“Consider it a request, then.”
The Anima’s suspicion did not waver as she shut the door, but Aya could hear her footsteps as she stomped down the hall to pass the message along.
Aya clasped her hands together, her elbows resting on her parted knees as she watched the door.
“You would let them use you in this way?” Lorna finally asked.
Aya’s jaw shifted as she stared ahead. “I will do what I must.”
Silence fell again, something tangible that built a wall in the space separating them. Distantly, Aya could hear the return of the Anima. She pushed herself to her feet, her chains clanking as she went.
“May the gods help you,” Lorna murmured.
Aya didn’t bother to spare the Saj a glance as she strode to the door. “If I have my way, Lorna, the gods won’t bother anyone ever again.”
The Anima opened the cell door, her brows rising as she found Aya waiting for her. But she gave a jerk of her chin, and Aya fell into step beside her as the guard led the way down the hall.
No dragging, no yanking. Just a steady walk through the labyrinth of the prison and into the throne room, empty now save for the king and Evie. They were seated on their thrones, their heads bent toward one another in a whispered discussion that ceased as Aya stepped into the room.
Her bare feet padded across the floor, the cold of the marble a welcoming sting as she stopped before them.
“I daresay there has been quite enough excitement for one day,” Gregor remarked as he lounged back in his seat. “Though I am curious what else you would like to add.” He motioned to the space between them. “Share whatever it is you would like to say.”
Aya glanced to Evie, watching as a small knowing smile tugged at her lips.
Slowly, Aya lowered herself to one knee.
“I pledge myself to your cause,” she said steadily, her chin lifting as she looked between the demigod and king.
“I will help you kill the gods.”
Part Three
A Human to a God
33
Stillness had not always been a friend of Aya’s. Stillness, and patience, and silence. They had been enemies once, when her roaring thoughts demanded to be heard, and if not, then channeled into movement of her limbs.
But she had learned over time to find her peace within them, to use counted breaths and quiet to rinse away the trembling and the tingling and the whirring.
Perhaps that’s why she’d found solace in the dark.
Aya glanced around the room the guards had escorted her to, taking note of the large windows that made up one of the walls. A soft gray light spilled through them, casting the room in a lazy sort of glow. She pushed herself up from the oak table and made her way to one of the towering pieces of glass, the path well-worn over the last hour.
The table, the window, and back.
The table, the window, and back.
Her old friend Stillness was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she’d scared it away. Perhaps it did not recognize who she’d become.
Aya laid a hand against the glass, the iron around her wrist looking more like a bracelet in the reflection. They hadn’tremoved her shackles, of course. They hadn’t done much of anything since her proclamation except whisk her into this room and tell her to wait while they deliberated.
She’d nearly laughed at the way it reminded her of a trade negotiation, as if she was no more than a mere good to be discussed among the Merchant Council.
No better than a weapon to be wielded. The thought did not fill her with the same bitterness it once did.
Aya pressed her forehead to the cool glass, her gaze fixed on the jagged rocks that surrounded her. It was strange to be able to see the outside of her prison. She had almost forgotten a world existed beyond the confines of these walls.
