Veses was free.
Worse yet, the fucking goddess who had extorted Ash into allowing her to feed from him, who had touched him, likely forcing him to feel unwanted
pleasure in the process, and who had kicked Reaver, nearly killing him, didn’t look all that bad for someone who’d spent time in a dungeon.
Other than the pallor of her skin, Veses looked as beautiful as ever.
Pure, unfettered rage erupted within me, flooding every part of my being with an indomitable force as Veses halted before the dais. Silver eyes darted from the Primal behind me to mine. Our gazes locked. Her nostrils flared as she scrutinized me.
Then the corners of her lips tipped up. And the bitch smiled.
In my mind, I heard her say, “There had to be a reason he’d be willing to
do anything for you.”
Common sense clicked off. I was nothing but a storm of violence that wanted to destroy her. The embers sparked to life. Fists unclenched and muscles throughout my body tensed as I prepared to unleash a tempest of fury. I was going to rip that crown from her head and shove it through her chest instead of her eye as I’d done with the dagger before.
Feeling the Primal essence swell inside me, I leaned forward and started to rise—
A presence stirred near the embers as the arm at my waist dug into my stomach. Breathing heavily, I froze. A sudden rush of anxiety flooded my system—a nervousness that, for once, didn’t belong to me.
Sotoria.
I was feeling her apprehension and…fear. Why would she…?
Slowly, I remembered the obvious. Where I was. Who I was with. I was in the Council Hall, surrounded by gods and Primals, sitting on the lap of the false King, seconds away from tapping into the embers.
I warned you not to use it lest you wish to be punished.
Shit.
There was no doubt in my mind that Kolis had felt the surge of power within me, and Sotoria—oh, gods, her unease. She’d likely been aware when Kolis spoke about how he hoped I didn’t remember what’d happened when
she displeased him in the past.
She clearly remembered. Double shit.
Willing myself to calm down, I focused on my breathing. I wanted to inflict a disturbing amount of pain upon Veses badly enough that I doubted any punishment wouldn’t be worth it, but I couldn’t think of just myself.
There was also Sotoria. I needed to get myself under control.
A hundred different thoughts raced through my mind as the Primal
goddess bowed so deeply I half-expected her breasts to make an appearance. How had she gotten free? Had anyone been harmed in the process?
“Your Majesty.” That throaty, sultry voice of hers was like dragging nails against stone.
“Veses,” Kolis acknowledged. “Come forward.”
Light glinted off the blood-red crown as the Primal goddess straightened. My fingers twitched as the skirt of her gown parted with each step, teasing at long, toned legs. Her gaze didn’t stray to mine as she neared. She was focused entirely on Kolis.
“I have not seen you in a while,” he stated, the fingers resting on the arm of the throne tapping slowly. “Where have you been?”
Oh, that was a loaded question.
I gave no reaction, even though my stomach dipped. I had no idea how
she would respond or what Kolis’s response would be if she spoke the truth. “I was…inconvenienced,” she answered.
“Is that so?”
She nodded. “There was trouble in my Court that required my attention— a group of godlings and gods I learned were plotting a coup.”
Veses was lying straight through her pearly white teeth and fangs.
Surprise flickered through me, then faded in sudden understanding. Veses had sensed the embers of life and had come at me, believing that Kolis would be enraged that Ash had hidden me. As much as it killed me to admit it, she had been trying to protect Ash from Kolis’s wrath.
I’d hated acknowledging it before, but Veses cared for Ash in her own twisted way. The fact that she would lie now was further proof of her desire for him, fueled simply by the fact that she could not have him. And it had actually grown into some sort of fondness.
Yet she supposedly wanted Kolis. Who didn’t want her.
I smirked.
“Traitors? The realm seems to be filled with them these days,” he remarked. “And what has happened to these traitors?”
“They have been dealt with but were questioned first. That is what occupied my time. I wanted to make sure their plotting did not extend into other Courts,” she lied—so damn smoothly. “Some were reluctant to talk, but in the end, I’m confident no others were involved.”
“Well, it is a relief to hear that a coup has ended before I even became aware of it,” he remarked. “You are such a dutiful servant.”
Veses stiffened, having heard what I did: a hardening in his warm tone. “Yet you somehow still managed to fail me,” he tacked on.
Veses’ delicate, pale brows furrowed. “Failing you is the last thing I will ever do.”
She actually sounded like she meant that. Kolis’s fingers kept tapping. “But you did.”
