I never knew a half-truth could feel as bad as taking a blow to the chest.
But I did now.
“Has that addressed your concerns?” Kolis asked.
Tension bracketed the corners of Keella’s mouth as she gave Kolis an abrupt nod. “Thank you.”
I watched her step back and turn, my shoulders slumping under a sudden wave of exhaustion.
“Keella?” Kolis called.
She stopped, facing us again. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“It seems you’ve forgotten the oath you made to me. Question me again, and you will find yourself in the Carcers,” he warned in that soft, breezy
voice of his. “Do you understand?” Keella inclined her head. “Yes.”
“Good.” Kolis leaned back, finishing off his drink.
The Primal goddess sent me one last look and then turned, drifting back into the small crowd. I didn’t know if she believed me. I doubted it.
Still, the half-truth burned the back of my throat.
The same servant from before returned to refill Kolis’s chalice from a decanter. She left again, but this time as she headed toward the door, she didn’t make it out into the hall.
One of the unknown gods seated on a couch snagged her by the waist. She was barely able to keep hold of her woven tray and decanter as the god pulled her onto his lap. He said something to her, and she gave him a short nod before placing the tray and bottle on the floor.
My eyes narrowed as his head disappeared into the crook of her neck. A second later, her body jerked, and the one painted wing I could see contorted in pain.
“What are you doing, so’lis?” Kolis asked quietly.
“I’m not…” I trailed off, realizing I’d leaned forward, preparing to stand.
Stomach twisting, I watched the painted wing smooth out as she relaxed in his arms. I forced myself to sit back. “Are the servants Chosen?”
“They are.”
So I’d been right when I suspected that when I’d been here with Ash.
Aware of Callum and Elias standing close, I asked, “Are they also a part of the refreshments?”
“Sometimes,” Kolis answered idly.
The fire of anger flushed my skin as I watched the god’s hand slip from her hip to delve between her thighs.
I glanced away, finding that Attes had moved to speak to Keella, who I assumed had left. They stood toward the back of the space, their heads bowed and close together. Their conversation appeared…tense. I saw that Kyn was at one of the chairs situated near the pillars, a drink in hand.
Glaring at me.
I ignored him, my attention returning to the alcove and the servant still held in the god’s grip. My jaw started to ache.
“I can see that displeases you.” Kolis sighed. “They are Chosen, so’lis.” Yes, what I saw displeased me.
Him continuously calling me his soul also displeased me.
“They are to serve me and my gods. Sometimes, that is by serving them drinks. Other times, it is by them…being the drink.” He laughed, clearly enjoying what he believed was a clever joke.
Dear gods. I didn’t know if I would be able to quell my temper and remain a blank canvas until Ash was freed. Because I saw red.
Which meant I wasn’t exactly blank.
“Is that what she chose?” I asked once I knew my voice wouldn’t betray my nearly all-consuming desire to commit bloody, violent murder.
The brief humor vanished from his tone. “Nearly all their choices were made for them from birth.”
My head snapped to the side as I looked up at him.
“I see I hit a nerve,” he observed dryly, glancing toward the servant. “She seems to be enjoying herself.”
The woman strained against the hand between her legs, her eyes closed, and her lips parted. “That means nothing when a bite can bring unwanted
pleasure.”
His gaze slid back to mine. The golden flecks had stilled. “I feel as if this has more to do with us than them.”
My back stiffened. “It doesn’t.”
“Lies,” he murmured, sipping from his chalice.
“Okay. Maybe it does a little,” I said. “But that is irrelevant. She was simply walking past him, and he grabbed her. Then bit her. She may have no choice in how she serves the gods, but they could be less cruel, could they
not?”
“We all could be less cruel,” he said, the gold beginning to churn in his eyes. “Outside one another and the Priests, the Chosen are forbidden to be touched and spoken to while in the mortal realm.”
“I know.”
“Here, they may be spoken to and touched.” He dipped his chin, a faint grin appearing. “Even fucked.”
