Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)

Emmy tilted her head back, the oddest expression crossing her face as she spoke right into my ear. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already? We have to visit Soldel for the first meeting of the council. The Chancellor will be hearing from all of those applying to be Vice-Chancellor. The sols here are all members of high-ranking families. It’s the vote this sun-cycle.”

I took a really good look at the sols surrounding us. I had been trying to avoid looking at them because they were close enough to hear us if we hadn’t been whispering, but the three familiar, sneering faces now caught my attention. Fred, Dipshit, and Numbnuts. Great. Emmy’s three … whatever they were.

“If the sols are voting then … why are we here?” I didn’t bother to lower my voice this time.

“We’re the dweller reps.” A low voice from my left had me jumping, and I twisted my head to find Evie there. I was taken aback, realising I hadn’t noticed her at my side until that very moment. That was quite a feat, considering that her bushy hair had suddenly developed a very real personality of its own—apparently reacting to the weather. I was more out of it than I had even thought.

Wait a click … what had she said? Suddenly, everything made sense.

“This is what you two idiots have been doing?” I asked. “Seducing sols to try and get a foot in the door for the votes and meetings?” My words were loud again, and both girls shushed me. Most of the sols had lost interest in us by then, but at the loud shushing they were once again staring.

Sinking down lower, I averted my eyes, all the while muttering beneath my breath. “No one told me about a freaking meeting. How the hell did I get in this cart?”

I ran a hand over my face to try and clear the fuzziness in my head. I was so confused, and yet at the same time I felt as though I should have known something more.

Pale eyes flashed across my mind again, and I stilled. That asshole!

Whatever Cyrus had done to me, it had messed with me big time. I didn’t remember much of anything he had said to me, and I sure as hell didn’t remember getting into this cart.

As more of my brain clicked back into gear, painful clarity followed it. I reached to my throat, patting along my collar bone, before releasing a sigh of relief at the small lump there. My fingers delved beneath the collar to double check, but I was right with my first guess. The amazing, special, non-magic-eating stone hung from a leather tie around my neck. Which meant that I shouldn’t die or almost die any time soon, which would be a nice change.

“I’ve been doing this for you as well, Willa.” Emmy drew my attention again. “You’re practically in a six-way-love-fest with … sols.” She stumbled a little before continuing. “Wouldn’t you like to see more of what we’re trying to do? More rights for the dwellers? More dweller and sol relationships? More representation for us on the councils? It’s time we took a stand, and the only way to achieve that is with some inside help. Dwellers were never going to get representation, but if we have the ear of the Vice-chancellor, maybe we can … adjust some thinking.”

It was my turn to snort out laughter now. “Those shweeds are never going to help us. They’re using you two, plain and simple.”

A part of me was instantly pissed with myself and my attitude to what they were doing. I should have been supportive. I did want all of the things that Emmy and Evie had been fighting for, but I didn’t think they were going about it the right way. And I was upset that Emmy had been hiding it from me.

Liar. All of the breath I had inside of me exited in one huge exhalation. My bad mood was more than just annoyance at Emmy … it was the Abcurses. The moment my memory of Cyrus clicked in, so did my memory of them. The trial. The soul-link being transferred to the semanight stone.

The worst part was that I still felt the soul-link to them, but at the same time, I didn’t. It was messing with my mind; with my emotions. It was as though something was still being drained from me in their absence.

Gone. Another heavy exhalation. All gone.

The word echoed around my mind until I felt like I would go crazy.

“Are you even listening to me, Willa Knight?” Emmy had her shrill, school teacher voice on. I had been conditioned for many life-cycles to respond to that tone, and it helped snap me out of my weird, depressive state.

“No,” I said, quickly.

Emmy froze momentarily, before she tilted her head to the side and asked, “What?”

“No, I wasn’t listening. But … I am now. So, tell me everything.”

What I really wanted to say was turn this damn cart around and take me back to Blesswood. I wanted to be there when the Abcurses returned. I wanted to know that they were okay and that none of them had caused a god-war or ended up in jail. Instead I somehow ended up in the slowest cart known to Minatsol, trundling along to what would probably be the most boring meeting known to Minatsol.

I didn’t demand they turn around, for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because it felt slightly too co-dependent, and I was not that. No way. I could totally survive without those five gods.

“For the love of Topia, Will, you’re even more scatterbrained than normal. What is going on?”

Emmy had been talking again, but I hadn’t been listening. Again. Something snapped inside of me. “They’re gone, Em, and now I’m gone. Which means no one is there if something happens. I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Cyrus!”

She was silent for a beat, before shaking her head. “That was probably the least understandable sentence you’ve ever uttered, and considering your track record ...”

She trailed off because there was really no need to finish. Before I could snap something back at her, a jar was pressed into my hands. I glanced down to find water, which I immediately chugged. I hadn’t even had time to process what I was doing before the cool liquid was sliding down my throat.

“Is she okay?” I heard Evie whisper. She had been the one to hand me the drink. I swallowed the last of the water down as Emmy replied with, “I don’t think so.”

Before another word could be said, a loud shout came from the head of the cart, and the momentum started to slow, before coming to a grinding halt. The sols were up then, excitement across their faces. Most of them had to duck their heads low to not hit the roof of the cart, and then they were exiting on the left side.

Emmy hauled me up, apparently expecting that I would be unsteady on my feet, but I managed to remain upright, so the pair moved toward the door. I followed, but my shoe got caught in a rope that had been coiled up beneath the seat. My arms flailed about as I plunged headfirst onto the floor of the cart. Well, almost. A strong set of hands caught me just before my skull crashed against the hard timber. My knees and hip still smarted from where they had clipped the wood, but I was at least glad that I wasn’t about to black out for the second time that sun-cycle. My head was already a big old mess, it didn’t need a concussion to add to it.

Rocking back onto my knees, I tilted my head up to find Dru crouched before me, his massive hands still wedged in under my arm pits.