Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
The Liar Kalos.
Even though I know what he’s supposed to look like, I still devour him with my eyes. It’s fascinating to see the changes. He looks like a mirror image of my Kalos and yet there’s something about him that’s all wrong. Perhaps it’s the way he carries himself as he sits atop his mount. His back is arrow-straight, and he regards the crowd with a curl of his lip. His eyes aren’t sleepy like my Kalos, and there’s a hard, brittle edge to him that mine lacks. His long silvery hair flows down his back like a waterfall, and his clothing is lavish, the cape on his shoulders held in place by a glittering chain of gemstones.
I…don’t like him.
I should, given that he’s supposed to be the same man as the one I’m in love with, just with a slightly different flavor to his personality. But there’s something wrong about Liar-Kalos. Something brittle and cold. I hate looking at him, as if he’s betraying me simply with his existence. I look over to my Kalos again, noting his wrinkled clothing, his heavy-lidded eyes as if he’s struggling to stay awake every moment.
God, I wish he’d look over at me. I know he can’t, but I still want it.
I reluctantly drag my gaze away from the very wrong-feeling Kalos and focus on the woman at his side. It has to be Belara. Belara the Betrayer, Kalos called her once. She’s so beautiful it makes my stomach hurt to look at her. She’s…perfect. Her long-lashed eyes are a gorgeous shade of amber, her skin a sun-kissed gold. Her hair is long and red and loose, sweeping down her back and flowing across her mount’s backside. Her face is heart-shaped with a full, red mouth and a sweet expression. The dress she wears is simple and filmy, her nipples evident through the sheer fabric, and she’s all thick curves and plump thighs and heavy breasts.
I don’t know if I hate her or I want to be her.
“There’s your lady,” the woman at my side whispers. “She’s magnificent.”
Liar-Kalos looks over at Belara and shoots her a covetous look. It makes me want to cry, and I fight back the knot in my throat. Damn. How am I supposed to compete with a goddess? Especially one that looks like that?
The people in front of us sink down, bowing. Someone hits the back of my leg. I go down, too. I kneel next to the others, watching as the two gods lumber past our spot on their mounts. They aren’t looking at the crowds, I can’t help but notice. They’re ignoring us as if we don’t exist. Belara wears a serene (but vague) expression on her beautiful face.
Liar-Kalos looks like he’s sucking lemons. Like we’re a swarm of gnats he’d love nothing more than to shoo away.
I watch them as they move past, the procession stately as it winds through the crowded plaza. There are more people behind them, wearing tabards of the gods’ colors—some in Belara’s red, and some in Kalos’s dark gray. At first, I think they’re worshippers or musicians of some sort, but as they pass by and no one is carrying anything, my stomach sinks as I realize just who and what they are.
It’s an entourage.
No one is walking next to the mount of each god. No one guards them. And the cluster of people behind them are dressed exactly the same. One of them is the Anchor, I realize.
They’re hiding their Anchors in plain sight.
Oh fuck, what am I supposed to do with that? I had a hard enough time with the idea of killing one person to save myself. Now I have to hope I’m killing the right person? I have to pick one out of twenty…or just kill all twenty?
My breath rasps quickly in my lungs, and I can’t get enough air. I might be hyperventilating. I just…I don’t know what to do. I need to talk to Kalos, but I can’t. If they know who I am, they’ll kill me.
I whimper, feeling lost and alone and very, very frightened.
At my side, the woman reaches out and grabs my hand, reassuring me. “It’ll be all right, love,” she whispers. “They’re not here for us.”
She’s wrong. They’re very much here for me, but her tone is reassuring and her kindness in comforting me makes me feel marginally better. I clutch her tight, my thoughts racing. Okay. Okay. I can do this. I shouldn’t be surprised. The pair of gods are deceit incarnate, so of course they’re going to try and hide their Anchors. Hell, they might be hiding them from each other as well as from my Kalos.
For now, all I can do is observe and hope that I can determine which one is which. We’ve got plenty of time.