I felt Ethel take my hand. I opened my eyes to see we were inside the fog again. And then back in the cathedral-cave.

The fog dissipated to reveal every pair of eyes staring at me. With their expectant stares pressing in on me, I couldn't think...I couldn’t breathe.

Gasping, I sat on the ground. Brad knelt by me, “Let’s go outside, she needs fresh air,” he added to someone behind him.

I stumbled out of the cave. We exited into the woods, a true forest; I had no idea what kind of trees surrounded us but they grew tall enough to block out most of the sun. I shivered as wind swept over me. It felt good though, the chill filled my lungs and cleared my head.

“Don’t listen to them, we can find another way,” Brad led me to a stump and sat down, pulling me down next to him.

But there was no other way.

I could be a hero.

I laughed and couldn’t stop. A hero. God, what an idiot. Tears streamed down my face. Brad looked at me like I lost the last of my marbles and then he disappeared.

The Prince sat there in his place. “We finally get a moment alone,” he brushed my face with his pallid fingers and a sense of calm washed over me. I could finally breathe.

“I thought you weren’t going to manipulate me.”

He shook his head, “Giving you a moment of peace isn’t manipulating.”

For the first time since he came to the ranch, I could think clearly. The debilitating fear shifted to the back of my mind. “You’re different.”

His lips stretched into an attempted smile, “You already said that.”

I shook my head, “No, you’re acting more like…Nathan.”

The Prince stretching his legs out in front of him, long legs that looked longer since we were so close to the ground. I thought any moment now I’ll blink and he’ll be Nathan and all this would be an awful, awful nightmare.

“Is that what you want?” he asked reading my mind.

“No,” I looked away, “That was a lie, the Prince...you...are nothing like that.”

His face went blank, “Being an anchor is holding all the gods’ desires, wants, hatred and cruelty. Even love. Most gods are solitary so all their love is focused on the anchor through the sharing of their desires.” He looked down as if studying his hands, “You were the first thing I could enjoy as myself, for myself. Being Nathan allowed me a little selfishness and I got greedy. When you agreed to come to the condo, to stay with me…”

He looked up, into my eyes, and like with Ethel it felt like I fell into an abyss. But unlike with Ethel, we didn’t go anywhere. The Prince continued, “I am sorry about Ash. I have never felt jealousy before and coupled with the jealousy of the other gods towards you…”

My eyes watered, the admission of knowing and regretting how much he hurt me felt like a physical ache in my chest. “But if I return they won’t just be jealous, they’ll resent me for making you be kind to humans.”

“I don’t intend to return to being a single anchor as before,” his voice grew cold.

I frowned, confused, how could he be an anchor without supporting the gods’ emotions?

“I will amend our deal. If I return to anchor without Princess, you are free to leave. I want you with me but I wish you no harm and certainly no death.”

Pupil-less eyes watched my reaction; it was my turn to look away. This was the best deal I was likely to get. I couldn’t walk away knowing doing so could lead to billions of deaths. God, what was one life compared to eight billion. If it were anyone else I’d tell them to suck it up, the sacrifice was worth it. Bunch of hypocrites, that’s what humans were.

“Okay, but could you,” I felt like a coward for asking, “give me another shot of calm before we tell them.”

His eyes lit up, the pupils darkening to an almost blue, a genuine smile dancing around his lips. He cupped my cheek, leaned forward and kissed me.

Soft, his lips cradled mine, and there was that calm, a peace I have never felt. As he pressed deeper there came a faint stirring in the pit of my stomach. Alarms barely registered behind the calm, was he causing the desire?

No, this was slow, hesitant, wanting but not wanting. I knew the desire he generated, a bright, flaming passion. This wasn’t it.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, how could I still want him after everything he did?

He pulled away. Trailing a finger down the path of a tear, the desire dissipated, “I will wait,” replaced by calm.

Were all the bad parts really because he was anchored to the other gods? This was like a completely different person.

He rose, holding out a hand to help me up. We walked into the cave. I looked at Ethel, not willing to face the room. “I agreed to the Prince’s--”

“What did you do to her,” Brad tried to get at the Prince, Lightning held him back, “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” I said, “This is of my own free will, as long as the rest of the gods agree to never harm a human again.”

“All here agree to the terms,” Ethel spoke sweeping a hand at the room, “Once the rest accept you as anchor, they will need to be convinced as well.”

The Prince nodded, the rest of us I guess weren’t meant to understand. The Prince looked at the three humans, “The rest is not meant for human eyes or ears, you are free to go,” he waved his hand and Brad, Mercy and Shadow disappeared.

Lightning pushed forward, “What did you do?”

Ethel put up a hand to stop him, “They are back at Mercy’s family’s ranch, they are fine just confused. The Prince’s oath starts now, he will not harm a human.”

Heala looked uncertain, “Then why are we still here?”

“Because you are not human,” Ethel looked at her with pity, “You are a part of this, though if you wish not to be I can send you to the ranch as well.”

“No,” Lightning answered, “We have to see this, someone has to represent humanity.” He stared pointedly at me as if I betrayed them all.

“Shall we go then?” Ethel asked the Prince.

He nodded, taking my hand. Pulling me close as if for a hug, I only had time to gasp as we shifted places, That’s the only way I could describe it, the floor moved from under us. The floor from the condominium building moved into its spot and suddenly we were there.

The others appeared behind us, one by one. Kitty, the Princess, sat on the throne in front of us. Gods surrounded her, more than I’d ever seen, more than Ethel had with her.