Текст книги "A fire in the flash"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 37 страниц)

CHAPTER TWELVE

That voice, the shadowy whisper of midnight that never failed to send a myriad of shivers through me, was all his.

Ash’s.

My eyes closed. It was his voice. He was behind me. I knew that in my bones and heart but dreaming of my lake instead of falling into any nightmarish scenario was already a blessing. Dreaming of him? Finding him here, even in my dreams…that felt impossible.

Like a miracle.

The hand on my hip firmed, easing me onto my back. Fingers slightly calloused from decades of training with weapons trailed over my cheek, the touch so reverent that my breath caught.

“Open your eyes for me, liessa. I need to see them.” His breath danced over my lips. “Please.”

I responded as if compelled to, but his words held no compulsion. It was just how I reacted to him. Only him. My eyes opened, and I found myself staring into twin pools of molten silver.

Ash.

My heart fluttered out of control as a storm of emotions rushed through me, every fiber of my being swept up in the onslaught. All I could do was stare in a heady mix of disbelief and joy as the breeze lifted the edges of his chestnut hair, tossing the strands against the bronzed skin of his jaw.

My gaze tracked over his wide, expressive mouth. His lips parted, and he looked down, his eyes full of wispy strands of eather, brighter than I’d ever seen. This was only a dream. I knew that, but I still searched the strong slashes of his brows and striking features for any signs of his battle with Kolis. There were no bruises. I looked down.

And my lips parted.

Nothing obscured my view of the delineated lines of his chest. Except for the faint scars that had been there before, there was no evidence of the dagger that Kolis had repeatedly plunged into his chest. No signs of wounds across the tightly packed muscles of his abdomen. My gaze skipped lower, running over the fascinating indents on the insides of his hips—

My breath hitched once more. Like me, Ash was completely naked and fully, gloriously aroused. A deep heat spread through me. Gods, I had no idea how my mind could replicate every part of him in such startling detail.

But I was happy about it.

My gaze lifted. One side of his lips quirked up in a half-grin that tugged at my heart. Ash had smiled freely in the mortal realm but less in the Shadowlands. That had begun to change, though. More of his teasing nature had started to resurface, but then…

I didn’t want to think about any of that. Not now. What I wanted was to touch him. Desperately so. But my fingers curled into the grass. I feared that if I did, he would vanish on me and collapse into nothing.

And if that happened? Even in a dream? It would be an unbearable loss. Because we didn’t have much time, and this counted. It had to.

Ash’s head tipped back and to the side as his gaze left mine and glided down. The intensity of his perusal was like a physical touch. My skin tingled, and the tips of my breasts tightened. Liquid heat pooled low in my stomach as the other side of his lips rose in a mischievous quirk. His gaze lowered more, running over my stomach and then between my thighs. His stare was blatant and all-consuming, branding my skin. The tips of his fangs appeared as he drew his lower lip between his teeth.

“Liessa,” he repeated in that smoke-and-shadow voice of his, sliding his hand across my lower stomach, leaving a trail of liquid fire in its wake. His eyes returned to mine. “Is it really you? Come to taunt me in my dreams?”

“Your dreams?” I said, watching his eyes close briefly at the sound of my voice. “More like you’re in my dream.”

Ash chuckled, and I sucked in a reedy breath. That rough, low laugh created heat in my blood. Gods, no one else could make such a simple thing sound so hedonistic. “Even in my dreams, you argue with me.”

“I’m not arguing with you.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” I totally was.

That laugh came again, teasing my lips, and then his mouth was on mine. There was no pain from my split lip, but I was dreaming. Of course, there’d be no pain. But nothing could’ve prepared me for the feel of his mouth against mine. It came as a shock to the senses because it felt so damn real. I didn’t think any memories could capture the soft-yet-unyielding firmness of his lips.

