Текст книги "A fire in the flash"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 37 страниц)

The Primal of Peace and Vengeance sighed loudly, almost overshadowing Rhain’s voice inside my head—him repeating my name, reiterating what he’d said earlier.

Kolis frowned. “Why would I be thrilled by that?”

“That’s a good question,” Kyn muttered.

If he didn’t shut up… “Because those who serve in the Courts of your Primals should care for the Primal they serve. If they don’t,” I continued quickly as Kolis opened his mouth, “how can they care for their King?”

Kolis stared at me.

So did Rhain from his one good eye.

“If they’re not loyal to the Primal they serve,” I went on, my heart pounding. I heard Rhain in my head again. “They cannot be loyal to you.”

Kolis’s brow knitted as he cocked his head. “I don’t think that’s how loyalty to one’s King works.”

“It’s exactly how it works,” I exclaimed. “In the mortal realm, the people are loyal to lesser nobles, which proves their loyalty to the Crown because those nobles are extensions of that Crown.”

The false King had returned to staring at me.

“And when the people react based on their loyalty to those nobles, they shouldn’t be punished—”

“They should be rewarded?” Kolis interrupted.

“No.” I willed my temper to calm, then continued spewing utter bullshit. “I was going to say they shouldn’t be punished by death. Or,”—I stressed—“torture.”

“Then how are they punished?” Kolis demanded. “With a smack on the hand?”

Kyn snorted.

“They are usually sentenced to a reasonable length of time to think about how they should’ve handled the situation better,” I explained, knowing that sounded absolutely ridiculous, even though it would be a better punishment than what was typically carried out in most kingdoms.

The look on Kolis’s face said he thought it was ridiculous, and my fear for Rhain increased as I heard him too clearly.

It’s okay, he said. I’m prepared to die.

But I wasn’t.

I knew if I couldn’t convince Kolis there was an alternative, Rhain would die, and it would be a horrible death.

It would also be another drop of blood Ash would have to ink onto his flesh.

I absolutely refused to allow that.

Resolve filled me, sealing the cracks in my blank canvas. Become his weakness. Even if Kolis wasn’t convinced yet of who I was, he wanted me to be Sotoria. He wanted his precious so’lis. I was already his weakness.

“There is another option.” I walked to the right, closer to where Kolis stood. “Release him.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kyn groused.

“Releasing him will only benefit you. It proves that you can be a benevolent ruler. A smart one,” I said. “A King worth someone’s loyalty. More so than any Primal ruling a Court.”

“Worth?” Kolis whispered.

“Just because you believe someone should already find you worthy doesn’t mean they do. Killing them won’t change that,” I said. “But releasing him will. It’s not like he’s accomplished anything but getting his ass beat.”

“Well,” Kolis remarked, “that part is true.”

“And it sends a message. Release him in the condition he’s in. They will know you can be fierce and giving, just as a King should be.” I came as close as I could to the bars. “And releasing him will prevent further escalation.”

Several seconds passed before Kolis spoke. “I see what you’re suggesting, but I am not sure why you think I’d care if those who rebel against me find me fierce or giving.”

Shit.

“I don’t,” Kolis continued. “I am only worthy of those who already see me as such.”

Well, that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I tried to swallow, but my throat was too tight.

It’s okay, Rhain’s voice came again. I am ready—

I blocked him out because I knew what he claimed, but I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t allow Ash to lose another person who was not only loyal to him but also cared about him.

And I couldn’t watch Rhain die.

“Let him go,” I said. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Seraphena,” Rhain rasped out loud, his head loose on his shoulders as it turned to Kolis. “Just kill me. Just fucking kill—”

Kolis threw out his hand, and Rhain…he just dropped. He hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

“What did you do?” I exclaimed.

“He’s fine.” Kolis walked forward. “What were you saying? That you’d be willing to do anything for him?” Kolis asked quietly—too quietly. “Why?”

