Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
Even though I’m exhausted, we talk through the night and come up with a plan.
It’s a simple plan, no more than a bit of talking through scenarios, and the rest of the time, we wrap around each other and hold tight.
Every moment might be my last moment with him, and I want to breathe in the scent of him, the soft drift of his hair against my skin, the way his nose grazes my temple when he leans close.
I have to savor every second, imprint them in my memory for all time.
When dawn approaches, he touches my face one last time, gives me a kiss, and sits in his chair again, sinking into a fugue.
It’s supposed to be pretend, but his “fugue” seems so real that I immediately feel alone again.
I swallow down my hurt, because I know the plan behind it.
I do. It just sucks to see him stare off into space, unreachable despite being a few feet away.
I put my shoes on and cover my legs with blankets, watching the door.
Through it, I can hear people moving about in the hallway, and I hold myself steady when the door opens and a smiling priestess enters with a big tray of food.
She nods at a guard who holds the door open for her.
“Good morning,” she calls gaily, heading to the small table.
“I’ve brought you food to break your fast—”
Quick as lightning, Kalos is up and out of his chair. His hand goes around the priestess’s throat, and he pushes her to the wall. Her eyes go wide and bug out, her face flushing.
I sneeze violently, again and again.
“You feel that?” Kalos says to the priestess as he releases her.
He smooths her veil back from her face, all calculated smiles.
“I’ve just given you the plague. Not just any plague, either.
Your insides are tickling right now, but before you can make it back to the kitchen, you’re going to be stricken with pain.
You’re going to vomit blood, and before the day is out, your innards are going to melt.
Your sisters are going to try to help you, like the good priestesses they are, but they’re all going to get infected, too.
Every single one of you is going to die a wretched, horrible death before the next day passes.
” His smile grows broader, and he chucks her chin.
“Unless you bring Alithia in here right now, because we want answers.”
She looks over at me in terror.
I sneeze again, snot running down my face. I wipe it with one of the linen napkins, but my eyes are tearing and my nose won’t stop tickling. “S’true,” I manage between sneezes. “Sorry.”
A terrified sob escapes her, and she nods, stumbling out of the room.
She pauses in the doorway, retches, and sobs harder as she races away.
The guards in the hall watch but don’t move, their hands on their swords.
They’re unsure and too cowardly to enter.
Their orders are probably to keep us in this room, but since we’re not leaving, they don’t know how to respond.
I slide out of bed and move to Kalos’s side, grabbing a muffin as I do. My sneezing has stopped momentarily and I blow my nose. “Are we really going to kill her? She might be innocent.”
“My sweet, sunshine-y Elsie, you need to understand that I will destroy every single person that so much as threatens a hair upon your lovely head.” He brushes a lock of hair back from my face with tender hands, a far cry from the ruthless god he was just a moment ago.
“And if they’re not letting us in on their plans, I absolutely consider them a threat. ”
I manage a nod and go back to eating my muffin. I’m going to need my strength if we’re busting out of here. Hopefully. We just need some information from Alithia first.
By the time I’ve eaten my third muffin, Priestess Alithia appears, and it’s clear she’s just rolled out of bed.
Her veil is askew, she’s wearing no jewelry, and her face is lined with sleep.
Her eyes are worried and she pants as she enters our room, making it clear that she ran here. “My Lord Kalos—”
Kalos raises a hand to silence her. “I’ve been very understanding but my patience is at an end.”
She continues. “Priestess Minverna collapsed—”
Kalos snaps his fingers.
I sneeze violently once more.
Alithia’s words turn into a raspy croak, and she clutches her throat.
“I told you that my patience is gone,” Kalos continues, voice cold. “Unless you want your tonsils to explode from infection in the next moment, you’ll be silent.”
She swallows hard, rubbing her throat, and looks at the two of us with fresh terror.
“You’ll tell us who is making you hold us here,” he explains.
“You’ll tell us everything you know. And then we’re going to walk out of here, unharmed.
No one is going to even think about hurting my Anchor.
