Wed to the Wild God (Aspect and Anchor)

Margo grows paler by the moment. "Okay, that all sounds terrible. I'm going to assume we're going to win, then. What did Kassam tell you is going to happen after Riekki is vanquished? Seth's version changes all the time."

"Well," I say slowly, considering this. "Since Kassam and I are married, and now I'm dead, he's going to go to the Fates and ask them to fix this for me. He wants me to stay with him at his side, forever. Has Seth not indicated what he's going to do with you?"

"First he said he'd send me home, but when I've asked about that recently, he's been vague." She toys with the hem. "I'm trying not to get too worried. You don't think he's going to kill me the moment he doesn't have to keep me, do you?"

"I can honestly say I don't know what goes through Seth's head." If I did, I probably wouldn't have a big hole in my chest. "You know him better than I do."

She shakes her head. "He's impossible to know. He's spent so long with a million secrets that I don't think he knows how to tell the truth. He's just constantly looking for the next angle. Did you know he's almost five thousand years old?" She hops down from her seat and dusts her clothes off. "If you lie for that long, I'm not sure you'll know truth when it bites you in the ass. Which is why I came to see you."

"Does it match up?" I ask her. "What he told you about what happens afterward?"

Margo grimaces. "Of course not. Like I said, he's a liar. Good thing he's trying for god of knowledge and not truth, or he'd really be fucked." She pats her hands against her sides, as if she doesn't know what to do with herself, and then looks at me. "He told me that the moment he ascended, I'd automatically be sent home. It sounded a little too good to be true."

"He might not be wrong?" I venture.

"Yeah, but now we both know he's guessing." She snorts and then pulls her hood back over her hair. "Well, I'd better run back before he notices I'm gone. I'll get those scribes sent over and let Seth know that we're delaying. Day after, you say?" At my nod, she gives me a big, genuine smile. "I wish he hadn't fucked this, Carly. I'd have loved for us to be friends. I could use one right now. I'm over my head and the water keeps climbing higher every day." Her bright smile wavers. "But if you ever need to talk, well, you know where I am."

I return her smile, but that's it. I wish we could be friends, too. But even though Seth and Kassam are supposed to be on the same page, we clearly can't trust each other. I can't be sure that she won't turn around and race back to Seth's side with everything I tell her. I like Margo, but I don't trust her.

In fact, the only person I trust in this world is Kassam.

Margo gives me one last sad-eyed look, then turns and leaves. "I'll send the scribes over shortly." She traipses back through the woods, her footsteps as heavy leaving as they were when she arrived. I watch her as she disappears, feeling a little guilty for not being more welcoming. I'm a bartender. I'm used to being a friendly type. But I touch the stitches between my breasts and wonder if she's going to take what I told her and confront Seth, or if she's playing her own game.

If Margo's wise, she won't trust Seth at all.

The moment Margo disappears, Kassam melts out of the woods, his antlers twined with fresh vines. It's like he was lurking nearby, just waiting for her to leave, and I give him a skeptical look. "Your timing is convenient."

"Isn't it just?" He grins at me. "I was busy scavenging food for your guest." He holds out a withered leaf with a sly smirk. "Mmm, delicious."

"You're ridiculous," I tell him, but I'm grinning. I pluck the wilted leaf out of his hand and toss it to the ground. "You're supposed to be the bigger man here."

"Oh, I am much, much bigger," he purrs, sliding an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close again. "Shall I show you just how big?"

I poke his abdomen. "I've seen it a dozen times already." I glance back where Margo left, and I can't help but wonder. "Do you think he sent her over to suss us out? Or was that genuine?"

"It is impossible to say. We will not trust them. Not in the slightest." He says it easily, as if it's as simple as hitting a switch.

I'm not so convinced. "How do we know he won't turn around and betray you with Riekki?"