He doesn’t ask what my talents are. Doesn’t answer me at all, in fact. He’s not being a dick. He just…doesn’t care.
“This conversation will go a lot faster if you actually answer me,” I point out.
The god sighs dramatically, eventually swinging his gaze to me. His eyes are weary. “You’re still here.”
“You still need an Anchor. It’s not an option, at least not that I’ve heard.”
He sighs heavily again.
“My name is Elsie?—”
His growl of frustration cuts me off. “I do notcare.”
Oh. I’m taken aback by his attitude. I’d known he wasgoing to be the embodiment of Apathy, I just hadn’t anticipated how difficult it’d be to deal with him. How am I going to do this? How am I going to work with someone who doesn’t want anything to do with me? Who just wants to be left alone?
It gives me an idea.
I creep forward and move my head until I meet his gaze again. “Let me put it this way. Are we bothering you?”
“Very much so.” His sharp gaze focuses on my face. “Especially now with your nattering.”
I grit my teeth and somehow manage to keep smiling. “Take me as your Anchor and I’ll make everyone else leave you alone. And I’ll leave you alone, too.”
The god is quiet for a long moment. Then he gives a shrug. “Oh, very well.”
He holds out his hand, palm up.
Oh. That was all it took? I feel a little better. I smile at him even as I move to place my hand in his. “You won’t regret this, sir.”
“Lord Kalos,” he corrects me. Our hands brush. Something flickers, like a switch being flipped inside me. There’s a low humming in my veins, and I know deep in my soul that we’ve been connected in some way. I’m his now. I feel…strangely heavy. His skin is hot to the touch, burning up with heat. I let my hand rest on his for just long enough and yank it away.
For some reason, I feel a little queasy. “I’m Elsie.”
“You’ve said. I still don’t care.”
“Of course,” I say, getting to my feet. My head feels hot and throbbing and I’m suddenly thirsty. I smile at him again. “I’ll make sure you’re not bothered.”
He flicks a hand at me, dismissing me.
Right. Okay. I need to go do…whatever it is Anchors do now. I eye his hand, but it’s no longer fading. He’s not doing that flexing thing with his fingers, which means my job has been accomplished. I want to smile, but I don’t know if I can be pleased just yet. This is just the beginning of whatever is going to happen, but at least I’m on the right path. Now I can just settle into what I need to do, which is…stay alive, I suppose. Make sure Kalos remains here in the mortal plane through the Anticipation. Make sure that Apathy—my charge—remains the dominant Aspect.
And tell everyone to leave him alone. I can do that, surely.
My stomach growls. I take a few more steps, then turn and glance back at Kalos. He hasn’t moved from his spot on his throne, his legs still sprawled, expression one of vague annoyance. Leave him alone. That’s what he wants more than anything. All right, then. I head out of the room with one last look at him and close the doors behind me.
Kina and the priestess watch me with worried gazes as I emerge. Even the guards look concerned.
“Everything’s good,” I reassure them as I lean against the doors. “He’s taken me as his Anchor.”
The priestess gasps and drops to her knees, then presses her forehead to the cobblestones. At her side, Kina looks a bit more skeptical. “You’re certain?”
“I mean, I think so. He agreed that I’d be his as long as I got everyone to leave him alone. Then he put his hand out, and I touched it, and…” I shrug. “Felt like something happened.”
“There’s a way to test things,” Kina says. “Walk as far as you can that way.” She points at the path back through the swamp, the one we’d emerged from.
“What?” I sneeze suddenly and wipe my nose. “Why would I walk away?”
“I just want to see something. The stories speak of something specific that occurs between an Aspect and his Anchor. You can come back if you reach that forked tree on the horizon.” She points, and I gaze out at it with watery eyes.