But then I wasn’t really thinking anymore because Ash’s kisses obliterated all thoughts. They always had. It was just us. His mouth, and how he kissed like a man dying of thirst, taking from me, drawing my tongue in to duel with his, and sipping from my lips. The slower, more languid kisses were electric, sending sparks of desire dancing all over my body. In that moment, my senses were overloaded, and it was hard to think of anything but the sensation of his lips on mine. I was breathless by the time he drew back.

“I dreamt that I could hear you calling my name.” He caught my lower lip between his teeth. I gasped at the quick nip. “I dreamt that you were in need of me.”

I listened, my heart racing as his hand swept up, curving around my breast. My back arched.

“But I shouldn’t be able to dream,” he said. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but then his voice changed, taking on a velvety quality, smooth and rich like the sweetest chocolate. “Touch me. Touch me, liessa, so that I know you’re real. Please.”

Gods, there was no way I could do anything but what he demanded, what he pleaded for. Hands trembling, I pressed my fingers against his cheeks. I trembled at the contact. His skin was hard, warm, and so very real. As his mouth moved over mine, I drew my hands down his chest, marveling at the feel of him. My fingers skimmed the tight ridges of his stomach.

Ash moaned against my lips, and the sound heated my blood even more. I could feel him against my thigh, hard and thick. His mouth left mine, and my eyes fluttered open. He was looking down at me once more, his gaze slowly tracking over my face for several seconds. “Thirty-six.”

My freckles.

My heart swelled so swiftly and strongly that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I floated right off the grass.

“I had to count them.” His hand came to my jaw. “Just to make sure they were all where they’re supposed to be.”

Dreaming of him counting my freckles made sense. His tendency to do that was something that made my heart melt. But the rest? What a strange thing for me to have dreamt him saying.

Ash’s lips captured mine once more, giving me no time to dwell on that. And when he kissed like this, as if I were the only thing in the world that could sustain him, I could do nothing but happily drown in those kisses.

And I did.

I kissed him back, saying everything I felt without uttering a single word, conveying a depth of emotion that words could never do justice to. I kissed him like it might be the last chance I’d get.

And it really could be.

A knot of sadness threatened to form and ruin the moment, but I refused to let it. I clasped his shoulders, feeling the slightly raised skin under the ink that had been driven into his flesh.

Ash shook, breathing raggedly as he pressed his forehead to mine. His hand splayed across my cheek, and that trembled, too. “I miss you,” he whispered hoarsely. “I don’t…I don’t know how much time has passed. A day? Two? A week? Only a few hours? I don’t know, liessa, but I miss you, even as I sleep so deeply.”

Something about what he said caused my skin to prickle. A feeling, or maybe a memory, prodded me, but I couldn’t figure it out.

And I didn’t think it mattered right now. “I’m here, Ash.”

He shuddered.

“So don’t miss me.” I touched his jaw, feeling the slight stubble there. “Love me instead.”

“I do,” Ash swore. “Fates, Sera, I do.”

I lifted my head, bringing our mouths together, even though his words reminded me that I was dreaming, that all of this was me creating what I wanted to feel and hear. And, gods, I wanted nothing more than to hear Ash say that he loved me. That he was capable of it. And if I could only get that in a dream, I’d take it without shame. My tongue parted his lips, and his answering groan was the sound of pure bliss.

Ash’s palm returned to my breast. A breathy moan left me as he dragged the rough pad of his thumb over the hardened nipple. I sank a hand into the soft strands of his hair, curling my fingers around them as his hand skated down my stomach and then between my thighs. The feeling of him there, his fingers slipping through the dampness and into me, was another shock to the senses. I cried out, the sound caught by his kiss. My hips rose at the wicked, torturous pressure of his finger sinking into me. I ground against his hand, tension spinning, and…gods, I’d never felt something like this in a dream before. Never anything this intense.

I felt the sharp tip of one fang against my tongue and shivered. His bite never caused pain, only sensual, decadent pleasure. Not like—

My hand tightened in his hair. There was no space for that. Not in my dreams. Not when I was living in a state I didn’t want to wake from.

