Chapter 2 #2
Mouth half-open, disbelief heightened her pitch.
“And you are rude.” Her posture noticeably stiffened, proving his point—much to her irritation—but nonetheless she pushed back on his observations.
“I’m not uptight. I just… Deals are done in a certain manner at court,” she finished, both embarrassed and affronted.
His grin widened even further. “That voice you use. What is that?”
Her cheeks heated, her gaze catching on the sheen of the scars on his hand. His fingers spread across his jaw and mouth, distracting her. This wasn’t going how she wanted it to at all.
“My sister calls it my Crown voice,” she admitted begrudgingly. “It just happens, okay?” She crossed her arms uncomfortably and stole a glance at him only to wish she hadn’t. The pure amusement hidden behind his hand made her own lips twitch into a smile. Bastard.
The fact of the matter was, the stick up her ass had been installed at birth by her mother, and it was not going to come out without a fight. Not in the presence of a god, anyway. And not that she’d ever admit it.
He held up his palms in placation. “Setting aside the voice, I admire the bold opener. You would have died if it wasn’t for me. But please, insult the deal I offered after falling into my throne room nearly dead.”
Exasperated, she set down her coffee with a rattle. “I couldn’t fight back—I had to let the guards take me. I didn’t think it would go that far! And you know what, the voice is called having manners!”
Contrary to his even breaths and calm expression, a dark sootlike fog encased Aidan, his eyes now shining like royal blue coal. Elysia froze. She’d gone too far. She’d pissed him off.
She drew on every ounce of court training she’d ever had, forcing the words through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry, I apologize. The deal is perfectly fine. How do we proceed?” Better to stay alive and work with a shitty deal than to die her first day here.
Ducking her head, she stared at the floral rug, hating herself for rolling over, but she wasn’t prepared for immortal fallout. She bit down on the insides of her cheeks. She’d never agreed to such an absolutely gods-awful deal before, and it was going to be inescapably bound by a god.
Aidan spoke, his voice smooth and rough at once as his flood of sootlike power tasted her skin. “We both know it’s a terrible deal. That’s not what I’m angry about.”
At his power’s touch, an old hunger yawned within her, a hunger she’d been forced to deny her entire life in Kava. She pushed the ravenous sensation down and tucked her feet beneath her on the chair. “It really is terrible. Worst deal I’ve ever made.”
He ignored her, his soot still writhing in the air, tasting her skin and brushing against her hair. “I’ve kept eyes on you—I was recalling exactly how you received your injuries.”
Startled, she gripped the arm of the chair. “Like I said, I knew the king was going to make an example of me. At least I got to stab him before he tried to kill me.”
“You really knew?” His jaw ticked and her confusion increased.
“Yes.”
“You didn’t consider escaping? Traveling here before it came to such lethal blows?”
She was quiet. “People needed to know. Everyone thinks Garrison’s a hero—that he’s golden.”
His fingers were drumming again. “I suppose I might owe Garrison one thank you before this is all done.”
“What could you possibly want to thank him for?” The sootlike fog had disappeared now, and she mistakenly thought it meant he had relaxed.
“Would anything less than death have made you call my name?”
She flashed back to the king’s hands in her hair. Her knees digging into the stage. The crowd of faces and a sword against her neck.
Hand lifting unconsciously to where the sword had cut in, she wondered how that night would form her. If she would rise as Aidan said or if she would fall like the blade that had almost taken her.
Voice sharp, coldness washed over her. “I would have taken the deal, regardless.”
He studied her carefully, hunting for any sign of dishonesty. “Is that so?”
“I’ve lived my entire life on the precipice of death. Bent in half by others’ expectations and exploitations. Death doesn’t motivate me. The hope of living does.”
“What a horrible way to live.” Whisper soft, his empathy stole through her practiced guard. “Perhaps, one day when things are not so dire, you will find that here—a life worth hoping for.”
She looked away. How could his words be anything but empty? This was the god who had made a deal to wreck the realms. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she refocused their conversation. “My amendments.”
“Go on.” He listened intently.
Brushing scone crumbs from her hands, she ticked off her demands one by one. “You will give me any information you can to assist me. You will give me free travel between the realms. You will provide coin and resources as needed.”
Aidan interrupted her. “As I already told you, you will have whatever you need that is within my power. Travel is outside my grasp, but I will petition the fates on your behalf. They’ve been known to grant similar boons before.”
Elysia considered him carefully, but he shrugged as if it were all simple.
“Why wouldn’t I help you in every possible way?
This realm exists out of my power—my power that is immensely limited without the talisman.
As things currently stand, the kickback from my deal with the Kavian king has led to destabilization beyond what you can imagine, not only in Kava, but here as well.
At some point, the dead will have nowhere to go.
Do you have any idea what will happen if the dead have nowhere to go? ”
Her eyes rounded.
He continued. “Your world is also dependent on magic. It may be inhabited by mortals, but it was woven by gods. Without magic, both the land and people will eventually succumb to the inevitable. Kava is a glimpse of what awaits the entire world if Garrison succeeds and we fail.”
The stakes were a guillotine above them.
It wasn’t just Kava and her people in the balance.
It was the realm of the dead.
The entire mortal world.
Swallowing, she reviewed their terrible deal one last time.
“I find the talisman required for you to come into your full godhood, and then you’ll help me restore Kava.
You can’t undo the deal with Garrison, and your powers may still be affected by that deal, but you’ll do everything you can to restore our homes, correct? ”
Aidan interlaced his fingers and held her gaze. “My offer remains the same as when we originally met.”
Overwhelm stole any confidence she’d had. “Please tell me you know where to find the talisman.”
But he didn’t say the words she wished he would. Instead, he stood up smoothly, his lean muscled frame towering over her and forcing her to look up at his outstretched, waiting hand.
Tentatively, she placed her hand in his, her stomach tightening at the quick brightening of flames in his eyes.
“Are you ready to make a deal, Elysia Parker?”