Godhood | ONC 2024

Chapter Ten

The days blurred together as Iloyu strove to regain his strength and balance. Palya assisted him the entire way. She brought him meals, kept him company, and even braved to change his clothes when he was feeling too poorly to do so on his own.

Thankfully, Iloyu hadn't teased her for being so bashful that she stuttered through the whole process. Instead, he thanked her profusely for her work. He also apologized to her for offending her delicate sensibilities whenever she had to swap out his pants.

In Palya's opinion, though, the man had nothing to apologize for. He was ill, after all, and she was the only one who could stick around to help him recover. Eventually, they settled into a routine that they were both comfortable with.

At noon, for example, Palya would sit with him and brush his hair out while he ate his lunch.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked as she ran a wooden comb through his soft, long tresses. She was kneeling behind him on the bed, close enough to smell the shampoo she'd washed his hair with earlier that morning.

"Better," he said after guzzling down half a cup of water. "I can get up without having to lean on you, for one."

"I'm so sorry about all of this." Palya sighed. She set the comb aside and reached for a ribbon that she'd laid on Iloyu's pillow beforehand. "If I hadn't overdone it, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"It's all right, Palya. You don't have to worry about me."

The void-goddes shook her head. Her fingers threaded through his hair, dividing it into three sections that she could braid down his back. The style would make him look tidy and put together.

"You've been nodding off and stumbling around for three weeks! How can I not be worried?" She sat on her heels and threaded the locks as securely as she could. "You had to leave your home to accompany me here. The least I could do to repay your sacrifice is to make sure that you're not harmed."

Palya had just tied off the end of his braid when Iloyu shuffled on the bed to face her. Their gazes met, clinging onto each other as the man reached for her hands. She felt his fingers close around them.

"You should worry about your own sacrifices," Iloyu said with a smile. "Being a goddess isn't as easy as it seems, hm?"

Palya blushed, fully aware that they were alone in a closed room, on a bed that could support two adult people. Her eyes traveled to Iloyu's lips, then to the broad expanse of his bare chest. Just the sight of his skin, tanned by the sun and toned by years of travel and labor, stirred a thirst within her that she'd never felt before.

She quickly reminded herself that he was still recuperating and that she knew better than to ogle at someone of the opposite sex.

"It appears that we're both aware of the truth of this matter," she conceded as she pried her hands away from him.

The man, perhaps too tired to notice her reaction to him, dragged himself closer to the headboard and settled against his mountain of pillows.

"Weren't you supposed to be at a banquet again tonight?" he asked.

Palya shrugged.

Soon after bonding with Magulana and explaining her history, the sky-goddess had been inviting her to dine with the other deities. She would accept the invitation each time, afraid that she'd lose the goddess' favor if she declined. And although Palya would excuse herself from the meal before it got too late, she remained in their presence long enough to realize that they weren't as intimidating as she thought.

Magulana's countenance towards her had softened considerably, which Likoda picked up on.

The oracle seemed more relaxed around her now that the sky-goddess wasn't warning her off or keeping her away. Ugut noticed this too, but his habits didn't change all that much. Palya concluded that the god simply wasn't the talkative type.