Staring at Rhain’s crumpled form and unable to see his chest rise or fall, I reminded myself that I would’ve felt it if he’d died. “Because…because if you kill him, there will be war. He’s important to Nyktos.” My insides burned, shriveling a little at the knowledge that Kyn was hearing this. “And as I said before, how can we start over if there’s war? I’m willing to do anything to have a chance to…” My throat thickened. “To know what love feels like.”

A small eternity passed as Kolis stared at me. “Anything?”

My heart stopped its ceaseless racing as finally, finally that veil of nothingness settled into place again. “As long as you promise that Rhain will return to the Shadowlands, no more harmed than he is now,” I said, having learned from earlier that I needed to be as clear as I could in our agreements—something I hadn’t done in our deal regarding Ash. “Anything.”

The eather calmed in Kolis. “So, another deal?”

“Yes.” I gave a half shrug, knowing how the movement pulled the gown against my chest and would draw his attention. “What can I say? I have a fondness for deals.” I smiled. “After all, everything that has led to this moment is the result of one.”

Something I’d rather not acknowledge flashed in Kolis’s stare. “Deal.”

I nodded, relieved.

“You’re no longer needed,” Kolis said to Kyn. “Rhain’s transport will be handled by another.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Kyn bowed. As he straightened, he looked at me with a blade-thin smile and a look…

A look that said exactly what he knew would happen.

Even though he was unconscious, I couldn’t look at Rhain. So, I busied myself with pouring a glass of water as Kolis called for Elias to send for Callum. They took Rhain from the chamber in silence. I didn’t know how long he’d be out, but I hoped it was long enough for him to be taken from…well, wherever I was in Dalos.

Kolis and I were alone.

He watched me. “Anything?”

I took a long drink and then faced him, but I wasn’t me. I wasn’t truly here anymore. So, it didn’t matter when I nodded.

Kolis positively glowed. “Then, tonight, we will share the same bed.”

Shortly after what I could only assume was suppertime, the Chosen once more prepared a bath for me. I didn’t think about anything as I bathed, likely on Kolis’s orders. Nor did I think about anything when I saw the slinky, ankle-length, gold nightgown on the bed.

The bed.

I hadn’t slept in it yet.

I sat on the divan and waited, hollow and blank, until Kolis returned. He was alone, dressed in those loose linen pants with damp hair. It appeared he, too, had bathed.

Kolis crossed the chamber and entered the cage, finally speaking. “If you are who you claim, you are far bolder than you were before.”

“How so?” I asked, even though I had a good idea what he meant.

“You never spoke your mind or shared your opinion, at least not at first,” he explained.

Sotoria’s presence stirred as a little surprise flickered through me. “I imagine a lot of that has to do with the times being different.”

“You imagine?” His head tilted. “But you don’t know. Because you cannot remember.”

I shook my head.

Kolis didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Is what I requested of you a surprise?”

Was it? No. Not in the way he likely meant.

“Will you not be bold now and speak your mind?” he asked.

I could be far bolder than his imagination could conjure because this wasn’t me. I looked up at him. “You offered me to Kyn, so your request was a bit surprising.”

“I offered you to him only if you are not who you say you are,” he replied. “If that is not the case, then it should be of no concern to you.”

He really thought that made a difference? Whether or not I was Sotoria, I was still a person—I stopped myself. He did think that made a difference, and it…it didn’t matter.

Several more moments passed. “What you said earlier…” His chin lifted. “It was wise advice. Releasing one of Nyktos’s men does show that I’m reasonable and fair.”

A laugh bubbled up in my throat, but I proved that I was wise by not letting it break free.

“And that I am…how did you put it? Worthy of loyalty.” Eather sluiced across his features. “You will be happy to learn that I’ve been advised Rhain has made it back to the Shadowlands, no more harmed than when he left.”

The only thing I allowed myself to feel then was relief. “Thank you.”

“I hope I do not regret this if what you’ve said ends up being a fabrication,” he said. And he would when that happened. I couldn’t regret it, though. Rhain lived. “And that my benevolence is remembered,” he continued.

