you're Aron of the Cleaver and I have yet to really see you wield an axe? Or wear an eyepatch?"
"Should I announce my presence to everyone, then? Demand that they come and try their luck killing my anchor?"
"Good point." I settle back down against him. "Will we be safe at the Spidae tower?"
"No."
"You could sugar-coat it for me, just a little."
He continues to toy with my hair. "Why? I will never lie to you. That is another Aspect's job."
Har de har. I shift against him again, not entirely sure where to put my hand. I want to rest it on his chest or his thigh, but that seems a little too intimate. "So why isn't it safe? Is the countryside full of people waiting to kill us, then?"
"Not at all. It is the wildlands." Aron grows thoughtful. "No mortals live there. The mountains are full of foul creatures and ruins of places long overtaken by them. None dare to cross into those lands, so that is why the Spidae are there. They are safe from all those save the most foolhardy of pilgrims."
I shiver, thinking of “foul creatures.” I can only imagine. "So what you're saying is that we shouldn't go there, either."
"It is the place we will get the answers we seek."
“Yay.”
He grunts agreement and pulls me closer to him, tucking fabric over my exposed skin as if to keep me warmer. "It will not be an easy journey. Go to sleep."
I close my eyes obediently. "What do you do while I'm asleep?"
"I think."
"What about?"
"Many, many things."
I poke him again, yawning. "Such as?"
Aron sighs. "How I am going to leave this mortal realm behind. How I will be free of our tether. Where my other Aspects are and how I can best ambush them to ensure victory, because it is clear you will not be much of a fighter."
"Wow, I'm so glad I asked." I should learn at some point to stop while I'm ahead.
"I mostly think about the other Aspects, though. They will be thinking of ways to defeat me, so I must be ready. Your life depends on mine." And he plays with my hair again.
That soothes some of the irritation I'm feeling. I notice that he mentions me, and for all his arrogance, that's sweet, in an Aron sort of way. I know he's trying. I know it's against his nature to think of anyone but himself, and I should be more patient with him, but I'm only human, and man, Aron can be a real pain in the ass. But I move a little closer to him, because he's warm and because I'm feeling a little more affectionate toward the man. "You need to teach me how to fight," I tell him between yawns.
"I did not take you as my anchor because you were a fighter." He sounds amused, as if the thought of me with a sword is extremely funny.
I poke him in the side again. "You act like you had a bunch of options. If I recall, I was the only volunteer and your brain was still foggy from being booted out of Heaven." I put my hands over my eyes and assume a deep voice, mocking him. "Oh look, I'm Aron and I don't know how to sleep like humans."
He pinches my side and I bite back a squeal, but I can feel the laughter rumbling through his chest. "You are full of fire to me, I see."
"Well, sure. You can't do squat about my sassy attitude," I tell him sleepily, and this time when I put my hands down, I do put one on his chest. Why not. "You're stuck with me."
Aron grunts.
"I'm serious, though," I tell him. "I should know the basics of how to fight. Nothing fancy. Just enough to protect myself. This world's way more dangerous than mine. And if you were on Earth, I'd show you how to drive a car and use a debit card. You should do the same for me."
"I will think on it."
I pat his stomach. "Don't strain yourself."
His laughter rolls through the trees and I go to sleep, smiling.
34
Something hard nudges me awake, and I groan, rolling over only to get a mouthful of leaves. Sputtering, I sit up, wincing at sore muscles and wiping detritus from my cheek. We’re still in the forest, and somehow I managed to fall asleep and crash for several hours. Judging from the pale light wafting through the trees, it’s incredibly early. I grab a handful