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)
Heh.
“Not even vengeance?” Seth continues. “Not against those that want you neutralized? Want you to remain as Apathy because it suits their purposes and not yours?”
I’m suddenly not finding this funny any longer.
Seth leans forward. “You are not even interested in vengeance against Belara?”
Kalos’s bland expression ices over. His eyes narrow. “Do not bring her foul name up unless you want me to leave right now.”
Seth puts his hands up, signaling capitulation. “As you wish.”
Well shit. Now I want to know more. Who is Belara to him, and why is it such an open wound? He didn’t blink an eye when I was stolen, apparently, but someone brings up Belara’s name and suddenly shit gets real? I’m both hurt that I’m so unimportant and wildly curious about what Belara was to him. She’s a goddess, I know that.
Now I need to find out what happened between them. Did she break his heart? Or is he in love with her but forced to be my side, and that’s why her name brings pain to him? I clench my hands together tightly, hating this.
Ask him more about Belara, I silently demand as Seth gets to his feet and begins to pace. His face is vaguely troubled, but I don’t trust it. I watch Margo and her expression never changes. If Seth was losing control of the situation, I’d see something flash across her face, like when I was down in the cells. This is what they expected.
“You care about nothing? No one?”
Kalos shrugs.
“You have no goals? Nothing you wish to accomplish?”
“I am not interested in anything you can offer.”
“You do not want riches? A country to rule?”
Kalos seems bored. “Why would I care about any of that?”
“And not revenge…” Seth considers this. He paces across the floor in a wide circle, deliberately heading my way. My skin prickles as he approaches me, his dark gaze meeting mine. “Or is it possible that you’re lying to me and playing games?”
“I am Apathy,” Kalos replies in the same bored tone and doesn’t look my way. “I assure you, the last thing I want is to play games.”
“I’ve met other Apathy aspects and you’re not like them,” Seth continues, circling me like a shark even as he speaks with Kalos. “I think you care more than you let on, but you’re using your Apathy as a shield.”
“Think what you like.” His tone is bored.
Seth turns towards him, standing halfway between myself and Kalos. “Then you won’t mind if I kiss your Anchor? Play with her a little? Since you don’t care about anything.”
I shoot a panicked look at Margo.
She glances down at her hands.
Shit, what does that mean? The silence in the room feels heavy as Seth walks over to me. Three footsteps, and he reaches down and touches my chin, even as the knife jabs me in the back.
I lift my head — and sneeze right in his face. I’m almost as surprised as him.
Anger flashes over Seth’s features… then triumph. He wipes his hand down his face and glances over at Kalos, who glares mutinously at Seth with more hate and feeling than I’ve ever seen on his face.
“I think you feel a great deal,” Seth continues, gloating in his tone.
“Fine. You’ve figured me out,” Kalos says, voice dry. “You leave me no choice but to work with you. But I want my Anchor back in my quarters. No more of this dungeon nonsense. We will discuss things when she’s been fed and properly tended to.”
My jaw drops. He’s going to capitulate, just like that. “Wait—”
“She can be fed later. She might be fragile, but she won’t die if she has to wait a few hours to eat.” Seth returns to his chair in a sweep of his cloak and leans in. “Let us discuss action. If we grab enough power, we can force the Fates to change their plans.”
Kalos just sighs again, as if the entire universe bothers him with its demands. He holds his hand out, palm up, and his voice is weary. “Go on, then. Tell me what you have in mind.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
For the next while, Seth talks.
And talks.
And talks.
God, he loves the sound of his own voice.
Guards move in and out of the room. Someone brings drinks for Margo and Seth, and I’m given a wine goblet and a tray of fruit. I pick at it while Seth goes on and on about his plans. He mentions cities he’s visited, the armies he’s been raising, and how he attacked and burned down some forest because an Aspect of a goddess was hiding out there. That he’s made friends with Kassam, Lord of the Wild, who has returned after a long absence, and he claims to have him on his side.
“An army is nice, but it’s not nearly as necessary as good allies,” Seth replies. I eat a wedge of cheese and a few slices of apple, trying to drown the overly sweet taste of the wine I’ve been given. I’d rather have water, but none’s been offered.