“It will be,” I lied smoothly. I was nothing but lies now. This wasn’t me anymore. I wasn’t really here. Nothing I said or did mattered.

Kolis was quiet and still for a moment, then he extended an arm, gesturing to the bed. “The divan will not suit us.”

I rose on steady legs, passed him, and sat on the bed, feeling the soft mattress.

He watched me like a hawk. “Lie down.”

This isn’t me. I reclined. I’m not here. Easing onto my side, I stared ahead. None of this matters.

Kolis remained standing. Seconds ticked by. I closed my eyes, not wanting to catch any hints of what he was thinking. Time continued to pass. I didn’t hear him move. I only felt the bed dip, and the heat of his presence.

I squeezed my eyes closed until I saw stars bursting behind my lids.

His chest touched my back.

This isn’t me.

His arm went around my waist. A shudder went through him.

I’m not here.

His presence, the stale lilac scent, and the feel of him, tainted my skin and stained my bones.

None of this matters.

I watched Callum from where I sat at my little table. He was stretched out on the couch, his feet resting on an arm as he caught the dagger he repeatedly tossed into the air.

With his eyes closed.

I was reluctantly impressed…and also reminded of Bele doing the same as the seamstress fitted me for my coronation gown. That felt like a lifetime ago. Yawning, I toyed with the edge of a napkin.

“Did you not get much sleep last night?” Callum asked.

“Tons,” I lied.

Kolis and I had shared the bed.

And that was all we’d done.

Well, all I had done. Kolis had slept, and he’d done so peacefully. I, on the other hand, had only slept for about an hour. And only after Kolis left in what I assumed was the morning. I’d pretended to be asleep. Having spent the entire night tense with my eyes wide open, my body caved to exhaustion the moment he left the cage.

It was hours later, and I still couldn’t believe nothing had happened last night. When Kolis made his request, he had meant it in the most literal sense.

Share a bed.

I shook my head slightly. Perhaps he wasn’t attracted to me.

I wished that were the case.

Unfortunately, I knew better. I’d seen how he looked at me the day before.

My focus shifted to the plate of barely touched sliced meats and fruits in front of me. Kolis hadn’t even held me all that tightly throughout the night. Not like Ash. Not even like he had when he hadn’t intended to—

I didn’t want to think about Ash and sharing a bed with Kolis. My palms dampened, and I wiped them on the napkin. I didn’t want those two things to ever occupy my mind simultaneously. Because despite nothing occurring last night, I still felt…gross.

Gods, I didn’t want to think about that either. I focused on Callum. He was still entertaining himself with the dagger. I had more important things to dwell on. Like whether Rhain had been able to communicate anything to Aios.

I reached up, touching the delicate silver chain encircling my neck. When the Chosen woke me as they entered the chamber, I’d discovered that Kolis had left something for me on the pillow his head had rested upon.

Aios’s necklace.

I hoped I had a chance to return it to her.

I would.

I truly didn’t believe Rhain had been attempting to find me. He was loyal and brave enough to risk his life for Ash. Not for me.

“You’re quiet today,” Callum commented.

“I forgot you were even here,” I lied. It was impossible not to know he was there as he snatched the dagger out of the air just before the blade was about to sink into his chest.

“That hurt my feelings.”

“Uh-huh.” I pushed from the chair and rose. “I learned something yesterday.”

He tossed the dagger again. “That you’re capable of whoring yourself out to get your way?”

My eyes narrowed, and I didn’t think about what I was doing. I just did it as a ripple of hot anger swept through me. The embers throbbed as my gaze flipped to the dagger rising into the air. I pictured it speeding downward, faster than gravity would take it, straight for his eye.

And what I saw became my will.

The dagger had just flipped above Callum when a burst of energy left me. The blade jerked a foot to its side and then fell with the speed of an unleashed arrow.