Right now, your little priestess has the most virulent case of plague I can possibly give her, and she’s going to spread it to all of you within the next day unless you give me what I want.
I’m not afraid to kill all of you. As Belara’s creatures, it will bring me great joy to destroy you. Now, sit and talk.”
He points at the chair next to the table.
Alithia sits, blinking wide eyes.
I sneeze and blow my nose again. Sweat is forming on my brow and I’m dizzy. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a fever at this point, simply from Kalos abusing his powers. Am I going to point this out right now? Absolutely fucking not. I drink a cup of water and keep my damn mouth shut.
The priestess attempts to speak, but it comes out as a croak.
She looks up at Kalos, and he moves to her side.
She flinches back as he touches her throat, her expression wary.
She’s no longer all smiles and apologies.
She sees him for the dangerous god he truly is now.
Wetting her lips, she clears her throat.
“Thank you, great god.” There’s a hint of a rasp, but her voice has returned. “Please accept our humblest apologies—”
He holds up a hand again. “Save it. Tell me who told you to hold us here.”
Her face pales and she pauses for a long moment before clasping her hands in her lap. “My Lady Belara is working with your other Aspect, my Lord Kalos. The two aspects are traveling together. They will arrive in the morning.”
I suck in a breath. I’d dismissed the idea of Belara and Kalos working together because they’re supposed to hate each other. I thought I was being jealous. Turns out, not so much.
Kalos grunts. “Which Aspect is Belara?”
“L-lies, my lord. Please be merciful—”
Another violent round of sneezes hits me, so hard I practically double over.
I straighten, only for Kalos to grab my hand.
“We are walking out of here,” he announces.
“If you try to stop us, I will give everyone in this wretched town the most gruesome, excruciating death possible. No one will be spared. Under no circumstances do you harm my Anchor. Do you understand?”
“Aye, my lord,” Alithia whispers.
The god pulls me after him and I sneeze the entire way.
My eyes continue to stream, but I can see people stepping aside to make way for us.
Hand in hand, we hurry out of the temple and into the city.
I feel wildly conspicuous, like the eyes of hundreds of people are watching us, and I wait.
And wait. Wait for someone to attack, wait for someone to hit me, or knock me to the ground.
I flinch with every loud noise, and the walk through a town has never felt so fucking long or slow.
I only feel like I can breathe when we step over the stone bridge that crosses the river and head toward Thornhill, which represents safety. It’s pitch black out, with nothing but open land around us for miles.
“I’m surprised they let that happen,” I finally say, sniffing. My nose is clogged and my eyes are scratchy, head throbbing as if I’ve had a sudden onset of the flu. But I’m a bit relieved because every step away from the city makes us safer. “I kept waiting for someone to try and stop us.”
“They’re cowards,” Kalos says. “No one wants to risk their neck. Once you threaten an entire settlement, people listen.” He glances over at me, his expression one of concern. “I know you don’t feel well—that’s on me—but we can’t stop. We need to find someplace to hide.”
“To…hide?” I echo, thoughts foggy.
“They’ll come after us when they deem it safe, to try and catch us by surprise. Once we get to those trees up ahead, we’ll head into the brush and hunker down somewhere for the day while we figure things out.”
That sounds…unpleasant. Necessary, but unpleasant. “What about Omos? And Dingle? I’m afraid to go back. I don’t want Omos to be targeted because he helped us.”
“We can’t go back,” he agrees. “They’ll head there looking for us. For his safety, we need to move on.”
A lump forms in my throat as I think of the kind old man who’s been nothing but generous and gracious with his time. I think of funny, silly Dingle who loves to butt at your legs and demand attention. “Of course.”
“I know you’re sad, sunshine. But the goat will be safe with the monk. He’ll have friends to play with and a nice field full of interesting things to chew on. It’s safer for him to be there than to continue along with us.”
Because everyone wants us dead. I know this, but the realization I won’t get to see my pet again feels like a fresh wound.
I’m determined not to cry, even though it fills me with an aching sadness.
Dingle’s been with me every step of the way and losing him feels like the first step towards the grave.