“You don’t want to wait for anything,” Declan said, sounding amused.
Leviathan, annoyed by… everything… opened his mouth andhissedat Arwyn.
Arwyn hissed back.
Declan sighed. “If people knew how ridiculous gods really were, no one would worship you. Come along, Shadow. Lord Tempest. I’ve seen naked men before, but apparently my Shadow is feeling insecure.”
“I could have two cocks if I wanted, too,” Arwyn informed Declan. “You just haven’t earned it yet, Dex.”
Leviathan followed them through a door and down a staircase to the ship’s interior. It was a small but comfortable space with a large bedchamber, a sitting room, and additional storage for all of Arwyn’sthings—mostly clothing, which seemed foolish to Leviathan, who’d never cared much for clothing. He would also never understand why, when Arwyn made his bond with Declan and found the power to shift his form at will, he’d not made his more… impressive.
Arwyn started pulling things out of a pile of what looked to be Mislian silk and thick Starian wool, giving Leviathan a strange ensemble of mismatched patterns, colors, and fabrics. Leviathan had no idea if he were meant to wear them all at once or not, so he simply pulled on a plain dark blue chiton and dropped the rest of it in a pile at his feet. His fingers were clumsy, and it felt odd to be out of the water in this form. He felt… small.
“Sit down and tell me what happened,” Arwyn said. “In a chair, Levi,” he added. “In a chair, like a real boy.”
“I am not in the mood for your attitude,” Leviathan told him.
“Wait, does that work?” Declan went to a sideboard and pulled out what appeared to be a bottle of wine. “All these centuries, and that’s it?”
“It works for me,” Leviathan said, feeling somewhat satisfied when thunder rumbled outside, lightning flashing through the small porthole.
“And you’re always in the mood for me,” Arwyn told Declan, but he was still looking at Leviathan. He pushed his messy hair out of his face and said, with no trace of his usual sly amusement, “I thought you were visiting. I didn’t realize… What happened?”
Leviathan sat on one of Arwyn’s ridiculous velvet-covered chairs, which he could only tolerate because the silk of the chiton kept the fabric from his skin, and told Arwyn and Declan what had befallen him off the coast of Mislia. He half expected Arwyn to laugh, but his brother merely listened with a speculative look as Leviathan finished his story.
“Clearly, this wizard used the same magic to keep you from eating him,” Arwyn said. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen wizards, isn’t that right, Dex? Remember that one I gave an island to, back when we all made Diabolos? I think she blew it up when she died. Accidentally. They never live long, wizards.”
“He wasn’t using magic then,” Leviathan said. “When I couldn’t eat him, I mean. I could tell. I don’t think he was trying to fight me, even. He did it for her. The girl.”
“Do humans with magic taste different from ones who don’t have it?” Declan asked.
“Levi doesn’t know; he swallows his food whole.” Arwyn shrugged. “It’s the only answer that makes sense.”
“Just because it’s the only thing you can think of doesn’t make it right.” Leviathan stood up. He disliked staying still, used to the movement of the sea even when he was bedded down in a crevasse somewhere. “I thought maybe he was one of Azaiah’s. That’s why I was trying to summon him.”
“Hold on, I have a better way.” Arwyn went to a trunk at the foot of the large, ornate bed and opened it, pulling out a small box. He took a prism from it, then held it up to make the light sparkle and play on the walls. “Azaiah, come see us. Big brother is in a snit. Several countries might not survive it.”
Leviathan looked at Declan, who just shrugged one shoulder. “I’m used to him.”
“Would that work for me?” Leviathan watched Arwyn turn the prism this way and that.
“Might want to ask that before you try to drown a ship, hmm? And no. I think it works for me because of my realm. I want to see him, so there you are. It doesn’t mean he’ll notice. Death waits for us all, they say, but along with all that patience comes a stunning lack of situational awareness.”
No one could argue with that, not after watching Azaiah pine over Nyx for millennia, but Leviathan was notnearly as patient. “If he doesn’t respond, send Astra to get him.”
“I’d love to, but didn’t you hear? Baby brother is off on an adventure.” Arwyn sprawled in his favorite chair, a massive high-backed black thing he’d hauled off his old ship before having Leviathan scuttle it. With his legs swung over one arm of the chair, he kept playing with the prism, Declan kneeling at his side. “He showed up a few weeks ago in my dream, demanding to know if I’d cursed him. I guess he found a mortal lover and hadn’t realized that being touched in your dreams isn’t the same thing as being touched in real life. He left the forest, so he’s harder to find. And also, I might have poked too much fun at him for him to want to see me again soon.”
“Then we’ll have to find another ship,” Leviathan said. “Because Iwillbe speaking to Azaiah.”
“You’re less fun when you’re like this,” Arwyn told him. “I like all-vibes, less-temper Leviathan.”
“How would you feel, Shadow, if you couldn’t take the form you preferred? It hasn’t been so long that you shouldn’t be able to remember,” Declan said, glancing up at Arwyn. “You would hate it, and you know it.”
Arwyn sniffed. “Why? You almost prefer my other form to this one, andyouknowthat.”
“Yes, but you don’t,” Declan said with exasperated fondness. “You’d never settle for one, if you could have two. Especially since I like them both.”
“I do spoil you,” Arwyn agreed, tipping Declan’s face up and stroking his fingers over Declan’s cheek. “Don’t I?”
