Page 132 of Lost and Stolen Gods
“What is it? What does it say?” I stood and shuffled close to look at the script even though it made no sense to me.
He swallowed hard. “It says…The book contains a secret. One that no drohi is supposed to know, and I wager no ascended know either.”
“What is it?”
“The truth about the bond.” He lifted a tumultuous gaze to meet mine. “Pashim writes…The bond between a drohi and a demigod acts as a one-way conduit, allowing the god to borrow their drohi’s power when needed.” His frown deepened at that piece of information, but he read on. “The bond encourages emotional connections, butthe nature of those connections depends on the jodi itself. Love cannot be forced and the biggest news of all…” Araz exhaled sharply.
“What? What is it?”
Araz looked up at me, twin spots of color blooming high on his cheeks. “The bondcanbe broken.”
I knew it! I knew that Bhoomika was hiding something from me. “How?”
“By a god.”
We tidied Pashim’s bed,took the book, and went back to our room, where Araz took to pacing back and forth.
“Of course, they wouldn’t make this public knowledge,” he said. “Why give drohi a choice? Why risk them leaving? One hundred years of service with freedom dangled at the end is enough. But then they snatch that away too. Binding us for eternity. A power source for the demigods.”
The drohi weren’t just warriors who’d fight alongside a demigod, they were also batteries that a demigod could tap into if needed. And if a demigod ascended and tapped into the drohi power, then what would happen to the drohi?
“Has anyone ever left?”
“Not in my lifetime. You hear stories, but…I thought I’d be the first.” He came to a standstill by thewindow, looking out into the night with such an expression of devastation that it tore at my soul.
“But we know now. I’m not sure why Bhoomika gave me the book. I’m not sure if it was deliberate or a mistake, but right now, all that matters is we know. All that matters is that youcanbe free.”
He stopped and stared at me with such longing it made my insides quake. “I made you a promise to stay by your side.”
“And you can keep that promise. Stay with me. Help me to ascend, and when I become a god, I promise to set you free.”
His throat bobbed, and his chest heaved. “I hear you say the words, but I can’t quite believe them. I can’t help but think that this is a cruel dream or a trick.”
I bridged the distance between us and placed my palms on his chest. “No dream. No trick. Just a simple deal. My ascension in return for your freedom.” His heart sped up beneath my fingers. “Do we have a deal?”
His topaz eyes lit up. “A deal is not a deal unless it is sealed in an oath…”
He didn’t trust me to keep my word, and how could I blame him? “Fine, an oath then. How do we do this? Cross pinkies? Cut our palms and mix our blood?”
“A kiss,” he said. “An exchange of essence.” He gently gripped my jaw and forced my head up, leaning in so our mouths were a mere inchapart. “Are you willing?”
My pulse jumped, and guilt rocked through me because I shouldn’t be feeling this way. Not now, not when I’d just lost Pashim, but my body didn’t dance to my command when it came to Araz.
“Leela? You owe me nothing.” His grip slackened, and I grabbed hold of his wrist.
“But I want to. I want to owe you this much.”
Hope flickered in the flames in his eyes. “Then you consent?”
“I do. I consent to the oath to free you once I ascend.” The words were barely out when his lips met mine in a soft seal that demanded nothing except the warmth of my mouth and a sliver of my breath, tugged from my throat in a rush to meet his. Tendrils of heat spiraled down my neck and into my chest, spreading out like questing fingers and taking root.
What would the consequence of breaking this oath be?
Too late now.
It was done.
He broke contact but didn’t release me. Instead, he studied me with focused intensity as if trying to puzzle out a conundrum. I shifted from foot to foot, then gently tugged my head from his grasp.
