“You have a Veilatara companion? Is he strapped?”
The questions tumble out of me quicker than I can tell myself to hush.
“Of course he is.”
He dramatically winks at me, and I hide my smile behind my fingers as Ellian pretends he didn’t hear anything.
“Thank you for this,” I say and stand as he does.
“You’re most welcome, Ms. Thayla. I do hope we get to do this again one day. Lambrit, my boy, come see me when you have time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rose and I share a look, and I shove the worry creeping up my spine back down. I plop into my seat and sigh as Ellian and Lambrit escort the God of Scripture out.
“Knock, knock.”
I sit back straight, grinning at the head that pokes into the door.
“Annalise, what are you doing here? Ellian just stepped out,” I say.
“I ran into him. He’s keeping a quick eye on the children so they don’t burn the Sanctum down.”
I snort a laugh. “Well, thank you for dropping by. Seeing your face has definitely brightened my mood.”
“Oh, I’m not just dropping by. I’m escorting your next Domain God.” Her attention jerks from me back to the hallway. “Oh, come, come now. Let’s get this over with. I need to go feed the kids.”
Rose’s gasp immediately lets me know who the goddess that steps into the room is.
“I take it you’re Esmerie, the Goddess of Affection?” I ask.
“That would be me.” She smiles, then rolls her eyes at Annalise. “I’m being blackmailed.”
Annalise huffs, then places her hands on her hips.
“I’m not blackmailing you.”
The two of them argue among themselves for a moment, then whip their attention to me as I clear my throat.
“I greatly appreciate this, Annalise. More than you know. But the signatures can’t be coerced. Didn’t Ellian tell you that?”
“Well, of course he did. They can’t be coerced by the boys. It’s important to pay attention to the finer details, my girl.”
Nero lets out a small chuckle and my eyes widen.
“Seriously?”
He shrugs.
“Where’s this parchment?” Esmerie asks in a bored tone. “I have things to attend, and one of Anna’s little…precious angels spat up on my shoe.”
Yemi doesn’t hesitate to take it from me and pass it over. She gives me a wink when I scowl at her.
Although they seem to have a decent, mutually teasing kind of relationship, the differences between them are glaringly obvious. Annalise is most certainly more powerful from what I sense, but she’s also way more…well, affectionate. I don’t get bad vibes from Esmerie, but I definitely don’t get the warmth and fuzzies.
“There. Is that all?” she asks Annalise, not me.
“Yes, darling. Thank you. You can return to your large mansion and all its luxuries now.”
