Two
Ineeded to send the panteras a cake, made of whatever it was they ate. Knowledge, I assumed. The leather of my outfit was the softest, most supple thing I’d ever had on my body. It was almost as good as being naked.
“Holy fuck,” Rome groaned. “You need to get her out of that immediately. I can’t see her walking around like that all night.”
Five sets of eyes stared at me as I paraded in front of the reflective glass inside our huge bathing room. There hadn’t been time for a cascading waterfall bath—since I had needed to try the outfit on as soon as possible—but I already had plans for one later that night.
I ran my hands along the sides of my outfit, tracing down the leather. It had been made to fit me exactly, cupping my ass and making my legs look longer than they were. There were buttons to secure the bodice. I had left a few undone, and for once my boobs were really working for me. The sleeves were long, cutting off at my wrists, providing me with all-over protection. There was even a pair of calf-high boots to go over the top of the leather pants.
“I love it.” I sighed.
Emmy ducked her head around the corner then, pushing through the Abcurses like they were annoying puppies. Her fear of them—and gods in general—seemed to have diminished entirely. Maybe it was because she was a kickass Goddess of Fertility now, as we had recently discovered. Or maybe it was because she had shacked up with Cyrus, who was a very scary god all on his own.
“You look amazing!” she exclaimed, striding closer.
I couldn’t remember ever being as happy as I was in that moment, having Emmy back in my life, as strong and beautiful as any god, and having the Abcurses.
“I just came to say goodnight,” Emmy told me, her hands finding mine and holding them between us. “And I wanted to see if you liked your house.”
“I love it,” I promised her, pulling her into a tight hug. “It reminds me of—”
“I know.” I could hear the smile in her voice as she squeezed me one last time before letting me go. “We’re sending Donald over tonight. She gets to stay with you now … and probably a good thing too, because I think Cyrus is about to have her dismantled for parts.”
She made a face as she pulled away, but I could see the slight flush in her cheeks as she spoke about Cyrus. I stared after her even when she disappeared through the bathing room door and I could no longer see her. It wasn’t until Siret stepped into my field of vision that I snapped out of my daze.
“Do I need to threaten Cyrus?” I asked my guys, including each of them in the question.
Rome and Coen were leaning side by side against the raised bath, their arms crossed over their chests as they watched me. Yael was leaning against the wall beside the reflective glass that I had been using to see my new outfit from all possible angles.
Aros was by the door, running both hands through his golden hair as though fighting the urge to tie it all back from his face. It had grown longer in the time that I had known them, while the others all kept their hair short. His was now falling in an unkempt way, the ends just past his ears. The overall effect was somehow both dishevelled and extremely alluring.
“What has he done now?” Siret asked, touching my elbow.
I tore my attention from Aros, looking back into the familiar forest-green gaze of Siret, my body leaning toward him, drawn by the swirling gold patterns through his irises.
“Nothing,” I admitted, as his hands slipped up both of my arms and I laid my head against his chest. “But Emmy might be falling in love with him. I don’t want her to get hurt again. Cyrus is … the worst.”
“He won’t hurt her,” Yael replied from the window. “We’ve known Neutral all our lives and we’ve never seen him claim another being in the way he has claimed Dweller-Emmy.”
I sighed, giving a slight nod as I began to shrug out of the leather bodysuit. Yael and Siret both stepped forward to help me, their hands gliding easily beneath the material to push and shift it down my limbs. I laid a hand on their shoulders as they rolled it down my legs and I stepped free. I was now almost completely naked, save for the whisper-thin silk underwear that had been designed to go beneath the tight leather. Either Rome or Coen groaned, both of them pushing up from the side of the bath—but it was Aros who spoke, his tone almost sharp as he pulled the door wide.
“It’s time to eat.”
We all turned to look at him—some of us in surprise, me in confusion, Yael in challenge—but he only cast one last glance at me before striding out of the room. I walked after him, but Siret caught me in the doorway, his hand on my arm.
“As much as I hate to cover you up,” he whispered, his power shivering over me, “I think the tension might be a little too high tonight.”
I glanced down as delicate black silk settled over my skin: a short robe that ended at my thighs and had a thick silk sash now covered my underwear. I nodded my understanding to Siret and walked into the main living area, finding Aros already seated at the marble table, his golden eyes wiped of emotion as we all cautiously approached. I had grown used to mood swings from Yael, regular mischief from Siret, and grouchiness from Rome … but Aros being anything but smooth and happy was a complete novelty for me.
I opened my mouth to ask if everything was alright, but Coen caught my eye as he walked around Aros and claimed his own seat. He shook his head silently, obviously reading the intention on my face. Puzzled, I took my seat. I started to wonder where Donald was, and as with every time my mother popped into my head, so did her thoughts.
Sacred Asshole, not Sacred One. Must say Asshole. Must say Asshole. Must say Asshole. Asshole is right, Sacred is wrong.
“Donald?” I called.
Willa.
She popped into being almost immediately, standing right in the centre of our table. There was a rotation of servers assigned to each specific sector of Topia at any given time, but none of us trusted Staviti or his servers anymore, so we had been using Donald for everything. She managed to slip in and out of wherever it was servers went completely unnoticed and unaccounted for. It was a skill.
