Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
“I can assure you, no one has.”
“But I’m being told it’s very similar to mine. I want to see how, and if there’s more standard symbols I should be using. Or if there’s something I can learn from it.” My tone turns pleading.
Kalos gets to his feet, tossing the hat down in his newly vacated chair. “Elsie, you don’t have to persuade me. If you’re up to the walk, I’ll accompany you. It’s as simple as that.”
“Even if we’re visiting Belara’s temple?”
“We just won’t tell them who I am.”
I grimace, hands going to my hips. “They might already know. Apparently, no one around here can keep a secret.”
He just laughs. “And this surprises you?”
It shouldn’t, but it does. “I just don’t like that they’re compromising your safety.”
“Not my safety, my sweet.” He taps a finger on the end of my nose. “Yours.”
Right. I keep forgetting that I’m the target, and that to get to him, they’ll go through me—literally. It does make me hesitate. “You think it’s a bad idea to go?”
“No more than visiting this hole of stinking filth and questionable hygiene.” He flicks a bit of mud from his sleeve. “And it’s not as if Belara’s going to be there, judging me for showing up.”
Because she’s trapped on the mortal plane, just like he is. “We’ll be quick about it, then.”
“Quick? After all that walking? Loiter as long as you like. Just make sure it’s worth the trip. I hate the thought of wasting time when you could have been sitting on my face instead of drawing pictures.”
Batting at his arm, I chuckle. He’s terrible, but he’s making me smile at least. “Come on. Let’s just go. My curiosity is going to get the better of me until I check it out.”
Kalos holds out his hand for mine, a silent invitation.
I slip my fingers into his and decide that it’s not so bad to spend the day walking after all. Not with my hand in his and a gentle breeze in the air.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Eagleton seems to be about three times the size of Thornhill. There’s a clean street instead of muddy tracks, a two-story inn, and several temples dotted along an outcropping above the town.
“No temple to me,” Kalos says, watching me study the buildings. “Before you ask.”
I’m not entirely surprised. Kalos only seems to be included when the locals feel like they must, not because he’s particularly beloved. The largest temple is festooned in Belara’s bright red colors. It’s a grand building, so it stands to reason that they’d have a library of some kind. My excitement surges and I squeeze Kalos’s hand. “I’m starving, but I can wait. I want to head to the temple before we get something to eat.”
He points at a cobbled path that climbs through the edge of the town and heads up the hill to the temples. We set down it, and as we walk, I realize no one else is walking on the road. Just us. It’s like no one wants to be near us. Odd.
We move to the sidewalk and as we do, we pass a blacksmith’s stall, and one that has huge, flat buckets on the sidewalk with chemicals. It smells like piss and bleach. A balding man stirs the concoctions with a stick, eyeing us as we walk past. I hold my nose as politely as I can with my free hand, eyes watering. Good lord.
The man with the stirrer suddenly runs in front of us on the sidewalk, eyeing Kalos. He drops to his knees at the god’s feet and presses his forehead to the ground. “Lord! We are honored!”
“The Aspect is here!” someone bellows nearby.
I bite back a groan. Of course we’ve been recognized. Kalos has shock-white hair and manages to look elegant no matter his surroundings. I’m dressed in a patchwork dress with a tattered hem and blend in better, but if they knew we were staying nearby, they’d be on alert to the possibility of us visiting. So much for making this a quiet, quick visit.
Kalos makes an annoyed sound and steps past the man, continuing as if nothing has happened.
Others are noticing us, though. Everyone’s staring, the hot prick of their gaze making my skin crawl. I instinctively move closer to Kalos, letting him pull me along. He walks faster, and I can practically feel the annoyance vibrating off him.
“An Aspect,” another person murmurs, bowing their head as we walk past. “Eagleton is blessed.”
No one stops us as we continue moving, but people are gathering behind us as we move through town. It adds to my unease, and I wonder if it’ll be possible for us to take a different route home. One that doesn’t involve wandering past every single person in the village. I might as well put a big red target on my back.