I really wished he’d stop saying that fucking word.
“You see a victim,” he said, and my lips pressed together. “I see someone who is starved for what has been forbidden to them their entire life.”
I looked back at the god and servant as her soft cries of climax burned my ears. None of the others paid them any attention. Mainly because several of
the gods, including Kyn, now had company.
“What you must think of me…” he said, causing my focus to snap back to him. “I don’t blame you for it. I’m sure you’ve been told many half-truths.”
I took a sip to stop myself from saying something ill-advised. The liquor turned out to be some kind of mulled whiskey, but the hints of apple and cinnamon did very little to ease the burn of the alcohol hitting my stomach.
“The Chosen do have opportunities here,” he continued. “They are offered the choice to shed their veils and serve those within Dalos and in
other Courts.”
My brows knitted. “Versus what?”
“Versus Ascending,” he said. Before I could jump on that, he went on. “Her name is Malka, by the way. And his name is Orval.” As he spoke, my
focus shifted back to the two. The male lifted his head from her neck, licking
blood from his lips. “They are known to each other.”
This Orval leaned into her, speaking into her ear. Malka smiled and looked as if she laughed.
“Known to each other quite well,” Kolis added as I watched the Chosen swat at the god’s arm.
Orval kissed her cheek and then released her. Standing, she straightened her gown.
I exhaled roughly, unsure if I could believe what I saw and heard. Though even if it were true, did servants have a choice? In the mortal realm, they did in some households. In others, even if it appeared they did, they really didn’t.
“And if they weren’t known to each other?” I asked as Malka slipped out the door. I caught sight of a long, darker hall.
“Does it matter?”
I looked at Kolis over my shoulder. “Yes.”
He didn’t respond for a few moments. And, honestly, I’d heard the stories. I knew the answer. Anger still burned through my veins as I turned to gaze at the floor. “What would you do?” he asked. “If her consent was not obtained?”
I looked at him again, saying, “I would make sure it was the last time someone failed to gain another’s consent.”
“And how exactly would you do that?”
“I’d shove a blade straight through their heart.”
Behind Kolis, one of Callum’s painted wings rose, but the false King showed no reaction. “Look to your left, so’lis. Past Naberius.”
“Naberius?”
“The apparently very tired draken,” Kolis replied dryly, and I arched a brow at that. “In the alcove behind him, you will see an occupied ivory chair.”
Frowning, I did as he instructed, searching past Phanos, who spoke with a god, the two draken in their mortal forms, and of course, the sleeping
Naberius. I found the ivory chair Kolis spoke of and saw it occupied by an alabaster-skinned god with a servant on his lap—
I lowered the chalice to the floor beside me, my heart kicking against my ribs.
“Her name is Jacinta. She was taken in a Rite two years ago,” Kolis said as I stared at the hand clamped down on her mouth and her wide, frightened
eyes. “The one who holds her is Evander. He is several hundred years old and knows how to feed and give pleasure. But that is not what pleases him.”
Kolis tipped forward, his voice lowering to a whisper. “Pain does.” Disgust knotted in my throat.
“So now you know,” Kolis said, sitting back. Slowly, I twisted toward him, our gazes colliding.
“What did you say you’d do?” he said, the golden flecks a strange light in his eyes. “You would shove a blade through their heart?”
“I did.”
“Then you have a choice,” Kolis ordered. “Do as you said and kill him.” I blinked. “What?”
“Do as you said you would do if you thought someone was being
wronged in such a manner. Shove a blade through his heart.” Kolis’s voice filled with challenge. “Unless you are like so many others and speak about what you would do and not what you will do.”
My brows shot up in disbelief. There was no way he thought I wouldn’t shove a blade through someone’s heart when I’d attempted to do it to him. “And if I do this, what will you do?”
“To you?” I nodded.
“Nothing, my dear.”
I stared at him for a moment, having no idea why he’d offer this to me.
Why he’d challenge me to act and kill one of his gods.