“Fuck,” gasped Callum as he rolled. His knees hit the floor a heartbeat before the dagger slammed into the arm of the couch where his head had been resting.

He whipped toward me.

I smiled sweetly at him. “Careful there, Cal, you might hurt yourself.”

“Don’t call me that.” Glaring, he rose. “What did you realize?”

“I learned that I wasn’t in Cor Palace.”

“It took you that long to realize that?” He yanked the shadowstone dagger free.

“How was I supposed to know I wasn’t there? What I’ve seen of the grounds reminded me of the palace.” I watched him take a swig of his drink. “I know I’m still in Dalos.”

“If you didn’t know that, I would have grave concerns about your intelligence.”

I arched a brow. “Where am I, exactly?”

“You are at the Vita,” he said, sheathing the dagger to his hip. “It is a sanctuary built by His Majesty, replacing the existing Council Hall.”

The Council Hall in the Shadowlands was in Lethe, an amphitheater holding a second set of much larger thrones. If the Council Hall was the same as the one in the Shadowlands, then that meant…

“I’m in the City of the Gods?”

“Maybe I don’t need to worry that much about your intelligence,” he quipped.

My gaze flew to the narrow windows. I’d only seen the sparkling city from a distance.

“You seem troubled by the knowledge.”

Only because I had a feeling it would be harder to escape a whole damn city than one palace. “I didn’t think the city was in use.”

“And exactly why did you think that?” Placing his dagger on the low table, he sauntered to the cage. “Let me guess? Nyktos told you such?”

Actually, he hadn’t. He’d just told me that many had taken to calling it the City of the Dead. I just assumed that meant it was vacant and no longer in use. But before I could respond, the embers suddenly hummed in my chest. My attention shifted to the doors. A Primal was near.

The gown swayed around my feet as I took a step back from the bars. The doors opened no more than a few heartbeats later, proving that I had been right about the feeling.

Kolis entered, his crown in place, and he wasn’t alone.

A woman wearing a green silk gown followed him, her skin a medium shade of brown, her hair dark and chin-length.

“Your Majesty.” Callum bowed as they drew near.

Kolis nodded at the Revenant as the attention of the one who followed him fixed on me. The silvery glow of eather pulsed behind dark eyes. She was a goddess. Her gaze quickly darted away.

A nervous goddess.

Kolis glanced over the table of food. “Did you enjoy your supper?” he asked warmly.

“Yes,” I answered, softening my tone.

Callum’s head snapped in my direction, his eyes narrowing behind his painted mask.

“Good.” Kolis snapped his fingers, and the Chosen entered from the hall.

They approached the cage as Callum came forward to unlock the door. Clasping my hands together, I stepped back several feet, not wanting to incite any of them to hurt one of the Chosen.

“Leave the drinks,” Kolis instructed. “I believe we will be in need of them when we’re done.”

The Chosen neither nodded nor spoke as they carried out his command. Within a minute or two, they had left the chamber, and the doors were once more closed.

But the one to the cage remained open.

That sweet and stale scent increased as Kolis entered, followed by the goddess. “I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Ione. She serves in the Court of the Primal Keella,” he said, a bit of disdain tainting the Primal’s name.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that, as I didn’t expect Kolis to favor the Primal of Rebirth, who’d aided Eythos in hiding Sotoria’s soul. But what was one of her gods doing here?

Ione gave a curt bow as she folded one arm over the black rope at her waist. “Your Highness.”

“Come and sit,” Kolis said to me, gesturing to the divan.

Aware that those in the chamber watched, I went to the couch and sat on the edge.

“Ione is unique to the gods of the Thyia Plains,” Kolis said, speaking of Keella’s Court, while the goddess appeared to find something fascinating on the floor. “Not many are left that can do as she can.”

Warning bells started to ring. My gaze shot to Callum. The bastard was grinning now, and it dripped with…feral anticipation.

“What…” I swallowed. “What can she do?” I asked.

“See into your thoughts,” Kolis answered.

