When I woke again, my body ached, the pleasant, grounding ache of being alive. But I couldn't move. Not because of pain. Because I was trapped. Tangled in limbs. His limbs. Malvor's arm was slung across my waist, my leg hooked over his, his face buried into the crook of my shoulder, breathing slow and warm. Somewhere in the night, we'd knotted ourselves together like vines, and neither of us had tried to escape. Carefully, I slid free. He mumbled, a soft grumble of protest, lips pulling into the faintest pout before he melted back into the pillows. I lingered, watching him. The Trickster King. Chaos incarnate. The god who glittered and laughed and turned the world upside down, curled in blankets, soft, vulnerable, beautiful. And mine. For one more day. For one more breath. For as long as we could keep surviving.
Padding barefoot into the kitchen, I decided today wasn't going to be about mochas. Not this time. No, today I wanted to surprise him. I raided the pantry like a madwoman. Chocolate syrup. Strawberry swirl. Blueberry extract. Orange zest. A dash of pomegranate. Even green apple. By the time I was done, the concoction shimmered like a rainbow had gone to war with a sugar factory. I topped it with whipped cream and a mountain of glittering rainbow sugar that sparkled like gemstones. Chaos in a cup.
By the time I came back to the bedroom, Malvor was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His gaze flicked from me to the glass of technicolor madness in my hands. "Your offering, oh Chaos of my heart," I declared, doing my best to keep a straight face.
His lips curved in that slow, sinful grin. "Did you murder a unicorn for this?"
"No, but I bribed one with compliments." I handed it to him with mock solemnity.
He took a cautious sip, and his eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, this is… this is a lot."
"Every sip is a different flavor," I said, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed, watching.
He took another sip, strawberry, then blueberry. "Are you trying to give me a sugar high? Because you should know, a sugar-high Malvor is just me with fewer morals."
I arched a brow. "Fewer?"
He licked a smear of whipped cream from his lip, smirking. "I'm already thinking about how this tastes like a fruit basket, and I could make a dozen jokes about your peaches, your melons, your-"
"Finish that sentence and I'll dump it on your head."
"Promises, promises," he teased, another sip staining his nose with a streak of whipped cream. "But seriously, Asha… this is wild."
"Chaos in a cup. Thought you'd like it."
"I love it," he murmured, and before I could react, he leaned forward and kissed me, soft, sweet, a burst of blueberry and chocolate still clinging to his mouth. "Thank you, my wild, wonderful troublemaker."
I smiled, but my heart pulled elsewhere. "We need to work on getting that collar off."
He lounged back, shrugging. "Yeah, yeah, you're all work, my Eternity. This is a part of me. Best you can do is unbreak the chain again."
"Hmm… that's an idea."
"Creation magic," he sighed. "First magic. Can't uncreate it without uncreating me. Best that can happen is you manipulate it."
He rolled out of bed slowly, "Hmm, what to do today?" He snapped. There was a chess table set up in his room. "Play with me Asha?"
I nodded and sat. The chessboard shimmered to life between us, pieces bursting into existence with a clamor of color and personality. Knights with flaming manes. Bishops levitating like smug prophets. Pawns armed with toothpicks. Malvor flicked his rook forward, flaring with golden light. It galloped across the board and sent another piece flying.
"That's not legal," I said flatly.
"Chaos, my love," he drawled. "Rules are just suggestions."
Two turns later, I moved my bishop. It stretched its wings mid-stride and became a dragon, devouring his knight in one bite. Malvor gaped. "Wait... that's cheating."
I grinned. "Chaos, my love."
The game devolved instantly. His pawns threw fireballs. My queen turned invisible, only to assassinate his king's guard. His bishops started singing hymns every time they captured a piece. My rooks fused together into a massive juggernaut and wiped out his flank.
"You can't just—"
"You set the rules," I shot back. "Or rather, you destroyed them."
He burst into laughter. "Oh, you are glorious. I love you."
"Admit defeat?" I teased, my dragon rearing back, smoke curling from its jaws.
He narrowed his eyes. "Never."
But then the board shuddered. The sky above us darkened for half a heartbeat. I noticed. He didn't. I didn't mention it. I tapped my dragon piece. "Checkmate."
His mouth opened to protest, but the room trembled, soft at first, then stronger. The floating candles overhead flickered, flashing blue, then white, then gold.
"Cheating, love?" he said lightly, but there was tension under it. The chessboard cracked. The pieces warped, their colors draining to gray. My dragon-bishop wailed soundlessly before collapsing to ash.
"Malvor…" My pulse stuttered.
Thunder, no, not thunder. A rumble, deep, like something ancient shifting beneath us. The walls twisted. The colors of the room bled, dripping down the walls like wet paint. The windows warped.
A voice. Low. Distorted. Familiar. Aerion. "You are a flaw, a power thief. A fracture in the divine design."
My breath caught. My hands curled into fists. Malvor was already on his feet, his grin gone, eyes sharp as blades. "Aerion," he growled, spinning toward the warping walls. "Coward. Sneaking shadows into my realm?"
"You shouldn't exist," Aerion's voice snarled. "But I will correct that mistake."
The ceiling split open with a jagged tear. Wind screamed through the room, shredding curtains, whipping my hair into my face. The ground bucked. Malvor grabbed me just as a blast of force slammed into us, knocking me back against the bed. His arm held me tight, anchoring me as the world itself cracked.
"Your chains are not enough to hold me, brother," Aerion roared, his voice everywhere, too close. "I will sever what she stole! A bond forged in lies cannot withstand truth."
Malvor's grip tightened on my shoulder. His voice was low, but I felt the fury burning in him. "Stay close. Don't leave my side."
"Malvor-" I could barely breathe. Fear clawed at me, but anger burned hotter. He has taken everything from me. He will not take this. "Can he get in?" My voice broke despite me.
"No," Malvor snapped, even as the walls shivered and the sky split wider above. "He can't, not without my permission. But this… shouldn't be possible." His jaw clenched. "Unless someone showed him the way."
Another tremor ripped through the room, a roar of magic so strong I tasted ash in the air. Aerion's voice thundered over it all: "You were never meant to be ours! I will sever what you stole. Not just your life. Your existence in the Pantheon. Forgotten. Unmade. You were a thief, girl! A parasite feeding on gods who pitied you. I will show them the truth. I will free them from your deception."
Magic sparked at my fingertips. Just a flicker. Barely enough to burn, but enough to remind me I wasn't helpless. I met Malvor's gaze. Fear churned in my chest, but rage flared hotter. "Then don't let go."
His grip on me was iron. His eyes blazed. "I won't," he promised. "But when he forces his way in—" He bared his teeth. "—fight."