Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
He could only shake his head. Apparently gods and goddesses did nothing small, even when it came to love.
“Fine, but what about you? Another god or goddess? Or even a human?”
“Me, personally? No. Definitely no romances with other gods or goddesses. They’re a disaster.” He sat quietly, his brow furrowed as he sank deep into thought. His hands were folded lightly together in his lap, and this god suddenly seemed quite little. “I’ve spent a lot of time around humans, but none that I’ve seen regularly for a long time. You might be the one I’ve spent the most time with. But there was a woman I knew once. She lived with me for a short time after escaping an abusive husband. She kissed me before she left.” His hand drifted up, and two of his fingers lightly brushed his lips as if he were reliving that kiss in his mind. “It was…interesting…”
Shey cocked his head, a wicked grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “So, you’ve never kissed a man?”
“No,” Tyche admitted, his voice still breathless as if he were still caught in the old memory.
“Would you like me to kiss you? Just so you can feel the difference.”
Tyche blinked. And blinked again. A gasp left his throat, and his cheeks turned almost as bright as his hair. “Now you’re being obnoxious.” His hands covered his almost flat stomach. “And in front of my food baby! How could you?”
He flopped back onto the bed and turned over so that he was no longer facing Shey.
With a roll of his eyes, Shey stood and walked around to the other side of the bed. He climbed on and lay next to Tyche, facing him as the god smiled like the lunatic he was. There had been another reason for him to visit Tyche besides wanting to check on him.
“In all seriousness, I know I said that we should stick together for a while,” Shey started slowly. “But things have changed. I don’t want to leave Damardor until I can shut down Ruben and all these kidnappings. I won’t let these monsters kill anyone else—human or god. Adrian and Haru are prepared to give me a hand. We still have a lot of planning to do. Regardless, things are going to get more dangerous. You had mentioned something about wanting to go to Brightspire for Yesuntei. It might be better if you go now. Get as far from Damardor as you can to be safe.”
Shey bit his tongue to stop the flood of words. It felt like a betrayal. As if he were abandoning Tyche after everything they had been through. Yet, all he was trying to do was keep his friend safe. Tyche himself had stated plenty of times that he wasn’t a fighter. Plus, it didn’t take the smartest man to see exactly how draining it was for him to use his magic. After they’d reached that cave, Tyche had collapsed and passed out. Shey didn’t know how much he’d used his magic to give them a window of good luck, but it seemed to take everything Tyche had. He didn’t want Tyche to be in danger. Separating was the logical thing to do.
Then why was there a dark part of him that was already disappointed? He was sure Tyche would jump at the chance. He didn’t want to be around humans. Didn’t want to put his life in danger. He only wanted to fulfill Yesuntei’s last wish.
Shey wanted Tyche to stay with him. Not because he thought Tyche would give them a significant advantage with his magic. He wanted Tyche because he made Shey laugh. Even when he was being an asshole, Tyche gave him hope. And Shey was positive that if Tyche walked away from him, he’d never see the god again.
Tyche’s expression lost its playful grin, but it became incredibly hard to read. Thoughtful, maybe? There wasn’t a look of relief or hurt that Shey was brushing him off. He appeared to be considering what Shey had said.
“I do need to get to Brightspire,” Tyche murmured, sounding as if he were mostly talking to himself. His eyes had drifted to the bed, where his finger traced the abstract pattern in the green and gold comforter. After a couple of seconds, his eyes jerked to Shey’s face. “But I also want to make sure this nonsense is stopped. It’s not just that I don’t want other innocent humans and gods killed by these bastards. Trying to harness and steal the magic of others, I’ve seen it before. It won’t end well. This must stop now. It can’t be allowed to spiral out of control. Would you be opposed to me tagging along? At least for a little while.”
Shey’s eyes widened. “No,” he replied quickly. “Not at all. If that’s what you want. We would be roughing it a bit, though. It won’t be as bad as the facility, but I can’t promise you good coffee every morning.”