“I almost feel bad for you.”
Opening my eyes, I didn’t bother lifting my head or responding to the golden-haired Revenant. It would take too much energy and focus away from trying not to scream, which I’d been doing since Kolis left with crimson tears streaking his face.
I wasn’t sure what was more messed up: everything else about Kolis or the fact that he could choose to hurt someone and then cry about it.
“You have to be in so much pain,” Callum went on. “I’ve never felt better.”
“That is such an obvious lie.”
What was evident was his unnecessary observation. The burn of my stretched muscles had disappeared. My arms were numb now. I couldn’t even feel my hands anymore, but the stress of being suspended with only the tips of my toes holding my weight had moved into my shoulders. They felt as if they were on fire.
I had no idea how long I’d been hanging here. Had to be hours at this point. Callum no longer remaining quiet made it feel so much longer. When it was silent, I’d contented myself with thinking about all the ways I would
cause Kolis unimaginable pain.
I’d discovered I had a vast imagination. “If you were actually my sister?”
Gods, not this again.
“I wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”
“So, if you believed I was your sister, you would think this is wrong?” I asked.
Callum stood just a few feet from the cage. “Of course.”
A harsh laugh left me, causing the pain in my shoulders to flare. “The fact that you need to believe you’re related to someone to see the wrongness in
this tells me that every poor thought I’ve had of you is more than justified.”
“You would think that because you do not know me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you are not my sister.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, too damn exhausted to attempt to convince him otherwise.
Callum was quiet for several blissful minutes. “You were right.” He paused. “About what was happening in the Council Hall.”
Wearily, I lifted my head. My neck muscles cramped as my gaze fixed on the Revenant.
His chin was lowered, gaze focused on the floor. “That particular type of punishment is wrong.” His shoulders tensed. “It’s below Kolis. He’s better than that.”
“Yeah? Like when?” “Before Eythos died.”
Surprise shot through me. I hadn’t really expected any answer, let alone that.
Callum looked up with a smirk. “What? You thought I’d say it was when Sotoria died her second death? Yeah, that had an impact on him, but he…” He clamped his mouth shut, a lock of blond hair falling over his face as his gaze returned to the floor.
Wincing, I shifted slightly to straighten my toes. “But what?”
“He loved Eythos,” he said quietly. “Even then. Even after everything.”
I stared at him, somewhat dumbfounded. I knew that Kolis had loved his brother at one time, but Callum was speaking of after he’d taken Eythos’s
embers and killed his wife. I didn’t believe that was possible, and I sure as
hell didn’t think it was now.
Have you no honor?
He’d questioned my honor when his idea of punishment was ordering the rape of another. And even if Veses had gone along with whatever Kyn dished out, that was exactly what had occurred in the Council Hall. It didn’t matter that she was guilty of the same behavior.
Damn it. As much as I hated the woman and would gleefully celebrate her death, even I could understand that it wasn’t right.
But not Kolis.
His treatment of Veses had little to do with defending me against pathetic insults that didn’t even inflict a scratch upon my skin and everything to do with Veses’ supposed failure with something utterly irrelevant.
Kolis’s actions were all about reminding everyone he had the power.
And his reactions were all about being the wronged party—the victim. It was almost like he thrived on it.
A muscle flexed in Callum’s jaw. “He never would’ve allowed such a thing before Eythos’s death, nor would he have kept his…pets,” he said, speaking of Kolis’s favorites. “He didn’t do that until after Eythos died.” The Revenant’s gaze returned to mine. “You don’t believe me.”
“Maybe you’re speaking the truth,” I said after a moment. “But he’s like that now. And he’s been like this, right? With the other gods and Primals?
With the favorites he grew disappointed with—?”
“With you, once he realizes this is one great façade?” he interjected. Anger stirred. “With me right now.”
Callum’s lips smashed together.
“And you know what? You’re no better,” I bit out. “You know what happened in the Council Hall and the gods only know how many other times is wrong, yet you stood by and did nothing.”
“Unlike you?” I glared at him.
“No one else spoke up. Those who were not thrilled with what was occurring left. You’re better than them? Gods, Primals, draken, and
Revenants alike?”
“Yes!” I said without hesitation. “Anyone who would at least attempt to stop that is better than the lot of them.”
Callum smiled. “I’m sure Kolis would be thrilled to hear you say such treasonous things.”
“And I’m positive you’ll tell him,” I hissed. “Like the loyal lapdog you are.”
“I am loyal. I will always be loyal to him. He forgave me for failing to keep my sister safe.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” I blurted. It was the truth. He hadn’t caused his sister’s death.
Callum stiffened. “It was my fault,” he stated. “And he did forgive me. He also gave me eternal life.”
I rolled my eyes.