My heart began pounding. No, no, no. My muscles locked.

“She can see your truths and lies,” the false King continued. “See all that is needed.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

At once, the façade of my blank canvas began to crack.

My gaze swiveled from the Primal to Ione as I rose from the divan. Good gods, how could I have forgotten about Taric and not think about there being another god like him? One who could see right into my mind—and my memories.

Foolishly, I hadn’t prepared for this, and there was no time to do so now.

Dread took root, dampening my palms as the reality of the situation hit me with the force of an out-of-control carriage. This was bad, really bad.

“It will not take very long,” Kolis explained, that fabricated smile plastered across his face. “Ione will be quick and efficient.”

Pressure clamped down on my chest. Not only was I mere moments from Kolis discovering way too quickly that I was manipulating him, I also clearly remembered how painful it had been when Taric flipped through my memories as casually as Callum had turned the pages of his book.

“Sit down,” Kolis instructed, “so we can be done with this.”

I didn’t move. Outside the cage, Callum’s smile grew even wider. That bastard knew what was about to happen. Whether it was just his distrust of me or something else, I had no idea, but he looked like he was about to witness all his dreams coming true.

The weight of the burgeoning fear was suffocating, threatening to crush me. My stomach twisted as the consequences of my lies being exposed loomed before me like a curse. I wouldn’t gain Ash’s freedom, and if Ione saw anything having to do with Sotoria’s soul and how I wasn’t truly her? I was as good as dead.

“Sit,” Kolis snapped, his patience already running thin.

I felt Sotoria then, near my thundering heart. I felt her fear and anger, and it joined mine, forming a combustible mix. The embers started to thrum.

“You seem…nervous,” Kolis remarked, his features stoic but his fingers curled inward.

I most definitely was.

The gold flecks in his eyes had stilled. “Why is that?”

My pulse pounded, and my mouth dried. Think, Sera. Think. “I am afraid,” I admitted, my thoughts racing. I could only come up with one thing to say. “A god did this to me before, and it hurt.”

Kolis’s forehead creased as he eyed me.

 “Taric,” Callum surmised, his lips pursing as he walked the length of the cage. “Well, I suppose we now know for sure what happened to him when we last learned he was somewhere near or in the Shadowlands.”

Kolis’s mouth tightened. “Taric found you?”

“It wasn’t just him. Cressa and another called Madis were with him,” I said, hoping this delay would allow me to come up with something else to say. “Why did you…?” I glanced at Ione, unsure how much she knew, and then deciding it wasn’t my problem if she wasn’t supposed to know. “Why did you have him searching for the embers if you already knew where they were?”

“Because I didn’t have him searching for them. Obviously,” Kolis said in a slow, deliberate drawl as if explaining a complex idea to a child. “He was supposed to be searching for my graeca.”

His love.

I wasn’t the only one who’d assumed Taric and the others had been searching for that. Even Veses had.

“Did the others feed from you?” Kolis asked.

I shook my head. “No, it was only him. I…I didn’t know yet about who I was, but he seemed to already know it was me when he looked at me. I didn’t think he needed to feed. He just wanted to.”

A muscle twitched in the Primal’s jaw. “So, he fed from you but did not tell either you or Nyktos what he saw?”

“He really didn’t get the chance,” I told him.

Ione raised a brow as she continued staring at the floor.

Kolis’s chin lifted. “Well, we will see if that is true, won’t we?”

My heart lurched, and I swung my head toward Ione.

“It does not need to be painful,” she said, looking up. “Though it is not entirely comfortable. You will be tired afterward and perhaps have a headache, but it should not feel like any unimaginable pain.”

Yeah, well, the problem wasn’t the pain. I could deal with that. Still, I latched on to the excuse. “I can’t go through that again. It was horrible.” A tremor coursed down my spine, and it was more genuine than forced. “I won’t—”

“Seraphena.”

I locked up at Kolis’s whisper. Or had he yelled? I couldn’t be sure. Whatever it was, his voice felt like it was everywhere.

