Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
“Time to go.”
I don’t see who says it, but the words instill fear in my heart. I jerk awake, leaping up from the bed. I’m alone, the sheets tousled, and I frown as I look around the room. “Where’s Kalos?”
The room is empty. There’s no one around.
No sign of Kalos.
Worry flares through me and I lace my dress up quickly, shoving my feet into my loose slippers once more.
My legs feel strangely heavy and when I leave the room, it’s like I’m wading through mud.
Kalos isn’t in the hall, and I move from one room to the next, looking for a familiar head of silvery hair.
“Kalos?” I call out. No one answers.
The servants lurk in shadowy corners, and no one meets my eyes. It’s like they all know something I don’t, and it makes me panic even more.
“Kalos?” I call over and over again. “Kalos, where are you?”
My nose runs, and at first, I’m excited—this might be a sign that I’m getting closer to him, if my body is showing signs of sickness. Someone hands me a handkerchief and I wipe my nose, only for the fabric to come away bloody.
Oh.
Oh god.
More blood gushes out, unstoppable. Kalos can fix this, I tell myself, holding the handkerchief to my nose. He can make this all better.
I just have to find him.
“Kalos?” I cry again. He wouldn’t leave me behind…would he? I wander down another candlelit hall, feeling alone and afraid. “Kalos! Kalos!”
“Elsie.”
Rough hands shake me awake, and I bolt upright, screaming.
“It’s a dream,” murmurs a familiar voice. “Look where you are.”
I stare out into the darkness of the bedroom. There are no candles lit here, no servants waiting. I’m not dressed. I recite all these things to myself and somehow my brain still won’t focus properly. My hands flutter to my face. “I’m bleeding!”
“You’re not. Touch your nose.”
I do, and it’s dry, even though I could swear it was bleeding a moment ago. I could feel the wetness on my lip. “I don’t understand.”
“Another waking dream. You’re all right. I’m here with you.”
I turn my head and stare into Kalos’s eyes. He’s here. He’s been beside me all along. “I was looking for you.”
“I didn’t go anywhere. I wouldn’t.” He gently touches my shoulder. “It’s the middle of the night. Go back to sleep.”
Nodding, I lie back down again, feeling marginally better when he wraps his arms around me. I touch my nose one more time, just to make sure, but my nostrils are dry. There’s no nosebleed.
Just a horrible nightmare. It’s not reality.
We agree to meet Belara over breakfast the next morning.
I want to say that I’m more rested after a night in Kalos’s arms, but I remain utterly drained.
It’s probably going to take a few days to shake off as we adjust to our new normal.
Since we’re meeting the goddess, though, I take great care with my appearance.
The mayor’s wife acts as a maid for me and helps me dress in one of her fanciest gowns, and she layers me with necklaces.
My hair is braided and twined into a crown with a few loose strands to tickle the neck, and I look very regal.
Tired, but regal.
“I have just the thing for those under-eyes,” she says, taking a tiny pot off her vanity. She dabs a finger in white powder and holds it to my face. “Just a dab of lead under your eyes and we’ll get the color evened out.”
I grab her hand before her finger can touch my face. “A dab of what?”
She gives me a curious look. “Lead. All the latest cosmetics have it.”
Shaking my head, I give her an apologetic smile. “It’s okay. I think I’ll skip it for now.”
“If you say so. Maybe just pinch your cheeks a bit more for color.”
I do, and peer into the mirror one last time before I leave my room. I look good. Composed and no longer disheveled. Kalos watches from a chair nearby as I get dressed, smirking at the level I’m going to. “You know you’re not going to impress Belara no matter what you do?”
“I don’t care about her. I just know I’ll feel more confident if I don’t look as if I’ve been sleeping on a street corner for the last month.” Which, prior to Omos, I had been.
“She’s not a threat,” he reassures me with a lazy smile. “I’m not interested in her in the slightest.”
I pause, absorbing that. “And is that Lies speaking?”
Kalos’s expression twists. “You know better, Elsie. The only one that interests me is you, and I can’t look away from you.
” He uses the tip of his boot to push my heavy skirts up, as if trying to get a glimpse of my ankles.
“And I’m feeling much better about Lies, today. It’s not tangling my tongue at all.”
I move away with a snort of dismissal. He’d say that if he was lying, so I take everything with a mild grain of salt.
Not that I think Kalos wants to deliberately deceive me.
He might be downplaying Belara as a threat.
I recognized that covetous look on her face, though.