“And he’s the only thing keeping this realm together.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. Callum had likely been decent before his
unfortunate run-in with Kolis, but now he was… “You’re just as delusional as he is.”
His nostrils flared. “I’ll make sure he’s aware of that, too.”
My head jerked up, sending a frenzy of pain across my shoulders and down my spine. “And I’ll make sure he knows that his precious first creation is the idiot who told my mother how a Primal could be killed. I bet he’ll be real…disappointed to learn that.”
Callum’s mouth snapped shut.
“Yeah.” I smiled through the pain, baring my teeth. “I haven’t forgotten that. Though I wish you would explain why you would do something so… reckless.”
“I wasn’t being reckless, you insignificant gnat.” He snapped forward, clutching the bars. They didn’t seem to affect him. “I was—” He sucked in a deep breath, then peeled his hands away, one finger at a time. “Do you want
to know why you are being punished? Because, deep down, Kolis knows you’re not Sotoria.”
A kernel of unease unfurled. “Do you know how repetitive you are? It’s exhausting.”
His smile returned. “He would never treat Sotoria this way.” Another dry, aching laugh left me.
“I’m not sure what I said that would cause you to find humor.”
“I’m not laughing at what you said,” I told him. “I’m laughing at you.” Callum’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re an idiot if you think that. He killed her—” “Her?” The painted wings lifted along his forehead.
Shit. I’d slipped up there. “Yes, her. I don’t remember any of that,” I said, recovering as best I could. “And that’s not the point.”
“But that is the point.” His smile returned. “If you were her, you would know.”
“Can you—?”
“You would know that he never killed Sotoria.”
Now it was I who shut their mouth as her presence stirred restlessly in my chest.
“Yes, he scared her the first time, but that was an accident. He didn’t know how easily Sotoria could be startled,” he said, the skin beneath the
painted wings softening in a way I hadn’t seen it do before. “And he didn’t kill her the second time either.” His lower lip quivered. “Eythos did, and that was the second and last time I failed her.”
 |
Callum had finally quieted, having decided to sit morosely on the sofa. What he’d shared lingered in my mind.
It was always suspected that either Sotoria died by starving herself or Kolis lost his temper and ended her life. But Eythos? I couldn’t believe it, even though Callum had very little to gain by lying about it.
Then again, what did Eythos have to gain by killing Sotoria? Well, other than revenge. Though, given what I knew of Eythos, he didn’t strike me as
the type to seek revenge by harming an innocent.
My thoughts eventually turned to worries as time ticked by. How had
Veses escaped? Was anyone harmed? Would Kolis seek to punish me further by refusing to release Ash or turn his attention to Rhain? More concerns preyed upon my mind while I could do nothing but hang in pain.
How much time did I have left? Could I get to Ash? Would I somehow find The Star, and would it even work when it came to Sotoria’s soul?
How could I continue to tolerate Kolis’s presence?
And would Kolis come to realize that Callum was right? That I really wasn’t Sotoria? My thoughts flashed to Veses and the Council Hall. If so, I wouldn’t live long enough for him to make good on his offer to Kyn. He’d take the embers, killing me and effectively dooming Sotoria.
More time passed.
When Kolis finally returned, smelling of some sort of sweet smoke and staleness, my shoulders had gone numb. He said nothing as he took me by the waist and released the shackles.
I couldn’t keep quiet when he freed my arms. I cried out, my sore muscles screaming.
“I’m sorry, so’lis.” Kolis gathered me in his arms. A fiery, pins-and- needles sensation erupted, leaving me panting with discomfort and pain, unable to protest his embrace. “I’m so sorry.”
He repeated those three words as he held me, rocking slightly. The Chosen brought in hot water, and new scents wafted through the cage: chamomile and peppermint.
Kolis rose then, carrying me behind the privacy screen and setting me on my feet. A veiled Chosen remained at the steaming tub, silent with her gloved hands clasped.
“She will assist you with your bath,” Kolis said, speaking to the top of my head. I really couldn’t lift it. “You will rest, and then…everything will be better, I promise.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. If I started, I didn’t think I’d be able to stop. Ever.
He released me, and the Chosen drifted quietly toward me, reaching for the clasps on my gown that I couldn’t even begin to lift my arms to unhook.
My legs shook. The bodice slipped, pooling at my waist, and with my skin
feeling as if an army of fire ants swarmed it, I could not care less if Kolis saw even an ounce of my nudity.
But he didn’t.
He’d halted at the privacy screen, his back to us. The gown hit the floor at my feet as the Chosen’s gloved hands gently cupped my elbow, helping me step into the tub.
Kolis cleared his throat. “I just want you to know that I ceased Veses’ punishment when I returned to the Hall.”
A laugh spilled out of me as I sank into the hot, minty water. And the laughter didn’t stop.