I glanced to where I’d last seen Attes. Another god now occupied the pillar the Primal had been leaning against. I scanned the alcove as my heart kicked against my ribs. I didn’t see him.
Pressing my lips together, I refocused on Veses. I wasn’t sure if the other gods were paying attention. More drinks had arrived. Some of them were the purple radek wine, and there was a lot more…activity in the alcoves. Phanos was paying attention, though. He watched the drama play out with a bemused expression.
“Then I apologize for however I have failed you,” Veses said.
“You apologize before asking how you’ve failed me?” Kolis chuckled, and the sound caused tiny bumps to spread across my skin.
Veses’ throat worked on a swallow as she smoothed her hands across the waist of her gown. I had no clue what Kolis was getting at, but it was clear that she was treading into dangerous waters. Her nervousness bled into the air.
“How have I failed you, Your Majesty?” she asked, her gaze flicking to me.
That didn’t pass Kolis by. “Do you recognize her?” “I’m not sure,” she said.
“She lies,” I said, unsure why as her stare shot back to me. I smiled.
Actually, I was lying to myself now. I knew exactly why I’d spoken up. Veses wasn’t just lying to protect Ash. She was also safeguarding herself. After all, the deal she’d made with Ash was to keep my existence unknown to Kolis in exchange for Ash allowing her to feed from him.
“Do tell,” Kolis murmured.
It would’ve been wise of me to keep quiet. Exposing Veses could expose Ash, but my pettiness and spitefulness had their claws in me. “She saw me in the Shadowlands.”
“Really?” Kolis drew out the word.
“More than once,” I confirmed. “The first time was shortly after I arrived.”
Veses inhaled sharply, and my smile kicked up a notch.
“Interesting.” Kolis’s chest brushed my back as he leaned forward. “What task did I entrust you with?”
Her lower lip quivered. “Keeping an eye on Nyktos.” My entire body flashed hot. This was new.
“And how well have you been keeping an eye on him? No—” Kolis held
up a hand. “Don’t answer. It’s obvious to me that it’s not nearly close enough.”
Unfortunately, he was wrong about that.
“You were aware of her presence in the Shadowlands, yet you did not share that information with me,” he said. “Why is that?”
Better yet, why was he even asking that question? He’d known about me long before Veses ever did.
“I…I didn’t think her presence mattered.” Her upper lip curled. “She was just some mortal.”
“You are so incredibly wrong in your assumptions.” Kolis’s voice rumbled with excitement.
He was enjoying himself.
That was why he was asking irrelevant questions. It was a game to him, inquiring about things he knew one could be backed into a corner with if they weren’t careful enough with their answers. Just as he’d enjoyed manipulating me into killing Evander, he derived pleasure from the power he wielded as
the King—power over me and the other Primals and gods.
“I know you haven’t been able to sense Ascensions in quite some time,” Kolis continued. “I find it hard to believe that you could not sense what is
within her when you were keeping such a close eye on Nyktos. When you were aware of Primal energy being used.”
“Why would I ever think a mortal would have anything to do with that?” she countered.
I could barely resist rolling my eyes. This conversation was so pointless.
Kolis had known I carried the embers since I was born. Veses also knew I had them. She’d suspected I was the one everyone had felt. I’d later confirmed it by healing Reaver. So, both were lying.
And one of them was getting pissed off.
Kolis’s fingers stilled. “You must have thought something if you didn’t tell me about her at all.”
“Her presence simply slipped my mind.” Eather brightened in her irises. “There isn’t much about her to remember.”
I did roll my eyes then.
“You are by far the most beautiful of our kind, even more so than Maia.” Kolis’s compliment brought color to Veses’ cheeks, a pretty pink flush of appreciation. “And yet I’ve often wondered how one as beautiful as you can have such a cruel tongue.”
Her chest rose sharply, and whatever earlier fear had resulted from his disapproval was gone. “You know why.”
My brows lifted as I suddenly felt like I was on the verge of witnessing a really awkward conversation.
“Do I?” Kolis leaned back. “You will need to refresh my memory.”
Ringlets brushed her waist as she stepped closer to the throne. “You truly forget?” In Kolis’s silence, she let out a soft, melodic laugh, reminding me of
the Veses I’d interacted with. “Come now, why must you taunt me so?” Kolis remained quiet.
She pulled her plump lower lip between her teeth as she knelt at our legs.
