Yulenna moves in after us, heading to the bed and adjusting one of the pillows. "There is a bathing tub with piped water in the privy closet," she says, her voice brisk. "I insisted that we give our guests the privacy to bathe after their long journey here. I think you'll find it to your liking. And I will bring you food and drink shortly."
I can't imagine what they have to drink if the water out there is gray, much less food. "I don't need anything, actually. No food, no drink."
That brings Yulenna up short. A flash of understanding crosses her face and then she gives me a look of pity that makes me ache. "Of course."
She knows, I realize. Somehow she's seen how frayed my thread is and that's why she's looking at me with sympathy. I glance over at Kassam, but I don't think he's noticed anything yet. He moves out to the balcony, drawn to the sunlight, and stands out there, drinking in the fresh air as if addicted. "You will tell them I have arrived?" Kassam asks Yulenna.
The anchor inclines her head. "They know already. Or…they don't. Time flows differently for them. They will be here when it is appropriate." Her hands smooth down her dress and she gives me another curious look, then turns back to Kassam. "If you do not require anything else, I shall leave. I have much to do. I shall return in a few hours to see if you need anything." With that, she turns in a flounce of fancy red skirts and heads for the doors, shutting them carefully behind her.
52
I sit on the edge of the bed and then immediately curl my legs up onto the mattress. "You don't think there's a spider in here, do you?"
Kassam moves back inside, heading toward me where I sit on the bed. "They are not normal spiders," he says, a thoughtful look on his face. "I cannot feel them. They are not part of my realm."
"Then what are they?"
He shrugs, seemingly puzzled, and moves to my side. "Do not worry, little light. I won't let them harm you."
"I wasn't worried until you said that," I grumble. I set a hand on his knee and squeeze. "You okay? You've been very quiet."
Kassam studies me, putting his hand over mine. "I just want you to know that I have not forgotten our pact. You are my wife. I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it. If the Spidae will not help us, we will seek assistance elsewhere."
Uh oh. "You think they won't help us? I thought they were your friends."
His smile is wry. "Can any god truly have friends? I thought Riekki was harmless and she imprisoned me for a thousand years. I do not trust my own instincts at the moment." He shrugs. "And a lot can change in a thousand years. It seems they have an anchor to make themselves more understanding of humanity. That is new. They have never been included in the Anticipations before." Kassam looks thoughtful. "I just worry that too much has changed and that I can rely on nothing and no one…except you."
My poor Kassam. I lace my fingers with his, smiling to reassure him. "It will all be fine," I lie. "Wait and see. And this isn't just about me, remember? This is about you returning to your realm, too."
"Mmm." He sounds unconvinced. His gaze lingers on me. "Carly…"
The doors to our room open and I jerk in surprise, even as Kassam moves to his feet, protectively stepping in front of me.
"Brother," says a cool, echoing voice. "You are overdue."
I touch Kassam's hip and peer around him to take my first look at the Spidae. I'm actually a little surprised, because I thought the god before me would look a little more…spidery. The tall, lean man standing in the doorway looks a lot like the rest of this tower—strange and slightly colorless. His face is elegant and austere, haughty like the elves in storybooks. He's got high cheekbones and a straight nose and soft mouth, and it seems like the only color to his face at all is in his eyes, which glimmer a faint blue. His hair is loose and resembles the spiderwebs that cover this entire place, silky and long and colorless as everything else. He wears a robe that seems to be the same pale shade as everything else, but it seems oversized—it's so long that it tangles and pools around his feet.
A horrible thought occurs to me—what if he doesn't have feet? What if all he has are a bunch of spider legs under there? I imagine that, and then I imagine Yulenna hanging out with this guy, serving him the way anchors “serve”…and…I just can't. But maybe she's lucky and he doesn't suffer from hedonism or anything along those lines. Maybe he's just perfectly normal and I'm reading too much into his appearance.
Then, the Spidae's gaze slides to me where I peer out from behind Kassam. His head tilts, the motion quick and jerky and unnatural, and I'm reminded of spiders all over again. Fighting a shudder, I slip behind Kassam again.
His big warm hand brushes my shoulder, as if to reassure me. "Greetings, brother. It has been a very long time."
"Has it?" I can hear confusion in the Spidae's voice. "Time does not mean much to our kind, unless one is trapped inside a glacier, I suppose."
I bite back a hiss, because that's a low blow. I feel Kassam stiffen in front of me, and I put a hand on his back, giving him the same reassurance he just gave me.
Kassam relaxes, as if my touch soothes him. "I seek to bargain for a favor. You know me. You know my word is good, and that I am a fair god. I would bargain with the Fates for—"
"No," the Spidae says, swift and brutal.
"You have not even heard me ask yet," Kassam growls, his body vibrating with anger. Gone is the easygoing, hedonism-loving god of the wild. He's furious, the air around me practically crackling with his rage. "I have traveled far. Crossed worlds. And you—"
"No." Just like that, the curtains whisper, and when I look out again, the Spidae is gone.
Kassam gives a snarl of pure rage. "Arrogant, selfish pricks," he seethes, turning toward me. His silver eyes are blazing with anger, and I've never seen him so upset. "They think to make me beg?"
I swallow hard. "Maybe it's a bad time to ask? Maybe…maybe they're having a bad day? We can hang out here for a while, relax for a few days, and then try approaching the subject again?"
"Do they not realize all that is at stake?" Kassam storms toward the door, pauses, and then moves back to me. He grabs me by the shoulders, kisses me hard, and then gives me a firm, determined look. "Wait here, my Carly. I will talk sense into them. They will not dismiss me as if I am nothing. Even though I am in Aspect form, I am yet a god. They had best remember that."
"Oh, but Yulenna said—"
"Wait here," he repeats again, and then heads out the curtains after the other god. I'm left blinking after him. I understand Kassam being upset—considering we've traveled for so far, only to have a thirty-second interaction with one of the Spidae and get shut down—but I'm a little worried for him. Somehow I don't think the Fates are ones you want to make enemies out of. I like that he's defending me to them, but perhaps he could have gone about it better. When he comes back, we'll sit down in bed and plan out our next move, I decide. We haven't thought beyond getting here, and I shouldn't be surprised that our original plan didn't work out. Heck, I don't think any of our original plans have worked out. Doesn't matter. As long as we're together, we'll figure something out.