“That’s—that’s . . . no. Obviously. You’re the only god and . . . no.” It was amusing to me how she stuttered over her words.
“Relax, Ellowyn. I’m not going to fuck you. You’re not exactly my type,” I said dryly and watched as her mouth gaped open before closing it quickly. “I much prefer my partners to have a cock.”
“This is simultaneously the most bizarre yet the most informative conversation I’ve ever had,” Ellowyn said with a slight shake of her head.
I smiled at her, a terrifying sight usually, but she just shrugged her shoulders and sat back in the dirt.
“Seems that I’m stuck here for a while, so why don’t you take a seat, Kaos. You can tell me more about your partners or maybe finally get to the fucking point of why you’re here.” Ellowyn gestured to the space next to her. With a grace that belied my size, I sat close enough to Ellowyn that I could read the minute changes in her expression, but with enough space between us that I wouldn’t be touching her.
“There was a point of my question—about you being pregnant,” I said, eyes fastidiously fixed on her face.
“And?”
I sighed. “I needed to make sure that none of my Original Magic was left in this realm. And, to answer your question, no. I cannot read your truths and lies.”
Ellowyn was silent for a moment, a thousand thoughts flickering in her eyes while her body remained still.
“Why?”
“Why what?” I countered.
“Why can’t you read my truths? Why must your Original Magic be eradicated?”
Both astute questions, and I grunted a noise of begrudging appreciation.
“Because you have Original Magic in your veins”—I held up a palm to hold off her impending tirade—“and I cannot read the truths and lies of other original deities. It’s quite unfortunate, actually. Really made the whole First Sundering unnecessarily bloody and violent.” I shook my head at the memory as Ellowyn stared shrewdly. My palm fell to the space between us as I leaned back on my hands. “And because it’s time to return the magic to Meru.”
Ellowyn rolled her lip between her teeth, watching my face for something before turning back toward the mountain.
“I carry Creation and Destruction,” she said, and I nodded my head before interrupting.
“As well as Pain and Pleasure.”
Ellowyn closed her eyes on an exhale and rolled her head from side to side while grumbling beneath her breath.
“Your Original Magic is truth?”
I grunted in acknowledgement.
“Solace’s is visions and memory.” I stayed silent at that speculation, unable to guide her any further.
“I’m a godling with four magics,” she continued, eyebrows furrowed, “Torin has four other magics.”
She chewed her lip, thinking hard.
“Think on your own time,” I growled. “We have more to discuss, and you’ll be leaving soon.”
“How do you know that?” she asked absently.
“This is how I portal—I walk through Meru to get from one place to another in Elyria.”
Ellowyn’s eyes widened, and she turned to face me.
“You are just spilling all of your secrets today, aren’t you, Kaos?”
The corners of my lips twitched again. I could see why Fate chose her—she was fearless, indomitable, but still carried a hint of naïveté. It was the flicker of that softness that I wanted to protect more than anything else.
“Secrets can be heavy when carried alone,” I said quietly as Ellowyn hummed in response.
