Emmy seemed to have confiscated the colours from Willa, and she thrust a scrap of fabric at the goddess now. I couldn’t see what they had chosen because Pica whipped it away so quickly, and then it was gone.
“Amazing choice,” she crooned. “It’s the perfect, most lovely, most perfectly lovely colour I’ve ever seen. I’ll have the work commence immediately.”
She spun quickly, gliding from the room and muttering about abstract art and the shape of round walls.
“So, what did you choose?” I asked the pair.
“Nothing,” Willa said with a smirk. “Emmy reminded me that it probably didn’t matter what colour I chose, Pica would find a way to turn it into something crazy. Emmy is going to run damage control secretly with the builders.”
I rested my gaze on Emmy, shaking my head just a little as an unexpected smile tilted up my lips.She has the intelligence of a god.
That thought grew stronger after it entered my head, until all I could think about was how strong and smart and stunningly beautiful the new goddess before me was. There wasn’t a single bug-like thing about Emmy in that moment, and I wondered if the transition to god-hood was continuing for both her and Willa. Maybe it was a slower ascension when it wasn’t done by Staviti.
“Do either of you know your powers yet?” I asked, startling them with my subject change. “Most gods would have some idea by now.”
Willa shrugged. “All I know is that mine isn’t Chaos.”
“If you believe that the god from the imprisonment realm is your father, Willa, you might not have ever been a dweller,” Emmy said, voicing the thought we’d all had since Willa came back from the land of death.
Willa’s voice was strained, breaking as she replied: “I have no idea if he’s really my father, or if it was wishful thinking on my behalf. I’m desperate for some answers ...”
“What about Donald?” I asked bluntly. “Have you figured out a way to return the portion of her soul that you brought back? Can you still hear her in your head?”
Willa nodded, her lips trembling. “Yes, but … there’s nothing normal about her thoughts. And I still haven’t figured out if it’s possible to return her soul. The Abcurses can’t return mine … so there’s that.”
We fell quiet as Pica returned with the builders. I caught Emmy’s arm before she could hurry out of the room after Willa.
“You shouldn’t show yourself to any of the other gods,” I warned her quietly.
She frowned, but I could tell that she was thinking about it. I used the fact that she was deep in thought to my own advantage, pulling her a few inches closer while she was distracted, staring after Willa’s retreating form.
“What am I supposed to do?” she finally asked, tilting her head up so that her eyes could catch mine.
I swallowed, letting my hand drop from her arm. She wasn’t allowed to look up at me like that, all helpless and confused.
“Am I supposed to just hide away in your white cave until everyone is ready to know about me? How can I protect Willa from there?”
“How can I protect you if you’re here?” I returned, biting back the bad taste that accompanied the words. She wasn’t allowed to separate herself from me, just like she wasn’t allowed to make me feel things with her big, blinking eyes.
“You should figure that out, and quickly,” she warned me. “Because I’m not going to stay hidden away in your secret little alcohol hovel for the rest of my life—”
“You’re a god, now,” I interrupted her. “There are no more life-cycles. You’re already dead. Your life has already ended. Now, there is only eternity.”
“I’m not going to spendeternityhiding away in your wine closet!”
She jerked away from me, temper finally sparking through her innocently confused expression, turning her into the fiery creature that I was more familiar with.
“I think I know something that might help.” I held out my hand to her, but she only narrowed her eyes on it, before flicking the same suspicious look up to my face.
“You’ll pull me off the platform,” she predicted.
I nodded, still holding out my hand, though I was starting to grow impatient already. I had never had to actually cater to anyone before—man or woman, mortal or god.
“But I haven’t decided if I want to go back to your cave.” She folded her arms across her chest, tucking her hands firmly away.
“You ... just said ... earlier, to Willa.” I was stumbling over my words, my offered hand curling into a fist.
“I was saying that so she wouldn’t worry. She has enough to think about right now without also trying to protect me.”
