She considered the question. “Both have their merits if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“Good answer,” he murmured.
She snuck another quick look at his angular profile, wondering if it would kill the attraction between them if she got to know him. In her experience, it was a foolproof method with ninety-nine percent of men.
Aidan glanced back at her as he stepped onto the narrow dirt path that led into the Bonewoods. “Do I even want to know what you’re thinking?”
Elysia scooped up Crusher, snuggling her soft little body against her chest. “That maybe instead of avoiding you I should do the opposite and see if that handles whatever this is.” She looked up at him, completely serious. “Could be worth a shot.”
He held a branch out of her way. “Not following.”
She ducked under the tree limb. “You know how it is whenpeople first get together. Sparks, butterflies, ripping each other’s clothes off. But then eventually, they see the cracks and realize they can’t stand the way the other person breathes. Maybe if I’m lucky, that’ll happen with you.”
Aidan’s jaw was practically in the dirt. He finally looked away, disgruntled. “Right.”
Elysia’s cheeks pinked. “I just mean you broke my kingdom and already omitted the immortality thing, and I don’t want to forget that just because you flirt and look likethat.And you’re a little intense—we just met, you know?”Ohmygods, why couldn’t she shut up?
Aidan blew out a slow breath, the air crisp and white. Hands back in his pockets, he looked resigned. “I deserve that. And this probably isn’t going to help with the intensity front.” He stared off into the Bonewoods, suddenly seeming indecisive.
Crusher whined, and Elysia soothed her without thinking, rubbing her ears, and giving her scratches.
Aidan pointed at a small structure in the distance. His voice was dry. “We’re almost there, so if you could please refrain from ruining my most lethal guard. She’s taken centuries to train.”
Elysia’s gaze drifted to his. “Centuries,” she repeated. There may have been a slight crack in her voice.
He smiled easily enough, not bothering to respond.
“You said you made the deal with Blatz when you were young. That you were young and angry.”
“Young for a god,” he corrected. “I still am.”
Visions of women she’d known being married off to crusty, repulsive men filled her mind, and she shuddered. So, hewasa dirty old pervert.
Aidan looked like he already knew he was going to regret asking. “What?”
Elysia smoothed the disgust from her face. “You might be young for a god, but by my standards you’re past senile.”
“Does that mean you’ve been trying to take advantage of the elderly? We have laws about that here.”
Elysia glared at him. “Fine. Age and time are…complicated for gods.”
He smiled again.
Silence fell between them as they continued to trudge through the Bonewoods, the same ones that had frightened her during her first visit. The trees’ gothic fingers all pointing in judgment looked different to her now. Less terrifying, but still poignant in their beauty. Curiosity overcame her, bringing her to break the comfortable silence.
“This isn’t what the Deathlands always look like?”
Aidan’s eyes hardened, his cheekbones becoming pronounced in dissatisfaction. “My realm is not in as much immediate danger as yours anymore. It’s unstable and will eventually collapse if I never come into my full power, but I’ve worked to mitigate the damage. I worry that could rapidly change.”
A gust of wind blew the loose, damp tendrils of Elysia’s hair against her face. The structure was clearer now. It looked like some type of shed. “Because of Garrison?”
Aidan nodded.
Elysia started to muse aloud, hesitant to voice her suspicion. “Topp mentioned Garrison can divest people of their magic, or even life itself if it's someone who didn’t retain any magic. Is he…accessing death magic?” She knew she was right when his jaw tightened.
“A drop in the ocean of my power and look what he’s doing with it.” He glanced at her. “Magic and life force are intertwined. He can just as easily kill someone with magic, he just has to strip the magic first. I’m sure he’s realized this by now.”
Elysia absorbed this. “Can’t we just kill him? Deal broken and problem solved? How did he end up with any of your power, anyway?”
