saved me, too. He could have looked me up and down like the prelate did, sneered at me, and picked a different blonde. Instead, he tied himself to me and me to him.
I might be a lot of things, but I’m not a traitor. “I’m good, thanks.”
Their expressions grow cold. Shuttered. The prelate nods. “So be it. I will have my slaves prepare the chambers for the Lord of Storms.”
“Spiffy. I’ll tell him.” I keep the bright smile on my face though everything in me is screaming to run away. This feels…wrong. I can’t quite shake the feeling that these two are going to try something, and I need to be aware of it.
Aron does, too.
9
A short time later, Aron and I are led down the winding stone halls of the temple. They descend into the earth and I’m reminded of the pyramids back home, but we only go down a few floors, where the stones are cooler and overall the humid heat from above is nonexistent. The temperature change makes the place pleasant for all that it’s endless carved stone and torchlit halls. At the end of one of the long hallways, double doors are opened and we’re led into a sumptuous, enormous chamber. There are more torches along the walls, so the room is a little smoky, and straw is scattered over the stone floors, which seems like a fire hazard to me.
There’s a large circular bed in the center of the room, ornate draperies hanging above it like a headboard. Anchored on one wall is a massive ornate axe, the symbol of Aron himself. The bed looks big enough for four people. This is a nice room…but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re not safe.
The prelate’s nowhere around, though. There are serving girls, all dressed in the short linen skirt and nothing else, and they bow and simper and wait for Aron to address them.
He stands in the room and it’s clear he doesn’t know what to do next. Poor guy’s pretty lost. I suspect this is all very new to him. I also think he wouldn’t want them to see how he doesn’t have basic knowledge of things like sleep or clothing. So I step forward and gesture at the serving girls. “You can all leave now.”
They look surprised and hesitate. A few of them glance over at Aron, as if waiting to see if he contradicts me.
The god gives them his best imperious look. “Did you not hear my anchor?”
“Of course, my lord,” one murmurs breathlessly and then they’re all bent over, bowing and scuttling from the room like frightened crabs.
I wait patiently until they’re gone, and then I shut the heavy wooden doors to the room behind us. After that, I move around the room, pulling up wall hangings and looking for secret passages. I find one behind an ornate tapestry in front of a statue, and push the statue back against the door there so no one can get in. And then I shove one of the heavy wooden chests against it, barricading us in. That done, I look over at Aron.
He stands in the middle of the room, watching me with a curious look on his face. Still naked. I realize a moment later I’ve more or less locked myself into a room with a naked man who can do anything he wants to me. God, I’m dumb. I hope he’ll realize now is not the time to get freaky, though. “We need to talk.”
“I thought we came to this room to sleep. Is that not what humans do?” Incredibly, he manages to sound as imperious in private as he does in public.
“You and I need to get some basic groundwork established so we can work together as a team—”
“We are still not a team,” he snarls at me, and I can hear distant thunder rumble overhead.
“Fine, whatever,” I exclaim. God, he’s still pissypants even in private. What the hell? But that doesn’t mean I can’t work around this. I have to because I can’t shake the feeling that the prelate is up to something bad. But I need to know more about Aron for starters so I know what I’m working with. “Can I ask you a few questions? I just want to know a bit more about this you and me thing.” I gesture between the two of us. “I’m not used to being an anchor or whatever it is I’m called. I’m not entirely clear on what that