She might not want him as a lover, but she absolutely wants him to still be in love with her.
It’s probably stinging her pride that he’s no longer interested.
Something tells me that Belara isn’t a goddess that takes wounds to her pride very easily. Pushing our meeting off until this morning likely didn’t help things, but I have no regrets. I feel prepared today, ready to go to battle. “Remind me, what’s our goal in meeting with her?”
“See what she wants? Soothe her if she attempts to punish the locals?”
Right. I’m reminded that Kalos isn’t interested in meeting with her, exactly.
He’s more interested in keeping me happy, and he knows I won’t be if Belara throws a tantrum and razes the nearest village.
I’m struck with affection for him. My prickly, apathetic, clever lover.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a good man? ”
“Ugh. No.”
“Well, you are.” I beam at him.
“Don’t let that get out or I’ll never hear the end of it.” Kalos gets to his feet and offers me his arm. “Ready to confront the pettiest creature in a dozen realms?”
“Ready,” I agree. This will be fine, I decide.
We’ll flatter Belara a little, listen to her without promising anything, and head out, back to Omos’s monastery and back to work on my book, if that’s all right with Kalos.
He’s been a little cagey about what comes next, but that’s the Aspect of lies settling into his skin. We’ll take it day by day.
As long as we’re together and he’s safe, that’s all that matters.
Downstairs, Belara and her Anchor are already occupying the dining hall.
I can hear the clatter of utensils as we approach.
The hall is long and narrow, with several candelabras set into the wall to provide light, as there are no windows on this side of the house.
It doesn’t matter that the room is dark, because Belara seems to glow from within, she’s so radiant.
Her scarlet hair shimmers, the perfect waterfall of it pooling at her dainty feet.
She wears a filmy peach dress with no sleeves, the only straps holding it in place a few artfully placed silver chains.
Earlier, I’d felt like an elegant princess in my heavy brocade dress with the puffed sleeves, and now I feel like a frump. Ugh, I hate her.
Seated next to her at the table is the younger girl I’d seen her with yesterday.
She can’t be much more than twelve, I don’t think, and there’s a youthful sweetness to her round face.
Her dark skin is perfection, her thick curls elegantly pulled into a jeweled net, and her dress looks very similar to mine.
The expression on her face is friendly as she regards us.
An array of food is placed on the table in front of her, all half-eaten.
She grins at me as we enter, forking an entire silver-dollar-sized pancake into her mouth.
“Looks like you have to share now, my darling,” Belara says in a sweet voice. “Make a plate for our friends, won’t you?”
“Of course,” the girl says. She indicates I should sit next to her, probably so we can share the food.
Kalos pulls the chair out for me. I sit down in the spot at the other Anchor’s side.
My mouth waters at the sight of all the food before us.
Ham, bacon, slabs of chicken breast, fresh fruit, toast, pancakes, berry tarts, and a variety of cheeses are spread out on a wooden platter.
As I sit, she leans over. “My name is Fala.”
“I’m Elsie,” I say with a smile, putting a linen napkin in my lap. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m bored,” Belara declares, speaking over us. It’s a clear signal for us to be silent. Fala continues eating, unbothered by Belara’s rudeness.
Kalos sits next to me, instead of seating himself closer to Belara. The goddess notices it, and so do I. His hand settles on my thigh as if even in this casual setting, he feels the need to lay claim to me.
I’m all for it.
“We’re here,” Kalos says to Belara.
She pouts. “And late about it. We were supposed to meet last night.”
“I told you no,” Kalos replies, just as easily.
Fala hands me a plate heaping with food, her gaze tactfully averted from both gods. “Wine?”
“Maybe just juice or milk,” I whisper back. It feels a bit like we’re at Thanksgiving, eating at the kids table while the adults have a conversation nearby. She nods and gestures at one of the servants, and both drinks are brought to me a moment later.
Kalos seems unbothered by Belara’s mood. “We’re here now. Tell me what’s troubling you.”
One perfect brow arches and Belara gives her glorious hair a slight shake, as if to make it shimmer in the candlelight. “Nothing troubles me.” She tilts her head. “Why are you still here?”
“Seems rude to leave our hosts so quickly,” Kalos says, voice dry.
Her eyes narrow. “You misunderstand me. I mean you’re still here. In the mortal realm. I’m curious as to why.” She gestures at our surroundings, as if she finds it all repugnant. “Just…why?”
Kalos is silent. I eat an apple slice, watching the two gods. Fala is quiet, too.