked about my plans for the Adassian Plains!” Seth’s lip curls in angry disdain. “And Vor has established a stronghold in—”
Kalos lifts a hand. “You are the one in charge. I care not which direction we head. You decide. I am simply along for the ride. Now, I would like to take my Anchor to my quarters and have a few hours of peace.”
Seth makes another frustrated sound and shoves the map aside in a rustle of paper that probably wasn’t very satisfying.
“We’ve waited this long,” Margo soothes, getting to her feet. She moves to Seth’s side, rubbing his arm. “What’s one day more? Our guests are tired. Let them rest.”
Seth pinches between his brows. “I grow weary of delays. Think of the time we are wasting!”
“One day isn’t going to make a difference,” Margo replies. She links her arm with his and casts a charming smile in my direction and looks over at Kalos. “Take your evening. Enjoy the silence. We’ll talk plans in the morning and be ready to move out. Where are we heading first, my lord?”
She tilts her head at Seth, all bright eyes.
“The borders of Yshrem,” he says, even as he takes Margo’s arm. “To pick up the remnants of Aron’s armies.”
“Then we will discuss our plans over breakfast, and head towards Yshrem. Until then, you should see the new painting I’ve made.”
Seth makes a disgusted sound as she leads him away. “You know I hate your ugly paintings.”
“That’s why I do them, Seth, my dumpling.”
“I’m not your dumpling. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Margo just laughs, the sound trilling as they leave the room and us behind.
Arrogant assholes. I’m so angry and frustrated that I don’t know what to do.
I glance up at the guard that’s been looming over my chair this whole time, and he steps out from behind me.
He sheathes his blade and gestures to the doors in the opposite direction of Seth and Margo. “I will take you to his quarters.”
I glance over at Kalos, but he’s still not looking in my direction.
He gazes at the fire, rubbing his chin. I can’t tell if he’s lost in one of his apathy spells or if something else is going on, but I’m annoyed with him, too.
I turn and follow the guard, leaving Kalos in the hall.
He leads me through the keep and moves to stand guard outside of the room as I head inside.
I’m not entirely surprised to see Dingle in Kalos’s quarters.
The goat bleats and prances happily over to me the moment I enter, and I sink to my knees, arms open, and give him a wriggly hug as he tries to headbutt me.
The room is sumptuous, with expensive wall hangings and statues and a bed covered in the finest linens.
There are fringed rugs and an open trunk with clothes spilling out of it, and it looks like Dingle has taken a bite out of most everything.
I chuckle as he knocks his head affectionately against my cheek, just hard enough.
“You’ve been busy. I hope you shit on his favorite shirt. ”
He bleats in my ear.
“I’m sad, Dingle,” I whisper, scratching the goat’s head and neck as I glance about the sumptuous rooms. “We’re going to work with the bad guys.
In fact, we might even be bad guys. I don’t know that I like that.
” I rub his ear. “We should be doing good with what power we have, shouldn’t we?
Isn’t that the point of the gods being exiled? So they can do better?”
This doesn’t feel like better. Not for Kalos.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe someone in charge wants him to be a better bad guy.
Ugh.
I hug Dingle and try not to feel defeated.
Dingle tries to eat my sleeve.
I’m alone in the room for a while. There’s no sign of Kalos, even though he’d insisted on getting peace and quiet.
There’s no one else, either. I wander amongst the mess, tempted to straighten up…
and tempted to throw things and make it worse.
Is this what I traded my world, my life, for?
So Kalos and Seth can team up like some fantasy version of Team Rocket? No thanks.
I eye the lone window in the room. It’s little more than a small rectangle at the top of the wall and even holding up a candle to it doesn’t show me what it looks like outside.
I have no idea where I’m being kept or what is outside of this building.
I don’t know why I’m even thinking about escape.
It’s not like I can leave Kalos’s side. Not without intense pain.
I’m aching all over even now, as if my body is one big bruise.
I search the room for weapons instead. Moving to a nearby table, I heft a heavy marble figurine of what looks like a stylized tree. Some sort of religious symbol, perhaps? I can use this as a club if nothing else. The door opens just as I pick it up, and I turn, alert, as Kalos enters the room.
He shuts the door behind him quickly. Dingle gives a happy bleat, and Kalos’s gaze finally, finally lands on me.
A snarl of anger escapes me, and I rush toward him, statue-club raised over my head.
Kalos grabs my wrist, stopping me, and stares down at me with those intense green eyes. Before I can say anything else, his mouth is on mine, and he’s kissing me ferociously.
I drop the statue.
It falls to the floor with a bang, but Kalos doesn’t lift his head. Instead, he releases my wrist and cups my face in his hands, continuing to kiss me. It gentles from the first stunning crash of his mouth against mine to soft, gentle kisses that nibble at my lips and make me weak in the knees.
“I had to wait,” he murmurs between kisses. “I didn’t want them to suspect anything. Didn’t want them to realize about you.”
“Oh,” I breathe, and Kalos nips my lower lip, gently sucking on it. My entire body prickles with arousal and I cling to his shirt, following his mouth as he tilts his head, kissing me again.
“Are you well? Did they harm you?” he asks, voice low. He pulls back and scans my face, his expression hardening. “How do you feel?”
“Confused,” I say, even as I want more kisses. But I guess the time for kissing has passed, because his expression is changing, morphing into the anger he was bottling up. “You…so…I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that they drugged you and stole you,” Kalos says in a low voice. “I didn’t want them to harm you. I pretended to be unmoved. They brought us to Seth’s stronghold and have been trying to convince me that we should work together. I’ve been pretending until I saw you.”