“Why do you flee, bird?” The dark, velvet-wrapped croon sends a shiver skating across my skin.
My molars grind together so hard they squeak in protest. I am many things. Brave, I am not. “Why d-d-do you th-think?” I whisper, and wonder if I have secured my own doom.
Slipping his hands beneath my arms, he lifts me to a standing position. I struggle to catch my breath.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” someone drawls from behind us.
The East Wind stiffens. Rather than face the newcomer, he eases closer, the length of his torso plastered to my back. My heart skips a beat. When I try putting space between us, his hand keeps me in place.
“If even a word of our arrangement is spoken,” he whispers to me, the heat of his breath tickling the shell of my ear, “I will return to your pitiful town and flatten it without a thought. Do we have an understanding?”
I am acutely aware of how small I am in comparison, how frail. I nod jerkily, and he releases his hold. A cooling wind sweeps between us, drying the perspiration beading my skin.
The East Wind turns to regard the newcomer, a slight man with springing, gold-streaked curls and skin kissed by a summer sun. Hewears an olive, thigh-length tunic, brown breeches, and calf-high boots. His eyes are the pale shade of jade.
“Zephyrus,” the East Wind clips out.
The man is all smiles, though his gaze flicks to me curiously. Beyond the mouth of the alley, people have begun to congregate. “Eurus! Is that any way to greet your own brother?”
Brother.I blink at the green-eyed man, or rather, god. Seeing as I have yet to view the East Wind’s face, I cannot say whether they resemble one another. I know only a handful of details about my captor. Black hair and pale skin. A strong jaw. Does Eurus possess the same jeweled eyes as his sibling? Are his teeth as white and straight?
The man—Zephyrus—eases closer. There is a lightness to his limbs, a grace to his movements. “It’s been a long time, no?”
“Not long enough.”
A flash of teeth, there and gone. “Good to see not much has changed over the centuries. You’re still as rude as ever.”
“And you still stick your nose in places where it does not belong,” Eurus grinds out.
His brother purses his mouth in thought, then shrugs. “Fair enough.” He then shifts his attention onto me. It is open, this face. A warm, boyish countenance. “And who is this?”
I’ve barely parted my lips to respond when the East Wind grips my arm in warning. “None of your business,” he snarls.
Zephyrus rolls his eyes. “If that’s how you want this reunion to go, fine. But why are you here, Eurus? You’re a long way from Marles.”
“Calm yourself, brother. I’m not interested in meddling with your pitiful mortal existence.”
Wait.Mortal? So Zephyrusisn’ta god? How is that possible?
The East Wind wavers. I sense his hesitation. Stay, or go? In the end, he says, “We’re here to acquire a plant called nightshade. Apparently, I must get permission fromyou.”
Zephyrus’ green eyes sharpen. “Nightshade?” His voice has thinned. “For what purpose?”
“That’s none of your business either.”
I shift beneath Eurus’ touch. Though I am uncertain whether he is aware of the gesture, he tucks his thumb against my wrist, alongside the pulse fluttering there.
“You’re fond of that phrase, aren’t you?” Whatever humor had brightened Zephyrus’ features has dimmed. “Will you punish me, punish us all, for the remainder of our lives?”
This is an old wound, built in layers of timeworn skin. Eurus has not forgotten. Neither has Zephyrus. I wonder when they last spoke.
“I told you before that we didn’t know,” his brother goes on. “We had no idea—”
“Enough!” Eurus barks, bristling. “This was a mistake. We’ll find the plant elsewhere.” Brushing his brother aside, he strides for the main thoroughfare, towing me along. The townsfolk that have gathered scatter in fright, clearing the way.
“Wait,” Zephyrus calls.
Stiffness winds the muscles of my captor’s arm into knots, his fingers twitching against my wrist. “What?”
