4. Amick
Amick
I’ve waited my entire life, read countless books, dug as deep as I could into ancient texts to learn everything about the God of Boundaries.
My fascination with him began the day at my father’s house when I laid my hand against that stone that showed me the truth of their quarrel.
Now, leaning against the shower frame, studying the daughter he left behind twenty years ago, I find I couldn’t care less about him. Sure, I’d still like to pick his brain, but the fact he’s causing the love of my life emotional distress weighs far heavier than anything I could learn from him.
She should get her answers long before I get mine.
It’s been two minutes and she hasn’t turned, moved, run her hands through her hair or down her skin. She stands under the spray, none the wiser that I’m here.
I’m not sure how long she’s been like this. She didn’t come with us to check if Yemi and the others had gone to bed. She told us to check on them, ask them to come to our house, then carried on through her back door.
Unlike my brothers, who went to their rooms to shower and get ready quickly once we returned, I stood at the edge of my bed, stared around, then came here to her. The sensations flowing across her soul aren’t strained, exactly, but they aren’t pleasant either.
One after the other, I kick off my shoes and begin undressing. By the time I pull my shirt over my head and open my eyes again, they collide with Thayla’s and her small, playful smile.
“Sneaking up on me, Candyman?”
“I’ve been in here for minutes now, Mysenta. You’re only just noticing.”
The teasing touch on her face falls slightly.
“Sorry. I was a little lost in my thoughts.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I know all too well how that is.”
She nods, fully understanding.
“May I join you?”
My hands pause at my waistband as I wait for her permission. It comes a moment later in the form of a breathtaking smile and a dip of her head.
Not only does the warm water welcome me, but so does she.
Wordlessly, her arms wrap around me, her fingers tracing patterns across my back. My hand cradles her head as I guide her closer until her cheek rests against my heart.
A long, peaceful moment passes. Never in my worst nightmares would I have thought I’d embrace someone like this. The thought of being wrapped in someone’s arms, naked, in a shower with water a touch too hot pouring down on us would’ve made my blood shiver.
If I replace her with anyone else in this realm, it does.
Not her. Never her.
This is my favorite place to be. This is comfort. Rightness.
Home.
“Were Yemi and the others still awake?” she asks, breaking the silence.
“Oh yes. Waiting in anticipation for us.”
She lets out a quiet chuckle. “So what’s the plan?”
“Kyzen asked them to give us thirty minutes to shower, change, and start breakfast. Then they’ll be here.”
Her drawn-out exhale fans across my wet skin as she tightens her hold and nods.
“Tell me what to do, Amick,” she whispers.
“You don’t need me to tell you what to do.”
“Well, guide me then. Give me some advice.”
A small smirk spreads across my lips. It’s cute that she thinks using a soft tone and switching to my preferred terminology will change my answer.
It, in fact, works. My mind whirls with the advice I want to give her.
Little anomaly.
I pull back a fraction and tilt her chin up until she’s looking at me.
“My advice is mostly the same. You don’t have to forgive your father or forge a relationship with him, but his identity does change some things.”
“It changes a lot. Everything.”
“Not everything, but yes, many things. In my opinion, he’ll be one of two things: a great help or a hindrance. We won’t know which—”
“Until I talk to him,” she huffs. “I don’t know how to approach that.”
“Then let’s finish our shower and go talk to the realm’s greatest mediator. Even when he hates it, he always knows what to say and how to approach any conversation.”
“He does have a way with words.”
“Better than anyone I know,” I agree.
She grins before pressing up on her toes. I lean down, meeting her lips halfway.
“I love that you do that,” she says as she pulls away.
“Do what?”
“Despite being the God of Knowledge, you defer to your brothers if you think one of them will handle a situation better. Even when you obsess over a plan or information, you still seek them out.”
“Of course I do. Sometimes it’s harder than others, but the assumption that I’ll always figure it out alone comes from how I’ve handled situations in the past and a grand misconception about the Domain of Knowledge. Many believe it means knowing everything, when that’s far from the truth.”
“Then what’s the truth of Knowledge?” she asks, stepping into the spray and running her hands through her hair.
For a fleeting second, my mind spirals the way it only does in her presence. Despite the conversation, my gaze drifts down her body.
I clear my throat, and she gives me a very distinct, satisfied smirk.
She truly hypnotizes me, and she likes that fact.
“Knowledge isn’t omniscience. It’s the pursuit of understanding. Recognizing patterns, remembering, questioning, connecting what others fail to see. But there will always be things beyond me.”