Oh, gods.

A compulsion. He was using compulsion again.

“Look at me,” he coaxed, his tone soft and lilting yet heavy and laden with power.

His voice washed over me like a rising tide, seeping through my skin—

No.

My fingers twitched.

No. No.

The muscles in my neck spasmed as I fought, and the embers hummed wildly in my chest. If he gained control, there’d be nothing I could do. Nothing. No. No—

“Seraphena.” Kolis was suddenly in front of me, his fingers on my chin.

I jerked back, starting to close my eyes. I could fight this, couldn’t I? I had Primal embers in me. I could fight this with…with—

“Look at me,” Kolis demanded, and a wave of power hit me hard. “Now.”

I tried…gods, I tried to resist. My muscles spasmed painfully. Air punched out of my lungs, and my eyes lifted past his mouth. His nostrils were flared with irritation. My gaze locked on his, and I felt it then, the compulsion seeping into my muscles, relaxing them. His power wrapped around my mind. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t.

I could do nothing but obey.

Golden flecks whirled in his eyes, slipping under and over the wisps of silvery eather. “You will sit, and you will not attempt to fight Ione. Do you understand?”

My lips moved, forming one word. “Yes.”

“That’s a good girl,” he murmured, running his thumb beneath my bottom lip, avoiding the healing skin there as I…

I stood still, unable to even shudder.

“Sit,” he repeated.

Like a puppet, I sat.

Kolis turned to the goddess. “Do what needs to be done.” He was silent as Ione moved closer. “And do it as quickly as possible.” He glanced at me and then away. “I do not want her to feel any unnecessary pain.”

He said as much now, but that would soon change.

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Ione knelt before me. Dark eyes lit with eather met mine. “You seem to be aware of this, but to be clear, I will need to take your blood.”

I did know that. I fucking remembered that part clearly.

Ione blinked, seeming to remember only then that I could not respond. She picked up my right hand, her touch cool. She halted, her brows lifting as her gaze flew to mine.

“Is there a problem?” Kolis demanded from where he lingered a foot—if that—behind the goddess.

Ione cleared her throat. “No.”

“Then get on with it.”

She hunched her shoulders and carefully lowered my right hand to my lap and lifted my left. I thought that was strange, but I couldn’t really focus on that. My mind filled with what was to come. Would I have to react? To summon the embers and at least attempt to get free? I didn’t know.

Ione’s warm breath against the inside of my wrist was my only warning. A second later, the sharp tips of her fangs pierced my skin. I jerked, not even the compulsion able to prevent that.

The burning sting traveled up my arm, causing every muscle in my body to clench. Ione drew deeply on the wound, and that sting hit my neck. I wanted to tear my arm free from her light grasp, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t—

Then I felt it.

A scratching like fingers against my mind, slowly sinking in instead of digging in with claws like Taric had done. The tendons in my neck cramped, and I felt my mind open.

Ione was inside me, in my mind, slipping in easily. It wasn’t painless as she delved into my thoughts and memories. The supper I’d eaten was peeled back, revealing the dreamless sleep, the conversation with Kolis, and my lies—all my lies. She kept searching. Images of a sky full of stars but no moon flashed, then small waves crashing beneath the House of Haides. Those quickly blended into others. I saw the woods and heard myself telling Ash that I loved him. The flashes came in rapid succession as Ione saw what I’d seen. Heard what I’d said. She saw the truths. All of them. She saw the lies, too. Sweat broke out on my brow. A tremor rolled through me as sharp, stabbing pain shot through my head and ran down my spine.

I felt myself shaking on the inside, tears filling my eyes as the ebbing agony became a fire. My skin felt like it stretched, thinned. My vision blurred.

Not as painful? Ione had lied. I felt like I was burning from the inside, and there was no retreat. Nowhere to hide. Pressure built in my skull, sparking a fiery pain that settled there and took root. I shook, and a metallic taste gathered in my mouth.

