Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

I hesitated outside her door.

The last conversation I'd had with Astrid had been inside her mind when I'd begged her to join us instead of dying. While I hadn't been able to prove to her that I was her only option, she'd agreed to join us on a very modified contract. I hadn't realized just how bad it must have sounded from her side until she refused, but now that she had joined us, I wanted to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

Which meant keeping Aelin away from her.

The blonde meant well, but her fascination with me having a harem could take an absolute tone. Considering that I had no intention of adding every pretty woman I came across to my harem, there had already been some very awkward misunderstandings between myself and some of the other women in our group.

I knocked on the door before my musing in the hallway attracted the self-proclaimed matchmaker.

"Astrid, it's Atlas. Can I come in?"

The door opened a crack, revealing the golden-skinned woman on the other side. She was in a pair of gray shorts and a black tank top. Her red hair was braided in rows, similar to how Rix kept hers. Her blue eyes looked like she'd been crying, which I found very out of character for the violent woman.

"Took you long enough." She held the door cracked. "What do you want?"

"We're leaving in less than an hour, and I wanted to talk to you before we headed out."

Astrid wiped her eyes. "Yeah, well. Now's not a good time. Maybe on the bus."

"We'll be in different RVs, so if we're going to talk before we get to Harror, then it has to be now." I swallowed. "Look, I get that I've been busy looking for Rix and Pixie. But this is the first chance I've had to take a breath since you woke up."

"Whatever." Her blue eyes narrowed. "I'm not one of your little girls that you have to handhold, and I'm never going to be. So why don't you crawl back into one of their beds and leave me alone?"

I caught the door as she tried to slam it. Her face contorted as she realized I was stronger than her. Which honestly wasn't hard to do. Her Power stat was only 3 last I checked.

"You've got an issue with me; I get that. But you're part of my team now, which means that I'm responsible for you." I glanced down the hall at the audience gathering to watch. "Look, can we talk in your room?" The last thing I wanted was for one of the others to jump in and try to defend me.

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"Whatever. You're the boss." Astrid let the door swing open and backed away.

"Thanks…" I shook my head as I walked in and closed the door. "Have you talked to Zel?"

Her face contorted as the response she had been about to unleash died on her lips. "Just got off the communicator with her." The golden woman looked down at her bare feet. "She sounded good…" The hardness returned to her face. "Despite getting sold to that criminal."

"I didn't sell her!" I shook my head. "You wanted her out of Mive, and Whisper could take over her seal like what I did with you." I held up my hands as red deepened the color in her face. "I've worked with Whisper a lot, and despite what I thought about him at first, he seems like a pretty stand-up guy." I glared at her. "And she chose to go with him."

Silence hung in the air for almost a minute. I could see there was something she wanted to say, but we were on a clock as far as time went.

"She's already level sixteen." Jealousy laced Astrid's words. "He's going to start helping her Tier up as fast as her mind can take it. Tres even offered her a spot on his Grenium later."

The Grenium were Tres's private guard. A spot on any God's private guards meant reaching a higher level than the best Adventurer could ever hope of achieving. It also meant cutting ties with her family, and knowing what Zel's parents had tried to do to her, I could understand why she would never want to go back.

"Sounds like she's doing well." I folded my arms in front of me. "So what's the problem?"

"It should have been me!" Rage bubbled out of the woman. "I never wanted to go to school and be prodded around like some prize. That was always Ral's dream!" She motioned at the nice bed in the cozy single room. "Zel would love staying someplace like this. She wanted the school life." A tear softened the rage in her voice. "All I wanted was to get my Mantle and disappear as soon as everyone forgot about me." She glared at me. "I wasn't supposed to have a future."

"Well, you have one now." I was a little upset that her outburst was over us not letting her die. I pointed at the closed door. "And now there is a team of people out there who are going to have your back, and they're going to assume that you have theirs too." I maneuvered so that I could look into her eyes. "If you want out, then we can try to find a way." I tapped my chest. "And if you want to join a private guard, you already have."

The silence hung between us for a few minutes while she thought about what I said.

"You'll never get me in your bed."

I shrugged. "I'm more okay with that than you'll ever believe." I offered her my hand. "But I do expect you to be part of the team. Give us a try and I know you'll come to think of us as family."

Astrid dropped the scowl she'd been wearing and took my hand. "There's no way you'll swap me for Zel?"

I shook my head. "She's already too high level." I pointed at the door. "Now come on. If we're late, we'll both have Aelin to answer to."