But I knew I would.

That knowledge filled me with a keening, desperate yearning. I pulled on him, wanting to feel his weight on me. Needing to. “I need you.” I gripped his arm with my other hand, feeling his muscles jump. “I need you, Ash. Please.”

“You have me, liessa.” Ash, thank the gods, obliged without hesitation. He shifted, his large body coming down over mine, caging me. The coarser hairs of his legs teased mine as he settled between my thighs. “You’ve always had me.” The tip of a sharp fang dragged along my lower lip, creating tiny knots of pleasure as the hot, hard length of him pressed against my core. “I’ve always had you.”

The feel of him sparked a pulsing twist of pleasure that ignited frenzied need because he felt…gods, he felt better than a memory.

A deep sound rumbled from Ash. His hand returned to my hip, and he pressed into me as his kisses turned fiercer, deeper, and rougher. With each drugging, tugging brush and pull of his mouth, tiny fires erupted through me. Then, with one thrust, he seated himself fully.

My cry was lost in his hoarse shout as a jolt of surprise swept through me, causing me to lock up. I could feel the little bite of pain from his size and the pulsing pleasure of him filling and stretching me.

I could really feel him.

Pulse racing, my eyes flew open, and my gaze collided with Ash’s. His body had stilled, too, but the bright-as-the-moon eather in his eyes whirled wildly. Neither of us moved or spoke for several moments as the embers in my chest started to hum.

“You feel…” Ash shook his head, his voice thick. His eyes were wide, the hollows under his cheeks starker as I felt him jerk inside me. “You feel as if you’re here.”

As did he.

I inhaled deeply, catching the faint scent of lilacs—stale lilacs. My heart turned over heavily, and fear coursed through me. Was I waking up? My already-pounding heart sped up. No, I wasn’t ready for that. I would never be.

“Love me,” I ordered—begged, really. “Love me.”

“Always,” he rasped.

Tears dampened my lashes. I squeezed my eyes shut against them, not wanting to feel the hopelessness they evoked. I didn’t want a sorrow-filled experience in my dreams.

I wanted to burn.

Ash’s head dipped, his mouth closing over the tip of a breast. He drew my nipple into his hot mouth. I gasped as a new wave of pleasure rolled through me. His hips began to move, and my gasp quickly turned to a moan.

He lifted his head, nuzzling my neck under my ear. “You’re so beautiful. Damn it, Sera, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

A shaky breath left me. I couldn’t feel more beautiful than I did right then.

“Tell me,” he murmured against the skin of my throat. “Tell me you love me, and I’ll show you my gratitude. I swear to you.”

“I love you,” I guided his head up, his eyes meeting mine. “I love you so much, Ash.”

Another tremor ran through him. He said something too low and quick for me to understand, but he did exactly as he swore he would.

The plunges and retreats picked up speed, moving faster and going deeper. We were all teeth and tangled limbs, greedy and desperate. We moved together, his hips thrusting down and mine surging to his. Pleasure spiked, making me dizzy and breathless in a way that conjured no fear, only want and need.

The muscles of his arms flexed, then he grasped my hip, lifting me until my ass was off the ground. I clasped the back of his neck, wrapping my legs around his waist. Gods, the angle…

Hot, tight shudders racked my body as his moved in a furious rhythm. The release came fast and hard. I fractured, his name falling from my lips and whispering against his flesh. He followed with a shout, driving me into the ground, bolts of pleasure arcing, leaving both of us panting and breathless, our skin slick with a sheen of sweat—mine warm, and his…

Ash felt cold.

Like he did when he needed to feed. I didn’t know why my memories decided to capture him that way now, but my thoughts scattered at the sound of his throaty laugh.