Oh, gods, could Ash feel this, even in stasis? I didn’t want him to be aware and unable to do anything.

I couldn’t allow that.

I wouldn’t.

The embers swelled beneath the pain, and I latched on to them. Stop. I focused on Ione, forcing her features to clear. Stop, I screamed as I…pushed. I pushed with my mind.

The goddess’s head snapped back. There was a brief glimpse of wide, dark eyes, and then she was skidding backward on her knees across the shadowstone. She caught herself before she hit the cage bars, her chin jerking up. Blood trickled from the corner of her lip.

“Well.” Callum sighed from outside the cage as I slumped forward, breathing raggedly. “That was inappropriate.”

Trembling, I smacked my hand over the bite as my muscles twitched and contracted, over and over. The fire was slow to leave, just as before.

“What did you see?” Kolis demanded, his voice close. Too close.

“Much,” Ione rasped, rising unsteadily to her feet. I tried to push through the lingering agony. “The embers in her are powerful.”

“I already know that,” Kolis stated. “Is she my graeca?”

My neck felt weak and loose as I lifted my head and saw Callum’s eager face. I called on the embers, and they fluttered much like my heart. Godsdamnit, I didn’t have time for them to weaken on me. I would have seconds, if that—”

“She carries the soul of the one called Sotoria,” Ione answered, smoothly wiping the trickle of blood from her chin. “She is her.”

I froze.

Everything froze.

Even Callum’s stupid face.

“Truly?” whispered Kolis.

“Yes.” Ione nodded, clasping her hands together. “It is her.”

But that…that wasn’t true. And Ione knew it.

Callum pushed back from the cage, his head swaying to and fro.

“And does she…does she love Nyktos?” Kolis’s voice faltered and then steadied. “Is she in love with him?”

“She cares for him,” Ione answered, her eyes locked on mine. “But she has never truly loved…nor been loved in return.” Ione broke eye contact and turned from me. “She wants to, though. She will do anything for that.”

My gods, the goddess was truly lying about everything. Well, except for that last part. I did want to be loved by Ash, and I would do anything for that. But the rest? Straight-up lies.

Stunned, I watched her walk to the table. While she filled a slender glass with the bubbly water, I tried to wrap my head around the fact that this stranger had just saved my life.

“It’s really you.” Kolis’s voice was a gruff whisper, tearing me from my thoughts.

My gaze shot to the Primal. He looked at me as he had when I’d first said I was her, when he likely heard her voice in mine. I realized then that it was the only time I’d seen him show any real emotion beyond anger. Everything else had been a reproduction. A copy of what he’d seen in others. But like then, his features came alive with a tangible sense of wonderment, his eyes widening with awe.

“I didn’t…” Kolis trailed off, not allowing himself to finish whatever it was he had been about to say.

The pain was almost gone from my head, but my body tensed with each passing second that Kolis’s stifling stare remained on me. It was clear to me that he hadn’t been a hundred percent convinced.

Now, he was.

It was yet another thing I should feel relief about—and I did. But his stare… I shifted, suddenly wishing I could put a whole realm’s-worth of distance between us.

“This has to be some sort of lie,” Callum said, sounding almost spooked.

“I do not lie,” Ione cut in, the eather pulsing in her eyes, turning them from night to day. “I have no reason to.”

Oh, but she most definitely did. I couldn’t know for sure why the goddess had done it, but I could only assume that, like the Primal she served, she was not a Kolis loyalist.

Even so, this was a huge risk for her. More so than it was for Attes. Ione had just lied straight to Kolis’s face about Sotoria, running the risk of another god coming in, reading my memories, and contradicting her.

Unless Ione and Taric were truly unique and the last of those who could do that.

“But she does not look like Sotoria,” Callum argued.

Two things occurred to me at once. The Revenant had just confirmed part of what Attes had claimed. That if I truly were Sotoria, I would look like her. But, more importantly, Callum must have known Sotoria.