“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 realmexistsout of my power—my power that is immenselylimited 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?”
Chapter 3
Elysia walkedthrough the halls with her mask firmly in place. Sweet yet cold and blank, her expression was a hard-won prize from years of navigating the Crown court. Aidan’s home was gorgeous, but in her tense state she barely noticed any of its purposeful, elegant design. She put one foot in front of the other with her eyes straight ahead and emotions far from her face.
Sometimes the only choice to be made was a terrible one.
Despite his calm and self-assured appearance, a nervous energy sparked around the god of the dead. His strides grew longer and faster as if he wanted to get to the throne room before she changed her mind. Noticing her struggle to keep up, Aidan slowed his pace, his wool trousers brushing against her hand and making her pulse jump.
Elysia tucked her limbs even closer to her body. She was an imposter. Aidan expected her to be sharp and clever. He expected her to go out into the world and secure his talisman. He didn’t know the woman beside him had already been chewed up and spit out, and was without the faintest clue of how to begin finding such a thing.
Wool scratched against the back of her hand again. They were both desperate, she decided. He was desperate to fix his mistakesand she was desperate to save her kingdom. She snuck another quick glance. His nervousness had settled into a determination that made her wary.