Pressing my lips together, I looked back at those in the ivory chair. Jacinta was trembling. If her Rite was two years ago, that meant she was likely close to my age. As a Chosen, she wouldn’t have had much of a life in the mortal realm, but she had been safe. Now, her knuckles were bleached white from
how tightly she clenched the god’s arm. Her gaze darted wildly across the
Hall as if searching for help. Assistance that obviously wouldn’t come from any of those in this space. Not even Attes and Keella, who were still speaking to each other and likely unaware of what was happening in the shadows. But if they did know, would they step in? Or was this one of those terrible things that Ash had been forced to witness?
Something glittered on Jacinta’s painted cheek—a tear. The breath I took went nowhere.
Kolis’s motivations didn’t matter.
Setting the chalice on the floor, I rose. The gown settled around my feet as I faced Kolis. “I need a weapon.”
“Elias?” Kolis called.
The guard stepped forward silently, unstrapping a shadowstone dagger. His dark eyes briefly met mine as he extended his hand. I didn’t know what he was trying to communicate in his stare, but I really didn’t care.
Kolis took the gleaming hilt of the dagger, expertly flipping it so the
handle faced me. My fingers brushed his as I took the weapon and glanced down at the shiny black blade. The weight of the dagger was hefty, thanks to the absurd gold hilt, but it was manageable. I looked up, meeting his stare
once more, and for a second, just a heartbeat, I entertained the idea of plunging it into his heart.
But what good would that do? Other than inflicting pain, even if I could kill Kolis, shadowstone would only serve to irritate him, and it would do nothing to help Jacinta. Mindful of the pillow, I stepped back. As I turned, my gaze danced over Callum.
The Revenant was smiling.
Callum was almost always smiling, but something about it caused my stomach to dip.
Turning, I pressed the dagger close to my thigh so the panel of my gown hid it. My gaze fixed on the fair-headed god as I descended the steps.
Conversation quieted and then ceased as I passed those closer to the dais. I
felt their curious stares following me as Phanos and the god he spoke to fell silent. They parted, the vibrant blue that both wore reminding me of the sea. I passed them, giving Naberius a wide berth. I neared where Diaval stood. He pushed off the wall, but whatever he did next was lost to me as Jacinta’s tear- filled eyes met mine.
My stare dropped to the hand covering her mouth. Gold paint smudged Evander’s fingers. My gaze moved lower. He had his arm around her shoulders, pinning one arm to her and the other to his chest. His other hand gripped her breast as she jerked, her body moved by the one surging under her. For a second, I didn’t see her. Or him. I saw me. I saw Kolis. The side of my neck smarted.
“Excuse me,” I said.
The girl blinked, tears clinging to her lashes. The god moaned.
And something turned off inside me. Whether it was my humanity or
something else, it was just as it had been when I delivered my mother’s messages. Or when I acted on behalf of the Ladies of Mercy.
Leaning over the frightened servant, I grabbed a handful of Evander’s
pale hair. The god stopped moving beneath Jacinta. “Release her,” I ordered quietly. “Carefully.”
The Chosen’s entire body jerked, and then I heard a deep voice say, “What the fuck?”
“Leave,” I told her.
She hesitated, then scrambled from the god. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as Evander’s gaze swung up to meet mine. The god was
already pale-skinned, but whatever pink there was in his flesh vanished. I wasn’t sure what he saw in my eyes or if he saw anything at all. Maybe his reaction was because he recognized me as the one who’d been on the dais.
Perhaps he saw me as the Consort of the Shadowlands. I didn’t know.
And I didn’t care.
Because I really didn’t see him. I saw only Kolis.
The corners of my lips rose as I struck, my arm whipping out. I thrust the
shadowstone blade deep into his chest, into his heart.
Surprise widened his cornflower blue eyes. The aura of eather behind his pupils pulsed intensely at the same moment the embers in my chest did.
Jerking the dagger free, I let go of his head as my hands started to warm. I
stepped back as he slumped to the side.
Then the screaming began.
