Page 82 of Godslayer
He has the nerve to place a hand over his heart as if he’s aghast. “Please explain. I don’t understand.”
“Oh, cut the shit, OK? I know what you’re doing.” I point at the garment bag. “This is a dress, you’ve arranged a date, this fancy room.”
Now he furrows his brow in confusion. But it’s one of those you-might-actually-be-crazy furrowed-brow looks. “I’m confused. You don’t like the room?”
“This isn’t about the room. It’s about your manipulation of me.”
“Jasina, I’m not manipulating you.”
“Bullshit. You made me walk up and down all those stairs, physically exhausting me to the point of needing rest, for the sole purpose of getting Finn’s full attention away from my influence.”
He has the nerve to grin now. “I take it you are rested now? Your spunk is certainly on display.” This comes out as a chuckle.Like I’m an adorable, harmless child throwing a little tantrum. I’m surprised he doesn’t try to pat me on the head and hand me a sucker.
“This dress is a bribe. Whatever date you have planned is a bribe. And I’m just going to nip this whole thing in the bud. I’m not falling for it. While I am not in charge of Finn’s decisions, he will ask for my opinion and there’s no way in hell that I’m gonna tell him that this augmentation procedure is a good idea.” I blow out a breath. “So save it, OK? I don’t want your dress, especially after you locked me in the room so I couldn’t leave.”
His head juts back in surprise. “That’s ridiculous. You were never locked in.”
“Wrong. Iwaslocked in. I tried the handle and it didn’t move.”
His eyebrows go stern with consternation. “You literally just opened the door and let me in.”
“Yeah, but—”Holy shit, Jasina! Get ahold of yourself! You almost spilled the secret. Which wasn’t a secret just a few moments ago, but decidedlyisnow. Being able to unlock doors with my spark is not something I should share with this god.
“Jasina?” he asks.
I let out a breath and cross my arms again. “Well, maybe you’re right about the door. But I’m right about the dress.”
He sighs. “Fine. You’re very astute. I’m bribing you. I want to show you what your options are.”
“What options?”
“If you and Finn decide to stay, there is a life for you here. Your date is in the upper dimension, you see.”
I blink. Several times. “What?”
“The upper dimension. The other world. The one you haven’t seen? The one that doesn’t have factories filled with Spark Maidens?”
I point to myself. “You’re going to take me there?” I must look really confused because he laughs. And it’s a nice laugh. Deep, and rugged, and his eyes do this twinkling thing. And while I do realize he’s not real—he’s made of tricks and lights, or whatever. He’s attractive. I mean, he is a god so why wouldn’t he be?
His hair is dark and short, his eyes a little bit green, but maybe more like hazel, and he dresses neatly. He looks like an up-city fuck. A man my friends and I would often dream about seducing—before they died trying to turn Donal Oslin into a baby god and I ran away with the Extraction Master.
What a weird fucking world I live in.
Anyway, the point is… the God Xi is not bad looking for being fake. So I have a teenage moment of sudden infatuation, which I quickly rein in and pretend never happened.
“I’m offering a night out with your—” He raises his eyebrows at me making one of those expressions that lets you know his next word is going to be a guess. “Fiancé?”
Which only makes me sigh. “We haven’t gotten that far yet, but probably.”
“Right.” His smile is back. “I figured. So—” He shakes the garment bag again. “Date night? Can you be ready in two hours?”
“Who the hell needs two hours to get ready?”
“Trust me, Jasina. Once you try out the bath, you’ll be asking for three.”
I almost crack a smile. Because I could really use a bath. Finn and I have been travelling for weeks now. Surely, I stink. And the fact that I can no longer smell my own stink probably means I reek. So yes. I could use a bath and a luxurious one would be even better.
Xi acts like he’s been reading my mind, because he says, “I’ll be back in two hours,” like no more discussion is necessary.
