Wed to the Wild God (Aspect and Anchor)

Seth glares at him, his jaw clenching. "I vow that I will do everything in my power to keep her safe."

"And you'll send her back to Earth the moment you no longer need her as an anchor?" I push. "Unless she wants to stay?"

The trickster inclines his head. "You have my word upon that."

"Then…I guess I don't have any more objections." I hate that I'm caving in, but what choice do I have?

26

The car ride is an uncomfortable one. Seth drives a cherry-red sports car in a type I've never heard of. It's only got two doors, so Kassam and I have to squeeze into the tiny backseat as Margo chatters uncomfortably about how nice the weather is and how pretty the stars are tonight. I sit atop my overpacked bag (since there's nowhere else to put it) with my legs in Kassam's lap and try not to resent everyone and everything that led me to this moment.

Only the fact that Kassam has supported me this whole time has made me keep going forward with this. I'm doing everything for him, I decide. It's all to get him home and to get him back to his kingdom. To get him back the life that was stolen from him by that bitch Riekki who left him at the bottom of a glacier with a sword in his guts. Just thinking about that reminds me how much I hate this unknown goddess, and how she doesn't deserve to keep her spot. I want Kassam to take her down and make her pay for hurting him…which means we need to cross over to his world, even if Margo is an unwitting pawn.

As for Margo herself, she seems to be besotted with Kassam instead of Seth. I know that it's all just part of Kassam's curse, but as we drive out of the city, I grit my teeth every time Margo asks Kassam a question and giggles no matter what he says. The looks she keeps shooting to the back seat infuriate me, like she'd cheerfully climb onto Kassam's lap and fuck him with me sitting right here beside him.

It's hedonism, I tell myself. No need to get mad. He has this effect on everyone.

But I didn't go to bat for everyone, and I did for Margo, and so it stings a little.

It seems to bug someone else, too. At one point, Seth glances over his shoulder at Kassam. "Can't you turn that shit off for five minutes?"

"I wish that I could," Kassam says easily. "Carly can attest to how very inconvenient it has been for both of us." He winks at me and rubs my foot through my boot.

"You have no idea." I peer out the window. It's dark, and I've noticed that as we leave the city—we've been in the car for at least an hour, maybe longer—it grows darker and darker. Now we're on country roads, and there are fewer cars and buildings by the minute. I have to admire Margo for going along with this cheerfully, because a first date that wants to take me to a moonlit park? That's some serious serial-killer territory. But maybe she feels safe with me and Kassam along as the double. Who can say? "Are we almost there?"

Seth snorts. "It's amazing how impatient your kind is."

"Her kind?" Margo asks.

He pauses. Glances back at me. Glances at Margo. "Millennials," he says finally. "Are you one?"

She chuckles, seemingly nonplussed. "I'm Gen Z, but just barely. Aren't you a millennial?"

"I'm older than I look," Seth replies.

I cough politely. Kassam merely slides his hand up my ankle and gives me a meaningful look, as if warning me not to push it. His thumb skates over my leg, teasing my skin, and as Margo glances back at Kassam again, I'm tempted to slide into his lap and give her a show like we did to Seth.

Then, I realize what I just thought. What the hell is wrong with me? I touch the crystals at my throat and wrist, then my earrings, checking to make sure everything is in place to banish as many horny thoughts as possible. Kassam has corrupted me, I decide, because the thought of straddling him in the car and fucking while we drive doesn't bother me nearly as much as it should.

I mull on this as Seth finally pulls the car over. "Here we go."

Margo peers out the windows, frowning. "Where are we?"

"Park," Seth says, as if that explains everything, and gets out of the car.

We manage to climb out of the back, and Kassam hefts my pack, holding my hand to help me out. I stretch, wincing at cramped muscles as we get out. Beyond the asphalt parking lot, the trees here are tall and looming in the darkness. Margo looks around in worry as Seth strides off down a path. "Where's he going?"