“Fates.” Ash’s cheek dragged against mine when he turned his head. His kiss was featherlight and tender as he eased from me, shifting so he braced the bulk of his weight. “How can this be a dream?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed as his nose touched mine. That too had cooled. A moment passed, and I let out a shaky breath. “It feels…”

“Real.” Ash nipped my lower lip once more, and when I gasped, his curled upward. “That felt real, didn’t it?”

I grinned, loving the sight of his smile. “Yes.”

His tongue flicked out, soothing the sting of his bite. “You feel real, Sera. So much so that I almost think we’re…”

Waiting for an answer, I searched his features. “What?”

His throat worked on a swallow, and he drew his fingers over the freckles on my chin. “I don’t know.” He smiled then, but it didn’t reach his stunning silver eyes. “But I feel as if the Fates have rewarded me.”

“You feel like that?” I laughed quietly. “This is such a strange dream—a good one, but strange.”

“I’ve never dreamt of anything better.”

“Neither have I,” I whispered.

Ash’s lips found mine, and my heart fluttered as if it had grown wings. The unrelenting need to hold on to him and cherish every moment spent in his presence surged through my entire being.

And I did.

I thought we lay there for a while, his forehead resting against mine, and our bodies still pressed tightly together. It felt like that—like the real passing of seconds and minutes.

But I’d never felt time in a dream before.

“Sera…” He spoke my name against my lips. “You have no idea how I wish this were real.”

“I do.” I found his mouth and kissed him. Even his lips were cold now.

He lifted his head, and his chest rose sharply against mine. “Sera.”

The way he said my name had my pulse spiking. My eyes fluttered open. His were wide.

“What happened?” His gaze darted wildly over my face. My concern rose. “Fucking Fates, did I hurt you?”

“What?” I frowned. “Of course, not.”

The eather pulsed brightly. “Your lip is split, and your jaw…it’s swollen. It wasn’t like that before.”

A shiver tiptoed down my spine. I managed to wiggle an arm between us and touch my lip. I winced at the flare of pain.

Ash moved quickly, catching my wrist. He pulled my hand away. “Don’t poke at it.” He drew my fingers to his mouth, dropping devastatingly gentle kisses on their tips.

Confusion swirled as I lifted my gaze to his. “It hurts.”

His skin thinned until I saw the dark shadows of eather beneath his flesh. “I can see that it would.”

“But it stopped hurting the moment I started dreaming…” I trailed off.

“Are these injuries real?” Ash’s eyes had gone as flat as I’d seen Kolis’s turn before. He cursed. “Did he do this?” Frost dripped from his tone. “Has Kolis hurt you?”

“I don’t…” I slammed my eyes shut. “I don’t know why I would dream this.”

“This isn’t your…”

My brows pinched together. His skin had gotten even colder. The next breath I took carried that sweet-stale stench again as I opened my eyes.

“My fear,” he said, cursing.

“Your fear?”

“Yes.” Shadows stained the skin under his eyes where none had been before. Hollows had formed under his cheekbones. His lips were tinted blue. “Even in sleep, my fear for you consumes me.”

I stiffened at the sight of him. He was changing right before my eyes. His normally golden skin lost its color. Then the edges of Ash’s face blurred. My chest spasmed. His shoulders did the same.

“Liessa?” His head jerked at the sound of a…footstep?

My skin pimpled all over. A sudden pressure spread along the nape of my neck. My gaze flew to where my fingers were pressed tightly into the skin of his arms. “I can’t feel you.” My throat dried as I held on tighter. Or thought I did. I could barely feel his skin beneath mine anymore. “I can’t feel you any longer.”

“It’s okay,” Ash told me, his voice rough.

But it wasn’t okay. The tall, sweeping elms above us collapsed into smoke. The breeze vanished. Bone-deep desperation rose as I looked up at him.

“I don’t want to wake up,” I whispered, my heart cracking. I grabbed hold of him, but I couldn’t feel him. “Please, don’t let me wake up. I don’t want to leave you. Please.”

