Mermaid Tear (The Fated #2)

29 | The Trickster

At first, Iliana thought she might really be dreaming.

But, the world of white that consumed everything around her was unmistakable. As were the red thread that seemed tethered to reality only by the charms of Iliana's anklet. Like every time before, they seemingly stretched into the realm's endless void. Without prompting, her mind provided the mental image of the silhouettes at the end of the two she had followed.

Almost unconsciously, she caught a thread with her fingers. Should she follow another? Was that why she was here? Trepidation and anticipation flooded her mind with equal weight. Who would she find at the end?

What person in her life was there not by chance or choice, but the will of the gods?

Did she truly want to know?

"Finally."

The voice hit her like a brick.

The red thread fell from her fingers as fierce anger stilled her frame. The knowledge of who she would see when she turned was heavy. Unwelcome, even.

But also an impossible relief.

The gods had not abandoned her. Not fully.

Her knees trembled as she spun to face him. "Koun."

Koun was exactly as Iliana remembered him last. His soft black hair framed his face to his ears in unkept abandon, his golden eyes gleaming with what might've been relief, or triumph. The god of tricksters served near-impossible to read at the best of times, and Iliana's connection to him had never felt thinner.

He towered over her with a lean, sun-kissed frame that, despite everything, read as relaxed as any other uninvited visit he'd graced her.

"Casual as ever, Iliana," he replied. There was no hint of insult in his smooth voice. Instead, the familiar, roguish confidence was edged with amusement. It seemed time had not dulled his bemusement with her attitude.

A burning question unfurled in her mind, and Iliana's tongue moved before logical thought formed. "How are you here? I thought the gods held no power in Reotak."

"We are never powerless," Koun scoffed. "The people of Chuteros may have abandoned their temples, but they cannot detach themselves from those who created them. They can't seal away the sun or the moon, nor can they stop time. As long as the seconds still turn into hours, I will exist."

Words failed Iliana in that moment.

Somehow, despite encountering him frequently and even disrespecting him occasionally, it had never truly sunk in just how powerful Koun truly was. He may have been a god, but in all appearances he was also just a man who gave cryptic advice.

But, he was also time. He was luck and medicine.

Koun was dreams.

And try as he might, she doubted even Zuher could fully escape that aspect of Koun's domain.

"You can reach me because I am asleep. I'm in your realm, not Kikin's," she realized.

"She thinks, on occasion," Koun observed with an insulting amount of surprise. It stroked the embers of irritation warming her chest.

But, it wouldn't due to anger a god, so she drew a deep breath, ignored his comment, and focused her mind.

"I can't use the anklet."

Koun frowned and reached towards her. Despite the feet between them, Iliana stepped back. His lips twitched in what might have been amusement, but he said nothing as his fingers caught something unseen. They tugged through the air, sparking a golden glow over previously invisible, crimson threads.