“I’m happy she’s going to be free, but if you let her go, won’t she just run to the police?”
“The police?”Kronos chuckled at her naivety.“Look around you, beautiful.Think about the things you have seen.Do you think there is an authority in the world that can control me?”
Only one soul had ever succeeded, but Kronos chose not to spend time dwelling on that dark day.Not that Zeus’ uprising had held him back for long.The years Kronos had been detained at Tartarus became meaningless when he went on to rule the Isle of the Blessed.All the sorry encounter had ever taught him was that good things came to those who were prepared to play the long game, and Kronos had all the time in the cosmos.
She blew out a breath.“I suppose not, Master.”
“Shelley will be taken home,” he assured her.“She shall return to her life exactly as it was when I brought her to this realm.”
“This realm?”Kristina blinked up at him.
“Where we are,” he clarified, accepting she hadn’t yet learned about his hiding place in the clouds.
Her accelerated development had meant the conversations he would usually have shared with his mortals over the course of their awakenings had yet to be discussed.There was still much she didn’t understand.
She sighed again, the pained expression on her face telling him she had yet more queries that she was wisely choosing to hold back.
“Go on.”He took a step back and folded his arms across his chest.“You may have one more question before we leave.”
“Master,” she started, not wasting any time.“How can she go back to her life as it was?”
“There is much you do not yet know about me.”Kronos’ lips twitched.He’d only just had a similar conversation with Shelley.“One such thing is that I am the master of time.”
Her brow rose as though she didn’t believe a word.Apparently, she at least partly accepted his ability to manifest before her and teleport her around his home, but the idea that he had sway over the most persuasive of man-made metrics was too much for her to comprehend.
“Time, Master?”
“Yes, time.”He nodded, sensing his impatience growing.He liked to indulge her, but there was still Shelley to think about.
“I see that you do not believe,” he continued.“It matters not.What is important is that Shelley will be well looked after.You have my word on that.”
“Okay.”Her head lowered as though she expected a rebuke, but there was none coming.He would answer more of her questions when there was only the two of them to consider.
“We must ready you for this auspicious occasion,” he went on.
Her chin rose.“How?”
“You shall be enrobed.”He grinned at the word.
It made him think of covering her in something delicious.Warm chocolate, perhaps, or fudge.He’d wager that would make for an interesting punishment one day.He’d bind her and smother her delectable body in the coating of his choice, feasting upon her at will.That would surely help to convey the meaning of sweet submission to his bewildered woman.
“I am to have clothes, Master?”Excitement tingled in her voice at the prospect.
“For now,” he confirmed, already imagining her in the lightweight peplos that would cover her tempting body while still complementing her feminine curves.“A ritual such as this deserves dignity.”
With one wave of his hand, the draped dark crimson garment he’d envisioned appeared on her, clinging to her body in all the right places.He laughed at the way she leaped back to the wall, her arms rising as she appraised her attire.He supposed, after hours of nothing but her glorious skin, wearing anything felt peculiar.
“There.”He didn’t hide his smug tone.“You are wonderful.Just as I thought you’d be.”
“Master, it’s…” She shook her head, apparently finally short of words.“I love the color.”
“Good.”He straightened, directing his magic over himself and transforming the short tunic he wore into the longer black, belted chiton he donned for formality.“I appreciate dramatic colors.”
He’d always liked red for his women, while opting for black for himself.Both reflected his all-devouring reputation.
“Come to me.”
He beckoned her with one hand, adjusting his belt while she shuffled closer.Her feet were still bare, but his were encased in the type of sandals he’d worn in Titan.