Page 44 of The Heartless One
“Is this where you came to worship?” Elric asked, his footsteps echoing as he started down the line of statues.
“My mother worshipped more than I ever did. She was the one who had the proclivities toward the gods. I…” She paused when he looked back at her with a bemused expression. “I never found the right god to worship.”
“Interesting.” He arched a brow before meandering again. He clasped his hands behind his back, pausing to look at every single statue.
Jessamine let him take his time. Part of her wondered how long it had been since he’d seen a depiction of his siblings while they were still alive. After all, the other statues were usually destroyed when a god died. Even the witches had removed part of the statues and filled the remains with flowers or moss.
But these statues were pristine. They were exactly how the gods had looked when they were alive, if the artists were to be believed.
“Who did your mother worship?” he asked.
“The Wizened Crone.” She paused in front of the old woman’s statue. She was a bent-backed lady with a cane who stared down at everyone with a disappointed expression on her face.
“Ah, the mother of wisdom. It is no surprise the queen worshipped her. Her followers always thought themselves better than even the scholars of my sister the Inquisitive One, because their knowledge was boundless and unending.” He snorted. “She only let them gather information about the things she didn’t care if they knew. She kept her secrets for only the most loyal.”
“All the gods seemed to have their favorites.”
“All of us did.” Then his expression turned sly. “Do you know where my statue is?”
Of course she did. It was the first thing that she had looked for when she entered all those years ago. The Deathless One had always intrigued her, or perhaps scared her. A god for only witches, very select in who was even allowed to worship him.
“I remember there were many who refused to even walk by your statue,” she said, striding past him down the long rows. “They had to move it, you know. You were in the middle for a very long time, but then they placed you all the way down here because people were afraid to speak in front of your visage.”
“You know how I love flattery.”
“I thought you’d like that.” The smile on her face felt permanent as she walked over to his statue.
It was obviously much larger than he was, but his features were very similar. The artist had done a good job capturing his smirk. They’d carved him with his hand outstretched, as though he was waiting for someone to take it and allow him to draw them into the darkness. He had longer hair then, though. The statue’s hair was tied behind his neck, a few locks falling around his features, just enough to barely hide the eyes that had been carefully chiseled to place obsidian chips in them.
“Here you are,” she said, staring up at the statue. “Do you know how many women I heard walk by this statue and claim that you were the most handsome god here?”
“I’m sure my brothers rolled in their graves every single time it happened.” He leaned closer to her, his breath fanning across her neck. “Take my hand.”
“Elric. It’s just a statue.”
“Then it shouldn’t mean anything to take its hand.”
But that childish part of her that was terrified of the statue trembled. Yet, it was him. The statue was only an extension of the god she trusted, and she had no reason to fear it. Still, her fingers shook as she reached up toward the outstretched hand.
“Why do you want me to do this?” she asked, her palm hovering over the cold stone.
“Trust me.” His words seemed to echo around her. The brazier above the statue flickered with power, as though the shadows were already threatening to drown the flame out. What light should ever exist when he was here?
Her palm came down on the icy stone. For a moment, nothing happened, but then she could feel the stone take life. Fingers curled around hers, and the statue straightened. It pulled her toward the hard visage of the man she adored and spun her around.
Gasping, she found her back pressed against the statue with its arm firmly locked around her chest. She couldn’t move. Not if she wanted to. Her arms were pinned at her sides, and she was forced to look down at where the living Elric stood with his hands in his pockets. He looked up at her with hungry eyes, and she knew he was about to desecrate this temple.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“I just like seeing you pinned.” He stepped up the small podium at the base of the statue, putting her at eye level with him. “Now what am I going to do with this nightmare I’ve found in my temple?”
“Elric?” she breathed.
She had no idea what he was going to do with her now that he’d quite literally used himself to hold her in place. But her heart fluttered with excitement and her breath was ragged as she watched his eyes trail over her entire body.
“Delicious,” he murmured, before sinking to his knees before her.
How sacrilegious it was to see him kneel like that, worshipping at his own altar as though he had forgotten he was the god. Elric shoved aside a few burning bowls of incense and a bundle of crumpled flowers a pitying soul had left a few days ago. They tumbled onto the ground, the metal bowls clanging and rolling for what felt like forever, until silence descended upon them.