“It’s the same reason I agreed to keep an eye on Nyktos,” she said, the words practically vibrating out of her.
“Agreed?” Kolis repeated softly. “I do not recall giving you a choice.”
She lifted a slender shoulder as she bent forward. My eyes dropped to her chest, able to see the pink of her areolae, and if I was looking, Kolis had to be. I didn’t care what he’d claim. “You are right. There was no choice when I would do anything for you.”
“Out of duty and loyalty.”
“Out of the need for your approval,” she purred, and I might’ve puked a little in my mouth. “Your attention.” Red-tipped fingers toyed with the scalloped lace along the swells of her breasts. “And your love.”
Damn it, I was right.
This was getting even more awkward, really fast. “I’m not sure you know what love is, Veses.” Good gods, the irony of him saying that…
“I do.” Thick lashes fluttered. “Love is why I would do anything for you, Kolis.” She paused. “Anything. If you asked me to cry tears of gold for you, I would find a way to do so.”
“I know.” Heat radiated from Kolis. “If I asked you to take a blade to your throat, you would do so without hesitation.” He sounded way too pleased by
the prospect. “If I told you to suck my cock, you’d wrap your mouth around it before I could take another breath.”
Gross.
Apparently, Veses didn’t find that as disgusting as I did. Moaning, her eyes became hooded. “Happily.”
As I stared at her, watching her all but grope her breasts, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how incredibly messed up all of this was. Veses cared for Ash, but if she spoke the truth, she knew what love led one to do. She very well might love the false King, who was also in love with another who wanted nothing to do with him. Or perhaps that was why she believed she
was in love with him. Veses was known to covet and fixate on what she could not have.
Either way, it was like being stuck in a toxic circle of rejection and unrequited love.
Eather shone from the thin slits of her eyes. “Ask this of me, Your Majesty, and I would do so right here before the Court.”
“Well, that would be somewhat difficult at the moment, wouldn’t it?” I said before I could stop myself, half-afraid that it would happen despite Kolis’s professed love for Sotoria—and by extension, me. I would seriously vomit all over both of them.
Kolis chuckled.
“Unfortunately.” Her eyes narrowed on me then. “Why are you even
here?” She turned her attention back to Kolis. “I was under the impression that she was crowned as Nyktos’s Consort.”
“You would be wrong yet again if you believe that.” My jaw clenched.
Veses’ lashes lowered as she glanced at me. A moment passed. “So, you didn’t give your permission?”
“I did not.”
The Primal goddess also knew that was a lie. “Then can I assume her presence is punishment?”
“Quite the opposite,” he said, and I could hear the eager smile in his tone. “She is here because this is where I want her.”
“For what?” One brow rose. “To keep your lap warm? I’m sure I could find you something not so…crushing.”
My eyes rolled once more, this time so far back I wouldn’t have been surprised if they got stuck.
“There’s that dagger-sharp tongue again.”
She lifted a shoulder in response, looking me over. “Apologize.”
Her chin jerked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You were rude. You do not deny that.” That hardness had crept into his voice again. “Apologize to her, Veses.”
The Primal goddess couldn’t look more…flummoxed. “Why would I do that?”
“Because it is my graeca you speak to,” Kolis said, delivering a staggering blow that left no room for doubt that he had knowledge of Veses’ feelings for him.
Veses’ lips parted as she drew back. “She’s…” Ringlets bounced as she shook her head. “That’s impossible.” Wisps of eather burst wildly through
her eyes. “Is that what she told you? If so, it is a lie.”
“It’s not, Veses. It has been confirmed.” His hand firmed on my waist, causing me to stiffen. “My love has finally returned to me.”
Veses flinched as if he’d slapped her. “Now, apologize to her.”
What color had returned to her complexion had since drained, and I wanted to feel bad for her. Kolis knew exactly what his words would do to her, and he enjoyed it. But I didn’t feel sorry for her. Not at all.
“Veses,” Kolis warned.
“I’m sorry,” she said, blinking rapidly. “I’m sorry if I insulted you.”
If? The woman had never been anything but insulting.
She rose, the gown settling around her. She took a step back, her hands opening and closing. Her features shifted, going through an array of emotions. “I am—” She cleared her throat. “Happy for you, Kolis.”
Now it was I who surely looked flummoxed as Veses bowed her head and started to turn.
“Veses,” Kolis called out, waiting for her to face him again. His fingers tapped once more. “I do believe you are forgetting something.”
