Page 23 of Lost and Stolen Gods
But the rumble cut off too quickly for it to have been anything meaningful.
I hung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, seething because I hadn’t expected him to take me up on the offer of carrying us all, and I couldn’t help but think he was only doing it to prove a point, although I did have a pretty nice view of his ass.
Do not touch it.
Do not fucking touch it.
“You’re suddenly very quiet,” he said. “I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve played right into your hands. Maybe this is what you wanted all along. But you should know, I am not interested in your mortal wiles.”
Wait, he thought I washittingon him? And wiles? Who spoke like that? “I’m grateful for all the lifesaving and the lift, but I’mnotinterested.”
“You lie.”
“God, you’re so full of yourself.”
“Full of myself? How can one be full of themselves?”
“Arrogant. You’re arrogant.”
“Ah… and no, I’m merely stating what I’ve observed. The acceleration of your pulse, the color staining your cheeks, and the dilation of your pupils when you spoke to me all indicate attraction.”
Bloody hell. “Oh no, what will I do?”
“Sarcasm, how completely mortal.”
“Contrary to your predisposed views on humans, we can find someone attractive andnotwant to pursue them. Especially if we later discover that person is an ass.”
He was silent for several beats, and I relaxed, thinking the conversation was over. I should have known he wasn’t the kind of guy to let anyone else have the last word.
“How amusing that you still believe yourself to be human.”
Huh? “Believe? I know I am.”
“No, tiny mortal. You are not human. Far from it.” There was that disgusted bite to his words again, and I fought not to get defensive because I needed to know what the heck he was talking about.
“If I’m not human, then what am I?”
He exhaled as if trying to get an awful smell out of his nasal cavity. “You areaadha rakht, a half-blood.”
“Yeah, I heard about the whole divine seed thing.”
“And you haven’t figured out what that makes you yet? You are a stupid mortal indeed. I should have let you die and saved the gurus time and effort in training you.”
His insults washed over me without effect because I was still fixated on what he’d said about my not having figured out…wait, if I was a half-blood and I had the blood of a god then… “Oh, god.”
“Not quite a god,” he grumbled. “A demigod.”
Chapter 9
I’LL TAKE A FLYING CARPET OVER A VORTEX ANY DAY
Ademigod. I was a fucking demigod. Was that how I’d forced the revenant away? What did this mean for me exactly?
“Don’t get excited,” Araz said. “A demigod is merely chaff here.”
“Yeah? Well, then it seems you went to a lot of trouble for chaff.”
“Every war needs its cannon fodder.”
