Railed at the Bacchanal (Valley of the Old Gods Book 4) by Dalia Davies

Author:Dalia Davies [Davies, Dalia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BSP
Published: 2023-01-28T18:30:00+00:00

Curiouser & Curiouser

Faint purring echoes in my ear and I startle awake as a woman in a white cat mask draws back from me, whiskers brushing my cheek.

One in black perches on a branch above the bed, looking down at me over her shoulder. “There’s a woman in Diyo’s bed…. No one sleeps in Diyo’s bed. What a strange occurrence.”

The woman in white tsks her tongue. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I think you have that backwards.” Because I’m certain the two women in their cat masks are the ones who shouldn’t be here.

“Probably.” The one dressed in black drops backward off the branch, hanging from it by her knees. “But you’re not wearing the right mask.”

“And that,” the one in white says, sitting on the bed beside me. “Means that we can help if you’d rather not be here.”

“Though…” the one in black says, “after last night’s performance, I’m not sure you’ll even want to hear it.”

There’s only one thing I would want from them. “Would you show me the way out of the old gods’ realm?”

A sharp smile on her lips, the one in white pets her own tail. “Absolutely not.”

“Then, you’re right. I don’t want to hear it.”

“You might later.” The one in white picks up my hand and studies a bangle crusted in dark red gems. “I’m Calico, that’s Minx, and we’ll be around until the end of the Bacchanal… just in case you do need us after all.”

Kissing the back of my hand, she releases me, and Minx flips down off the branch.

They walk away hand in hand and tail in tail.

Definitely not trustworthy.

But I can trust that no one will do anything I don’t want, so long as I’m in Diyo’s domain. And I imagine they see me as a toy, not a treat.

I stretch in the bed, considering rolling over and going back to sleep until the sky is dark, and the Bacchanal has got loud enough I can hear it again.

But my body isn’t tired anymore and my mind is wide awake.

The dress I wore has been replaced with one similar in every way but its shade. A deep coral instead of the pale pink.

Whatever part of their game that is, I’m not going to worry about it. They can dress me however they please, so long as they don’t try to trick me into anything more than I’ve already agreed to.

Trailing through the jungle paths, I start to wonder if it would actually be a trick.

I should be hungry, but I’m not.

I should be thirsty…

The old gods’ realm holds its fair share of blessings. The things I don’t have to worry about here are many. The ones I do…. They don’t wear masks.

Because remaining here means being Diyo’s pet.

And gods too easily grow bored.

A group of women in masks that look startlingly like Diyo’s face see me and run away, giggling.

The swing they’d been standing around sways and I sit on it, reminding myself that’s another reason I shouldn’t stay.

Their devotees shy away from me because of their claim on me… it could be a very lonely existence.

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