A noise came from Ash that sounded as if it had been dragged from the depths of his soul. “Sera—”

I jolted awake, my eyes flying open. I dragged in a ragged breath and tried to ease the pressure clamping down on my chest. My eyes burned with tears, causing the bars to blur just as Ash’s face had.

It had been a dream.

I knew that, but it had felt real. I could still feel Ash—his touch and kisses, the weight of him against my body. I could even feel that now, the fullness of him inside me and the dampness between my thighs. My hands still tingled with the feeling of his flesh against mine. It all felt so damn real. Still did.

But it couldn’t be.

Because there were no bright stars above me, only bars. And beneath me? The softness of the divan I’d fallen asleep on. There was no tranquil quiet—the distant, guttural howls of the dakkais could be heard.

I was once more caged.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Chosen arrived sometime later. It could’ve been hours, or another day could’ve passed, I couldn’t tell. But there were fewer Chosen than before under Callum’s watchful gaze.

I made sure I remained at the divan while they collected the used towels, replaced the water in the pitchers with fresh, and then set the table with what appeared to be a carafe of water and a tall, slender, capped bottle and four glasses.

“I’m relieved to see you’re a quick learner,” Callum commented after the last Chosen had left the chamber.

I looked over at him. “My life is complete knowing that.”

The Revenant smirked. “I’m sure it is.”

Rolling my eyes, I looked away. My heart was beating fast, mostly out of concern that somehow Attes’s visit would be discovered.

But Callum said nothing. He just silently stood near the cage.

Frustration stoked my temper as I focused on him. “Do you need something?”

“No.” That polite smile appeared.

“Then why are you just standing there, staring at me?”

“Does it bother you?”

“Who wouldn’t be bothered by it?” I replied, unfolding my legs.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Well, I don’t really think your opinion counts.”

The golden paint shimmered when he lifted his head. “Why is that?”

“I can’t imagine you’re right in the head.” I scooted to the edge of the divan, letting my feet touch the floor. “What with dying multiple times and all.”

He laughed. “At least I come back. You—”

“I know. I won’t.” I raised a brow. “Not exactly a clever insult, considering I’m mortal.”

Callum shrugged as I glanced at the doors. They weren’t completely closed. I could see the glint of golden armor through the gap.

My fingers tapped the cushion as my gaze slid back to him. I thought about what I’d seen in the dimly lit part of the sprawling structure. “I…I saw other Chosen.”

“I was under the impression that when you made your poor attempt at an escape, you saw many Chosen,” he replied. “And frightened them.”

I almost laughed. Yeah, I’d likely been a terrifying figure, but I knew I wasn’t what truly scared them. “I’m not talking about them. I saw one feeding on another.”

Callum said nothing.

“And she killed him,” I continued. “But he came back. Not like you. He was—” The embers suddenly pulsed in my chest, jerking my attention to the doors.

“You feel him?” Callum asked. “I can see that you do.”

My palms turned clammy as I rose. “Then why do you ask?”

“Because,” he answered, much like a rotten little child.

The doors swung open, and I couldn’t prevent the immediate burst of fear upon seeing Kolis enter the chamber. It invaded all my muscles, causing me to go rigid. Even after I forced myself to relax, it lingered like a dark cloud.

Intrigue flickered across Kolis’s features as he approached the cage. “What are you two discussing?”

I opened my mouth to lie with who knew what, but Callum, the bastard, beat me to it.

“She was asking about the Chosen she killed,” Callum shared, retrieving the key from his pocket. “And then the one who returned. She was sharing her astute observation of how Antonis wasn’t a Revenant.”

Antonis, I repeated to myself. So that was the name of the Chosen who’d come back to life and tried to attack me.

“Of course, not.” Kolis frowned and looked at me as if I were somehow supposed to know what he was. “Some would call him cursed. A once-mortal, now-decaying body plagued with an insatiable hunger. Craven.”

