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“You have showers in Arcadia?”
“Natural ones. Waterfalls. Leaks in caves.”
“Not exactly what I’d call a shower.”
“Did the lack of steel death traps not tip you off that this isn’t Earth?” I lifted my eyebrows.
“You mean cars?” She cocked her head. “Because I’d kill for one of those ‘steel death traps’ with air conditioning right now.”
Of course you would.Because this was Kali. She’d kill for anything, and I shouldn’t forget it. “Cars. Machines. Oil rigs. Coal mines. Your planet was trashed in the name of luxury and laziness.”
She squinted at me. “I don’t see what my planet has to do with anything, but if you’re going to go there ... is this an insecurity thing?” She took a step toward me, her gaze intense. “You lost control of your powers and corrupted your own people, so you have to bag on my home to feel better?”
I took a step toward her. The air between us became charged. Tension, palpable. “You don’t get to sayanythingto me about that.”
“Really?” she replied. “Because it wasyourpowers that caused it, inyourworld, whereyou’rein charge, andyoufailed to tell me what would happen.” Her voice got quieter with each word as she stepped closer. “I was forced to kill achildbecause of your asinine belief that I should be kept in the dark.”
Golden waves rose and fell in the depths of her gaze. A shiver ran up my spine.
I leaned close. “Has it ever occurred to you that I didn’t tell you foryourbenefit?”
She snorted. “Horseshit.”
My teeth ground together. “You want to be vulgar and disagreeable? Fine. I’ll tell you.”
She tapped her foot impatiently, hands on hips. “I’m waiting.”
My hands balled into fists. I wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. I couldn’t do that, so I settled for second best: feeding her lies dressed as the truth. “Your family took my soul’s twin animals, Flora and Fauna. Unlike shifters, who have mates, I have them. They ground me and my power. Twenty-five years ago, your family took them from me. Trapped them using old magic. They refuse to give them back unless I bring you back to them.” I had to commend her. Her face didn’t show an ounce of emotion as she listened. “In losing them, I’ve descended into madness, and the entirety of Arcadia with me.”
She didn’t speak for several seconds. I started to wonder if she would.
“There’s just one problem with this little story,” she said, voice shrewd. “If this hinged on you finding me, why didn’t you?”
Why indeed?
I couldn’t give her that truth. No version of it would go over well.
“I’m the god of Arcadia, not Earth. I traveled the entire planet to find you, butyou weren’t here.” A crack appeared in her armor. She wasn’t quite sure I was lying now. I was a bastard for laying on the guilt this thick, but I had to. It was the only way. “Arcadia paid the price.”
She looked down for a brief moment. “But you called me. Through the portal—”
“I was calling through all the land and portals, trying to draw you closer from whatever world you were in, so that I didn’t have to cross over for long and risk my power infecting another population.”
The muscle in her cheek tightened. “I see. So because I have a horrible family, apparently I am equally deserving of your scorn. Thanks for clearing that up. We should be going, since I’m guessing I’ll need to find breakfast on the way.”
She stepped around me and marched toward the front of the cave.
Well, she bought it. Not that it made me feel any better.
Adora was going willingly. This was a good thing. We needed to get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible.
“Are you going to stand there and stare at my glorious ass or lead the way?” she called before rounding the corner.
“I wasn’t staring at your ass.”
“No, but youwerestaring.”
I lifted a brow. “How did you know?”
