Kassam smooths my hair back from my face, brushing his fingers over my cheek. "I do not like it." He leans in. "Shall I do the same to her that he did to you?"
I shake my head. "We're not sinking to his level, and she could be innocent." I reach up and pat his cheek. "Maybe bring us some snacks? She's bound to be hungry."
He arches a brow at me. "And leave you unprotected?"
"Well…if I get stabbed again, you're allowed to tell me 'I told you so.'"
Kassam grunts, clearly displeased. He turns and gives Margo a withering glare. "Do not touch one hair on her head or I will ensure your innards are chewed upon by rats for all eternity." With that, he pulls me close, plants a hard kiss on my mouth, and stomps away into the forest.
Margo looks pale as a sheet. "Damn," she says after he leaves. "He's in a mood."
Secretly, I kinda love his mood. "He's been a little bit Papa Bear over me since Seth killed me. You'll have to forgive him for being a tiny bit upset."
She blanches. "I get it. He has every right to be upset. You do, too." Her gaze locks onto me and she bites her lip. "I didn't know, you know. Seth has a million plans and he doesn't share them with anyone. If he'd have told me, I'd have said for him to leave you alone, but…he didn't. I'm so sorry."
I shrug. "Nothing to do but hope that it can be reversed, I guess." I cross my arms under my breasts and lean against the root, not stepping toward her. I've learned my lesson about being trusting, and we've got ten feet between us. My bond with Kassam doesn't feel tight, so I suspect he's lurking nearby. "Did Seth send you over to apologize?"
"No, actually, he doesn't know that I'm here." She fusses with her skirt, folding and unfolding the same ripple of fabric over and over again. "He'd probably shit a brick if he knew where I am. He likes to keep me locked away with plenty of decoys around me just to stave off Riekki's would-be assassins." Margo's gaze doesn't meet my eyes. "He doesn't treat me like Kassam treats you."
I manage a small smile at that. "Like a person?"
Margo shakes her head again. "Kassam treats you like you're an angel that he's been tasked to keep safe." Her voice becomes soft and awed. "The way he looks at you is just…incredible. And how he kisses you. It really looks like you're more to him than just a problem." She sighs. "Seth doesn't treat me like that. He acts like I'm a puppy he's being forced to babysit. I think if he could snap my neck to be rid of me, he would."
I stare at her. "Really?"
"Really," she says with a little nod. "We don't have a bond like you guys do. It's strange to see, but it's nice." She leans in conspiratorially. "Are you guys…lovers?"
I want to laugh at her hushed voice. I lean in just like she did. "We're married, remember?"
"You really are? I thought that was just for show." Margo seems surprised.
I don't point out that I thought it was, too. Kassam has never considered it to be for show, though, and that thought kinda makes me warm and gooey inside. It's like he's been all-in since the moment we first met, and I'm appreciating that more by the day. "It's not for show. We're really a team."
"And not a stray dog. Must be nice." Her expression grows wistful again.
I don't know how to answer that. Margo's tied to a murdering jerk, but she's not exactly disavowing him. She just came over to apologize for him, not to turn against him. If she's still on his side, I can't trust her, even as much as I want to. I want to ask her what she wants out of this conversation, but if I'm too pushy, she might not answer at all. So I decide to play it cool, to let her lead the dance, so to speak. "Can you send over one of Seth's scribes when you leave? We really do want to give the innocent a chance to leave the city." I gesture up at the silent, dark trees in the distance. "Just because Riekki is there doesn't mean they all have to go down with her."
She nods absently. "I'll tell him you need a scribe and that we're waiting a day. He…won't be thrilled."
"I don't really care."
Margo smiles. "I know. He's an impatient sort. I'll tell him and he'll just have to get used to it. He's not going to move ahead without Kassam, anyhow. He feels like that's his safety net. As long as he's working with one god in this world, the others won't attack him." She fusses with her skirt again and then looks at me. "Hey, Carly?"
Here we go. "Mmmhmm?"
"What happens to us after all this is done?" She waves a hand in the air. "After the big battle and Seth either wins or loses? What happens to you and me?"
Should I be surprised that Seth hasn't told her much of anything? Because I'm not surprised. "I guess it depends on if we win or lose."
She blanches. "Seth says we can't lose, but he also said he was an accountant, so I don't take everything he says to heart. I wanted to come to you and get the truth. Just tell it to me straight, okay? I can take it."
I feel a little bad for Margo, because she really was dragged into this without her consent. "Well, I don't know if we can lose, but Kassam is confident. If we do lose, though, I imagine you end up like me." I tug the collar of my tunic down, showing her a hint of my stitches. "The walking dead. What that means, I don't really know." I think about how Death showed up in my dream and offered to yank me to his realm, but I don't bring that up. I don't know if it applies to Margo, who's been anchored to an intruding god, and I also don't want to mention it if Kassam is listening nearby. "So your guess is as good as mine. Maybe we undead ladies have to go to the Fates—somehow—and ask to be returned…provided Riekki doesn't trap us in some way."
Margo grows paler by the moment. "Okay, that all sounds terrible. I'm going to assume we're going to win, then. What did Kassam tell you is going to happen after Riekki is vanquished? Seth's version changes all the time."
"Well," I say slowly, considering this. "Since Kassam and I are married, and now I'm dead, he's going to go to the Fates and ask them to fix this for me. He wants me to stay with him at his side, forever. Has Seth not indicated what he's going to do with you?"
"First he said he'd send me home, but when I've asked about that recently, he's been vague." She toys with the hem. "I'm trying not to get too worried. You don't think he's going to kill me the moment he doesn't have to keep me, do you?"
"I can honestly say I don't know what goes through Seth's head." If I did, I probably wouldn't have a big hole in my chest. "You know him better than I do."
She shakes her head. "He's impossible to know. He's spent so long with a million secrets that I don't think he knows how to tell the truth. He's just constantly looking for the next angle. Did you know he's almost five thousand years old?" She hops down from her seat and dusts her clothes off. "If you lie for that long, I'm not sure you'll know truth when it bites you in the ass. Which is why I came to see you."