A flurry of nerves churned in my belly as Callum unlocked the cage door. The soft creak of the hinges sent shivers down my spine. I told myself that he must not know about Attes because I doubted we’d be talking about Craven if he did.

“They are nothing more than an unfortunate…side effect.”

“Side effect of what, exactly?” I asked, watching Callum step aside.

“Of creating the Ascended. They are the product of maintaining balance and giving life.” Kolis smiled then, ducking as he entered the cage.

Fear collided with my already-frazzled nerves, unleashing a surging tide of potent emotions I battled to restrain. I gritted my teeth in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay, ignoring the flare of pain it caused. “The Ascended? I don’t think I understand.”

“The woman you spoke of? The one I was told you killed.” The smile faded as the door was closed behind Kolis. “She was an Ascended. My child.”

I drew back in surprise. “You don’t mean that in the literal sense, right?”

“I played a role in the creation of her new life,” he replied. “Does that not make her my child?”

I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t know what he meant by playing a role. “How?”

“By Ascending her, just as my brother did with those before.”

A jolt of incredulity surged through me. Everyone had said that no Chosen had Ascended since Kolis’s reign began.

With keen discernment, Kolis’s observant stare flitted across my face. “That surprises you to hear? Did my nephew not explain how the Chosen are made into gods? It’s through Ascension.”

I tensed at the mention of Ash.

“Whether or not he did, I can see you don’t believe me.” His jaw clenched, and the gold flecks brightened in his eyes. “You think I cannot give life just because I cannot make a god like my brother did?”

Oh, damn. I’d hit a nerve. “I—”

“It does not matter.” His hand cut through the air in a curt wave. “This is not what I came to speak to you about.”

A heavy thud resounded from within my chest. Maybe I had been too quick to think he hadn’t learned about Attes’s visit.

“Leave us,” Kolis bit out.

Outside the cage, Callum said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Kolis crossed the cage, going to the table. “You didn’t answer my question.”

I blinked rapidly. He’d spoken?

“I asked if you’ve been resting.” A glimmer of gold swirled beneath the flesh of his cheeks. “Since I last saw you.”

Did he actually think I’d been relaxing? My mouth opened to ask him that, but I stopped myself.

The plan.

I had a plan.

Ash was far more important than the momentary satisfaction of speaking my mind. I took a deep breath and held it, forcing my mind to clear. Years’ worth of training I wanted nothing more than to forget pieced themselves together, reminding me why I needed to be a blank canvas.

It was the only way to adapt to his needs, allowing my personality to become painted with what he wanted and all he approved of. It was a part of the art of seduction the Mistresses of the Jade had taught. Pay attention to what is said and what is not spoken. Movements and actions. Knowledge of a person could always be gained.

And used.

I already knew that Kolis didn’t like cursing. Apparently, he also didn’t enjoy being called out when he was being a creep, which was unfortunately often. What did he like? I already knew from my few interactions with him that he didn’t enjoy others arguing or fighting back. He was nothing like Ash. Kolis wanted meekness. And I would bet that, above all else, he desired submission.

My fingers curled into the skirt of my gown as I cleared my throat. “I have been resting.”

“Good.” He gestured at the table. “Would you like something to drink? It will be disappointing if you decline.”

Irritation buzzed through my veins, and I wasn’t sure if I was more frustrated with his small manipulation or myself. He wanted me to drink, so I drank. He wanted me to stand on my head, I would stand on my fucking head. That was what it would take. I knew that.

“Yes.” The word fell from my lips like dead weight.

Kolis smiled, flashing straight, white teeth and fangs. That smile…it was momentarily startling because it was strange. I still couldn’t put my finger on why, but it was a nice smile. For all the Primal’s horribleness, he was a beautiful being. That couldn’t be denied.

And neither could his crimes against both mortals and gods.