She frowned, the crown she wore seeming duller now.
“You did fail me,” he reminded her. “That will not go unpunished.” Veses stilled.
“Kyn?” the false King summoned.
There was a moment as the Primal of Peace and Vengeance disentangled himself from whoever had been in his lap and approached the dais when
Veses and I realized what was about to occur at the very same second.
I knew because of what Kolis had offered to Kyn before. Her knowledge possibly stemmed from past experience. My heart started thumping as Kyn climbed the steps. The scent of liquor and sex wafted off him.
He held his chalice. “Your Majesty?”
“Veses will serve as this evening’s entertainment,” Kolis announced. “I assume you will ensure that occurs?”
Oh, gods.
Kyn turned to a silent Veses, eyeing her as he took a drink. “This will be fun.”
My stomach churned as Kyn slid an arm around the Primal goddess’s waist, his lips glossy from his drink.
Tossing his arm off, Veses sneered. “You and I have vastly different ideas of fun.”
Kyn laughed as he took hold of her arm. “You and I have exactly the same idea of fun, darling.”
I had to be wrong.
I kept telling myself that as he escorted her off the dais. That what I thought would happen, wouldn’t. Veses wrenched her arm free of his hold, but she took the chalice when Kyn offered it to her. She drank greedily of whatever was in the cup. Holding his stare, she dropped the empty chalice onto the tray of a servant who rushed from the shadows and then scurried away again. Veses said something to Kyn that garnered another loud laugh somewhere between cruel and amused.
This wasn’t happening.
Kyn looked at the dais, at Kolis, and whatever he saw brought a tight, harsh smile to his face. He stepped closer to her. Heads angled toward them. Bodies turned to watch. Veses didn’t retreat as Kyn reached up and grabbed her crown. It snagged in her hair, causing her head to jerk. Thin, golden
strands hung from the stone and gold.
The Primal tossed the jade tree headpiece to the floor.
My mouth dropped open as it skidded across the golden tile, ending up near the still-sleeping Naberius.
I didn’t know much about Primal etiquette, but even I could see the utter disrespect in that.
Oh, gods, this was happening, and I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised.
I’d heard what Kolis did to his favorites after he grew tired of them. He basically tossed them to the vultures. He’d offered me to Kyn in the event that he wasn’t convinced of who I was. But yet again, knowing what he was capable of was different from seeing it.
I hated Veses with every fiber of my being for what she had forced Ash into and for hurting Reaver. I would love nothing more than for my hand to replace the one around her throat so I could choke the life from her. She was a twisted, sick being who hurt others. In no way did I think Ash’s soul was
the only one she’d darkened. Veses deserved what came to her.
But this?
My wild gaze shot around the Council Hall. Not everyone was watching. Some had turned their backs. Most of Kolis’s guards watched. Elias didn’t. Dyses was gone, and Callum looked on with a curl of distaste on his lips.
Kyn circled Veses. A low-backed chair slid across the floor as if tethered to the Primal by an invisible string. He shoved Veses toward it. She bent over it, her face shielded by all those golden curls.
Kyn approached her, planting a hand on the center of her back and drawing it down. Someone hooted. Another catcalled. This time, it was I who flinched with every sound that came from those watching.
No one deserved this.
Kyn gripped the sides of her gown—
“Stop!” I shot to my feet, breaking Kolis’s hold. Everything stopped. The sounds. The jeers. Kyn’s hands. “Stop this now—”
“You,” Veses spat, having moved faster than I could track. Standing upright now and facing the dais, she pointed her finger at me as if she were about to curse me with misfortune. The flesh of her beautiful face had thinned, exposing a dull gleam of red similar to her crown. “You will not
interfere on my behalf. It is not needed.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “This—”
“Nor wanted.” Veses’ eyes burned with the same silver fire that flared inside me.
“So’lis,” Kolis spoke quietly as onlookers shifted their attention to the newest drama unfolding. “Exactly what are you doing?”
Chest thrumming, I turned to him. “This isn’t right.” Kolis stared back at me, his features impassive.
My hands shook. “Please stop this.”
His fingers had ceased their tapping. “And if I don’t?”
The embers pulsed more intensely inside me, pressing against my skin. “You will.”
His chest stopped moving.
“Because this is wrong.” I took a deep breath. “Because stopping it is the right thing to do.”