I take the lathered rag from her hand and lace our fingers together as I hold her arm up to wash it. Her lids close as a soft sound slips from her lips.
“Like what?” she asks.
“Things hidden. Things not yet discovered. Things that can’t be understood through knowledge alone.
I gather truths, but wisdom decides what to do with them.
Instinct moves faster than thought. Compassion changes outcomes logic never could.
Chaos creates variables no mind can fully predict.
And choice ensures no being can know everything.
People aren’t maps with a clear point A to point B. ”
Another small smile pulls at her mouth as I switch to her other arm.
“That’s frustrating for you, although you’re more accurate than not when it comes to figuring people out.”
“It is,” I agree. “There are moments I want every answer laid bare, every possibility mapped. But if knowledge were absolute, there’d be no growth. No discovery. No need for trust.”
My gaze drifts toward the doorway. My brothers are surely waiting in the kitchen by now.
“And no need for them,” I say low, almost fearful.
I wouldn’t trade my brothers for all the knowledge in all the realms.
I may not tell them that in those exact words, but it’s my truth.
She studies me for a long moment.
“So your domain isn’t about having all the answers?”
“No, and it never will be. It’s about never ceasing to seek them.”
A fond look crosses her features as she cups my cheek. I smile, kissing her thumb as she rubs it across my lip and my dimple.
“Well, then let’s get cleaned up and go seek some answers.”
She takes the rag from my hand, though I wasn’t finished. I don’t complain as she washes me as methodically as I’d wash myself.
She will never cease to amaze me.
This intimacy is just as alluring as when our flesh becomes one.
We don’t rush, but we don’t linger either.
After many blissful minutes cherishing the moment, we leave the shower, and she’s much lighter than when I entered. With a squeeze to my hand and a promise she’ll be out once she’s dressed, she enters her closet while I head out.
My brothers’ voices carry from the kitchen, and the aroma of coffee and food has my stomach rumbling. As soon as I stroll into view, their words stop and they stare at me.
“What?” I ask.
“That’s fucking taurnshit,” Riven says, hands on his hips. “I thought we were going to our own rooms to shower.”
“You three did go to your rooms.”
“And why didn’t you?” he asks.
“I went to my room, then decided I’d prefer to shower with Thayla. She was feeling off and I wanted to make her feel better.”
“Did you make her feel better?” Kyzen asks with a suggestive smirk I don’t fully understand.
“Well, of course I did.”
Creed scoffs, Riven throws his hands up, and Kyzen chuckles. Their reactions are confusing and ridiculous. I’m allowed alone time with our Binder just as they are.
I catch Riven muttering about taking tallies as I pass through the door.
I haven’t a clue what he’s tallying. I’m sure he doesn’t either.
By the time I finish getting ready and return to the kitchen, the three of them are sitting around the table, staring at Thayla. Her arms are crossed and a saucy smirk plays on her lips.
“What did I miss?” I ask, taking my seat.
“Oh, just me filling the guys in on our amazing shower. Thank you again for joining me.”
“I don’t believe you thanked me the first time, and you don’t have to thank me at all. It was my pleasure. I’ll always be there for you, however you need me.”
“Bet it was your pleasure,” Riven spits, and I tilt my head as Thayla and Kyzen snort.
He’s in a mood. Lack of sleep won’t bode well for him today.
My face scrunches and I glare down into my mug after choking down the sip I just took.
“The coffee is wrong,” I state.
“Yeah, because I drugged all of you.”
The four of us lower our mugs and glare at Riven.
“You did what?” Thayla asks.
He shrugs. “Figured we all needed a pick-me-up. Kyzen, Creed, and I more than you two, but I’m willing to share and include everyone. So cheers.”
He tilts his cup back, chugging the entire contents. The rest of us don’t move. We watch him closely, waiting for whatever reaction is about to burst free. His gaze travels over us, and we flinch when he bellows out a belly-gripping laugh.
“Oh my gods, you should see your faces. I’m both incredibly amused and offended.”
“You’re offended that we’re upset that you fucking drugged us?” Creed asks.
“Untangle your panties, dear Death. I didn’t drug anyone.” He snickers. “The coffee does taste like shit, though. I saw an opportunity to fuck with all of you and took it.”
“I’m never going to be able to trust you around my food and drinks,” Thayla says, shaking her head.
“I do actually have something I’d like to slip in your drink one day. Some love potion Vullie whipped up.”
She frowns at his mischievous wink.