I watched him make his way to the table and lift the stopper on a decanter. He didn’t walk as much as he glided. His bare feet barely skimmed the floor, as if the air itself carried him forward. He was dressed as he had been when I briefly saw him in the Sun Temple the day of the Rite. A fitted white tunic and loose linen pants. Both were speckled with gold. His hair was down, tucked back behind his ears, and from the side, there was no mistaking how nearly identical his features were to the painting of his brother Eythos that hung in the House of Haides’ library. There were slight differences. Kolis’s jaw and chin were broader, and Eythos’s brow was stronger, but they were still twins.

And it was impossible not to see parts of Ash in those features. The angles and planes of Kolis’s face were more refined, less raw and wild than Ash’s, but the similarities were unnerving, nonetheless.

Kolis poured a glass of clear liquid that formed tiny bubbles that raced to the surface of the slender flute. “Callum told me you asked about my nephew.”

Motherfucker.

I was also a motherfucker because I had been desperate enough to ask Callum about Ash.

“He said you wanted to know where he is,” he continued, picking up the glass and bringing it to me.

I was surprised by how steady my hand was when I took the flute. “I did,” I answered, knowing better than to lie about it.

“Sit,” Kolis instructed.

The order raised my hackles, but I sat on the divan as I glanced down at the strange drink. Giving it a sniff, I detected soft, fruity notes. “What is this?”

“Water infused with strawberries and lemon. It is a drink my brother used to make,” he said, and my gaze shot to him. “He was good at creating all manner of things, be it life or refreshments.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of that tidbit of information, but there was no bitterness to his tone. Thinking it wasn’t likely that he would poison me, I took a tiny sip. I sat straighter as the water danced on my tongue, taking in the sweetness of the strawberries and the faint tang of the lemon.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“It’s good,” I admitted, taking a longer drink. “Really good.”

Kolis gave a curt wave of his hand, and the dining chair slid across the tile like a hound answering its owner’s call. He sat directly in front of me.

“Why do you want to know where my nephew is?” he asked.

Any hope I had that he would move on from the topic fizzled out like the drink I held. “Curiosity.”

Kolis chuckled, and the sound was bright yet cold.

I decided the best course of action was to direct the subject to something else. “Did the Shadowland forces you spoke of earlier leave the borders of Dalos?” I questioned, realizing I had not thought to ask Attes that.

“No, they have not,” he answered. “They remain in the Bonelands.”

“The Bonelands?” My brow knitted.

“Eythos named it,” Kolis said with a shrug. “It’s to the south of Dalos, along the coast, beyond the Carcers. A rather uninhabitable stretch of sand dunes and overgrown, forested lands full of forgotten Temples once belonging to the Ancients, and rocks that vaguely resemble the bones of giants. My brother believed them to be actual bones of dragons slaughtered by the Ancients.” He scoffed. “Perhaps he was right.”

Why were the Ancients killing dragons? The answer to that wasn’t important, but hadn’t Attes said that Ash was being held in the Carcers? “You haven’t…attacked them? Forced them back from your borders?”

“Should I have?” he countered.

I wasn’t exactly sure how he expected me to answer that question, but I went with the obvious. “Yes?”

“Truly?”

“If they were forces encroaching on my lands, I would,” I answered objectively.

“But if I do that, then it would escalate tensions, possibly to the point of no return.” He lifted his glass. “Contrary to what you may believe about me, I have no desire to start a war. Engaging with his forces would do exactly that.”

My lips slowly parted as his claim hung in the space between us like a heavy fog of a whole lot of bullshit.

“You look surprised.”

“More like confused,” I said. Attes hadn’t said that Kolis wanted war. He’d only said that the false King would fight a war his way.

“And why is that?”

“You said you wanted to rise as the Primal of Life and Death,” I explained, carefully choosing my words. His cunning gaze centered on me. The gold should’ve warmed his eyes, but his stare was so damn cold. “And that those who don’t relinquish their Courts and kingdoms to you would die.”