A long, tense moment passed, and then Kolis rose, drawing the attention of his guards and Callum. He didn’t speak until he reached my side. “It’s time to return to your quarters.”
“Stop this first—”
“Silence,” he hissed, his fingers curling around my jaw as his will snapped out, wrapping around me and sinking deep, seizing control. “We will return to your quarters, and do so in silence.”
A silent scream of fury thundered in my head as I glared at him. I started to push against the compulsion, fueled by rage and ancient instinct—
Golden swirls erupted across his chest as a faint mist seeped out from somewhere under him. “Do not even think it.”
The embers continued to swell, goading me to do more than just think it.
They wanted me to act upon the rage and power building inside me. “Your Majesty?” Phanos interrupted.
“What?” Kolis bit out, his gaze never leaving mine.
“I assume Court has ended for the evening,” he said as, from the sides of my vision, I saw others peeling away from the shadows of the alcoves, some in states of disarray, their clothing wrinkled and hair tangled as they crowded around Veses and Kyn. “But I need to speak with you.”
The mist faded around Kolis. “I have something I must take care of first.
Then, I will return.”
“Of course,” Phanos remarked, his tone indecipherable. “I’ll be waiting.”
Chest rising and falling rapidly, I seethed as Kolis released my chin and took my hand. He guided me toward the doors we’d entered through, Kyn’s laugh echoing in the Hall.
 |
“What did I tell you?”
Kolis towered over me as we stood in the cage, his nostrils flared. I couldn’t answer. His compulsion still had me in its grip.
But I didn’t think he wanted an answer.
“I warned you not to question me, and within the hour, you not only did so again, but also in a very public manner.” Golden swirls raced across his
face at dizzying speed. “I warned you not to use the essence, and you did so twice in the same span of time.”
Damn it.
He had felt it.
“I can see it even now.” He grasped the sides of my face, tilting my head back. “The essence that does not belong to you, fueling your stubbornness. Your temper. I deserve neither of those things from you.”
I would’ve laughed if I could have.
“I defended you against Veses’ insults, and you proceeded to interfere with her punishment,” he said, angling his body to the side. Beyond him, I saw Callum. He paced silently. “And this is how you repay me? With
disobedience and ungratefulness?”
My gods, he was…he was demented.
“You repay me by siding with the woman who would have my cock in her mouth in five seconds if I allowed it?” His eyes were wide. “Have you no
honor?”
I could not believe what I was hearing.
The fury faded from his features, from his voice. His eyes slammed shut. “Why did you have to disobey me? Not once. Not twice. But three times.” A shudder ran through him. “I had such high hopes for today. Plans.”
So fucking demented.
“I wanted to show you all I was capable of.” His voice dropped, his eyes opening. The glow behind his pupils was almost too bright to look upon. “I wanted to show you what I’m risking for you.”
What he was risking…? My gods, there were no words, even if I could
speak.
“But now, today ends like this.” He breathed in deeply through his nose, releasing the sides of my face. “You…you are my soul, but I am your King.
You need to learn that you cannot question me, and you cannot use those embers.”
A trickle of fear broke through my anger. Not for me, but for Ash. For Rhain. Kolis had told me what he’d do if I disobeyed, and I’d done it—
without even thinking about the consequences.
Kolis stepped back. The compulsion lifted, unlocking my jaw as my shoulders slumped. “You will be punished.”
I lifted my head. Callum had stopped pacing. “And?”
“And then we will see.” His eyes…they shone. “We will see if further action needs to be taken.”
Before I could speak or process the tears I saw gathering in his eyes, chains rattled.
My head swung toward the sound. They unclasped from the bedposts and slithered across the floor like serpents. A knot lodged in my chest as I tensed.
It happened so quickly.
Shackles clamped around my wrists, yanking my arms up. The chains wrapped around the ceiling of the cage, near the cluster of diamonds. My
arms were pulled tight, stretching the muscles. A shout of surprise left me as my body rose, lifting until only the tips of my toes touched the floor. Cool metal clamped down on my ankles, anchoring me into position with my arms and legs spread.
Kolis stared at me, his face pale. “I want to hate you for making me do this,” he rasped. “But I can only love you.”
“This is love?” I gasped, already beginning to feel the burn in my arms. “You disobeyed me repeatedly, yet you live. No one else would. So, yes.
This is love,” he said hoarsely as a thin line of crimson streaked down his
cheek.
Kolis wept.
