"What? Why?" Seth sounds offended. "She's a mortal. She could die from any number of things. Why do I have to vow to keep her safe? Why do you care?"
"Because Carly cares," Kassam says simply.
And even though I'm still angry over the “little light” situation and the fact that Margo's being manipulated, I kinda want to hug Kassam for that. He cares because I care. Because I matter to him. I'd cry a little if my tear ducts weren't frozen.
Seth sighs, the sound a little petulant. "Fine. Whatever. Can we just get going?"
"Do you agree not to harm the female?" Kassam states specifically. "I need a better answer than 'whatever.' Do you swear to protect her with all your might?"
A moment ticks by. Then another. Seth glares at Kassam. "Yes. Fine."
Definitely going to kiss Kassam when this is all over and done with. My guy turns to Lachesis. "And I need a promise from you, as well."
She rolls her eyes, taking a pull on her cigarette before flicking it. "Here we go. Spit it out."
"Promise you will not pull Carly's thread prematurely. Nor this other female."
"Honey, I don't pull the threads. That's my sister."
Kassam gives her an icy look. "Then make her promise."
Lachesis sighs. Her eyes turn completely black for a moment, then flicker to normal once more. "She promises."
Kassam grunts, as if satisfied. "Then I am ready. Send us through."
The goddess nods. "Good luck, you two. Hold on to your mortal, and when you cross over, they'll unfreeze. I don't dare do it beforehand or we're going to be here all night." There's a note of impatience in her voice. "And I'm already growing tired of this. So both of you, snag your humans, and when I start pulling on threads, you're going to see a portal open. I advise you to go through it quickly before someone gets wind of what we're up to. Understand?" She looks between the two gods. "Okay. Great. Let's roll."
Warm hands cup my waist, and then Kassam pulls me—still frozen like a mannequin—against his chest. I can't see anything now but his shoulder. He strokes my hair once and murmurs, "All will be well, Carly. I promise."
Then there's a bright light that sears my frozen eyelids. I can't blink away. I can't scream. I can only stare at Kassam's shoulder as he gives my back one last pat and then surges forward.
Something hard and painful yanks, and for a moment, it feels as if my spine has been ripped out of my body.
Then…nothing. Nothing at all.
28
When I wake up next, it's to a crick in my neck, an ache in my pussy, and my stomach growling.
My eyes flutter open, and I stare at the green canopy overhead. Trees. Big ones. Okay, that's not so weird. Considering we were in a park, that's kinda expected. I raise a hand to my forehead, rubbing it to get rid of a forming headache. I can hear water somewhere, trickling and pleasant, like a fountain.
Something moves into my sight, and then a tongue licks my forehead. I frown, lowering my hand as a big deer with an enormous rack of antlers licks my brow, as if I'm an errant fawn in need of cleaning. I sputter, trying to move away from that licking tongue. "Hey now!"
There's a chuckle somewhere off to my side, and the liquid heat that pools in my belly tells me that it's Kassam. Pushing the insistent deer aside, I sit up.
And I get my first look at my new surroundings.
Wow. Just wow.
It's like something out of a Disney movie. I'm lying in lush green grasses that make a soft bed underneath me. The wind picks up, rustling the leaves out of the tall, fantastic-looking trees all around, sunlight trickling through the branches and dappling the scenery. In the distance, I see a charming waterfall, cascading over rocks into a pool below, and the mist that forms around the rocks is full of rainbows. The air smells like flowers and fresh air, and I breathe deeply, because I've never smelled anything quite so fresh before. Birds chirp and dart through the skies overhead. As I look around, I see deer and small animals everywhere. They nibble on the greenery and wander about in the glade, content.
It's very obviously daylight. Considering it was night when we left my world, I must have been asleep for a long time. Maybe that's why my stomach is growling so hard that it feels as if it's about to start gnawing on my spleen.
A small, yellow bird lands on a nearby moss-covered boulder and watches me, tilting its head. It chirps and then hops over to my shoulder. "Oh, okay," I breathe. "We're doing this, then. Hi. Have you seen a guy named Kassam around here? Kinda big, kinda sexy? Likes to laugh and lick everything in sight?"
That selfsame laughter dances through the clearing, making my body quiver in response. My nipples prick against my T-shirt and I have to bite back a moan at my neediness. Kassam was potent in my world, but here he's downright murdering my pussy with just a sexy laugh alone. Frantic, I reach for my crystals at my neck—scaring off the bird in the process—and find that they're very much in place.
I manage to stagger to my feet as leaves rustle with Kassam's approach. "I think my crystals aren't working," I blurt out as he steps out of the shadows and into the dappled sunlight. "I think…"
The rest of my words die in my throat as the neediest whimper.
God, he is pretty.
Kassam strides forward, and he was gorgeous in my world, but here he's just…more. More sensual, more attractive, more magnetic. I can't tear my gaze away from him as he approaches me. His clothes are gone. That's the first thing I notice. He's shed his jeans and flip-flops and T-shirt and is now completely and utterly naked, save for a vine that curls up one arm and tangles into his long, wild brown hair, that seems to have grown twice as unruly and twice as long in the time that I slept. His eyes practically glow silver, his tan is deeper, and a squirrel rests on one shoulder, a crow perched atop the crown of antlers that lofts from his thick mane.
That's…new.
He stops in front of me and kneels, and I notice that he smells good—like a pine forest and flowers both—and his feet are hooves. Fucking hooves. That's new, too. "Hi," I manage to choke out. "You look…well."
I'm proud of myself for not shoving my hand down my pants at the sight of him. Really proud. He'll never know how strong the urge is right now. I'm wide-eyed as I gaze at him, wanting nothing more than to close the distance between us and just lick every inch of his golden-brown skin.
"How do you feel?" Kassam asks. He reaches out and traces a finger along my jaw, and it takes everything I have not to drop onto my back and fling my legs into the air. "Do you hurt anywhere?"
Oh, there's a part of me that's throbbing, but pain? Not really. I'm mostly ravenous and fatigued. "Tired and hungry but…I think I'm all right." I gaze up at him. "You?"
His face wreaths in a smile that's so ecstatic it makes me quiver. Kassam closes his eyes, pressing his hands to his bare chest over his heart. "Words cannot describe how full my heart is, my Carly. I have dreamed of being free again for so long that to be here…" He makes a sound of pure joy and leans over me, cupping my face. He leans in as if he's going to kiss me—