Текст книги "A fire in the flash"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 37 страниц)

His statement felt like a blade to the chest, causing the glass in my hand to tremble.

The Primal goddess said nothing for several moments. “So, she is here of her own free will?”

A moment passed.

My heart sank because I sensed what was coming.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Keella’s gaze shifted to mine, the eather in her eyes swirling while Kolis’s stare drilled into me. I wanted to scream, “No!” But the deal…Ash’s freedom. The taste of vomit filled my throat as I said, “Yes. I’m here by…by choice.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I never knew a half-truth could feel as bad as taking a blow to the chest.

But I did now.

“Has that addressed your concerns?” Kolis asked.

Tension bracketed the corners of Keella’s mouth as she gave Kolis an abrupt nod. “Thank you.”

I watched her step back and turn, my shoulders slumping under a sudden wave of exhaustion.

“Keella?” Kolis called.

She stopped, facing us again. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“It seems you’ve forgotten the oath you made to me. Question me again, and you will find yourself in the Carcers,” he warned in that soft, breezy voice of his. “Do you understand?”

Keella inclined her head. “Yes.”

“Good.” Kolis leaned back, finishing off his drink.

The Primal goddess sent me one last look and then turned, drifting back into the small crowd. I didn’t know if she believed me. I doubted it.

Still, the half-truth burned the back of my throat.

The same servant from before returned to refill Kolis’s chalice from a decanter. She left again, but this time as she headed toward the door, she didn’t make it out into the hall.

One of the unknown gods seated on a couch snagged her by the waist. She was barely able to keep hold of her woven tray and decanter as the god pulled her onto his lap. He said something to her, and she gave him a short nod before placing the tray and bottle on the floor.

My eyes narrowed as his head disappeared into the crook of her neck. A second later, her body jerked, and the one painted wing I could see contorted in pain.

“What are you doing, so’lis?” Kolis asked quietly.

“I’m not…” I trailed off, realizing I’d leaned forward, preparing to stand. Stomach twisting, I watched the painted wing smooth out as she relaxed in his arms. I forced myself to sit back. “Are the servants Chosen?”

“They are.”

So I’d been right when I suspected that when I’d been here with Ash. Aware of Callum and Elias standing close, I asked, “Are they also a part of the refreshments?”

“Sometimes,” Kolis answered idly.

The fire of anger flushed my skin as I watched the god’s hand slip from her hip to delve between her thighs.

I glanced away, finding that Attes had moved to speak to Keella, who I assumed had left. They stood toward the back of the space, their heads bowed and close together. Their conversation appeared…tense. I saw that Kyn was at one of the chairs situated near the pillars, a drink in hand.

Glaring at me.

I ignored him, my attention returning to the alcove and the servant still held in the god’s grip. My jaw started to ache.

“I can see that displeases you.” Kolis sighed. “They are Chosen, so’lis.”

Yes, what I saw displeased me.

Him continuously calling me his soul also displeased me.

“They are to serve me and my gods. Sometimes, that is by serving them drinks. Other times, it is by them…being the drink.” He laughed, clearly enjoying what he believed was a clever joke.

Dear gods. I didn’t know if I would be able to quell my temper and remain a blank canvas until Ash was freed. Because I saw red.

Which meant I wasn’t exactly blank.

“Is that what she chose?” I asked once I knew my voice wouldn’t betray my nearly all-consuming desire to commit bloody, violent murder.

The brief humor vanished from his tone. “Nearly all their choices were made for them from birth.”

My head snapped to the side as I looked up at him.

“I see I hit a nerve,” he observed dryly, glancing toward the servant. “She seems to be enjoying herself.”

The woman strained against the hand between her legs, her eyes closed, and her lips parted. “That means nothing when a bite can bring unwanted pleasure.”

His gaze slid back to mine. The golden flecks had stilled. “I feel as if this has more to do with us than them.”

My back stiffened. “It doesn’t.”

“Lies,” he murmured, sipping from his chalice.

“Okay. Maybe it does a little,” I said. “But that is irrelevant. She was simply walking past him, and he grabbed her. Then bit her. She may have no choice in how she serves the gods, but they could be less cruel, could they not?”

“We all could be less cruel,” he said, the gold beginning to churn in his eyes. “Outside one another and the Priests, the Chosen are forbidden to be touched and spoken to while in the mortal realm.”

“I know.”

“Here, they may be spoken to and touched.” He dipped his chin, a faint grin appearing. “Even fucked.”

I really wished he’d stop saying that fucking word.

“You see a victim,” he said, and my lips pressed together. “I see someone who is starved for what has been forbidden to them their entire life.”

I looked back at the god and servant as her soft cries of climax burned my ears. None of the others paid them any attention. Mainly because several of the gods, including Kyn, now had company.

“What you must think of me…” he said, causing my focus to snap back to him. “I don’t blame you for it. I’m sure you’ve been told many half-truths.”

I took a sip to stop myself from saying something ill-advised. The liquor turned out to be some kind of mulled whiskey, but the hints of apple and cinnamon did very little to ease the burn of the alcohol hitting my stomach.

“The Chosen do have opportunities here,” he continued. “They are offered the choice to shed their veils and serve those within Dalos and in other Courts.”

My brows knitted. “Versus what?”

“Versus Ascending,” he said. Before I could jump on that, he went on. “Her name is Malka, by the way. And his name is Orval.” As he spoke, my focus shifted back to the two. The male lifted his head from her neck, licking blood from his lips. “They are known to each other.”

This Orval leaned into her, speaking into her ear. Malka smiled and looked as if she laughed.

“Known to each other quite well,” Kolis added as I watched the Chosen swat at the god’s arm.

Orval kissed her cheek and then released her. Standing, she straightened her gown.

I exhaled roughly, unsure if I could believe what I saw and heard. Though even if it were true, did servants have a choice? In the mortal realm, they did in some households. In others, even if it appeared they did, they really didn’t.

“And if they weren’t known to each other?” I asked as Malka slipped out the door. I caught sight of a long, darker hall.

“Does it matter?”

I looked at Kolis over my shoulder. “Yes.”

He didn’t respond for a few moments. And, honestly, I’d heard the stories. I knew the answer. Anger still burned through my veins as I turned to gaze at the floor. “What would you do?” he asked. “If her consent was not obtained?”

I looked at him again, saying, “I would make sure it was the last time someone failed to gain another’s consent.”

“And how exactly would you do that?”

“I’d shove a blade straight through their heart.”

Behind Kolis, one of Callum’s painted wings rose, but the false King showed no reaction. “Look to your left, so’lis. Past Naberius.”

“Naberius?”

“The apparently very tired draken,” Kolis replied dryly, and I arched a brow at that. “In the alcove behind him, you will see an occupied ivory chair.”

Frowning, I did as he instructed, searching past Phanos, who spoke with a god, the two draken in their mortal forms, and of course, the sleeping Naberius. I found the ivory chair Kolis spoke of and saw it occupied by an alabaster-skinned god with a servant on his lap—

I lowered the chalice to the floor beside me, my heart kicking against my ribs.

“Her name is Jacinta. She was taken in a Rite two years ago,” Kolis said as I stared at the hand clamped down on her mouth and her wide, frightened eyes. “The one who holds her is Evander. He is several hundred years old and knows how to feed and give pleasure. But that is not what pleases him.”

Kolis tipped forward, his voice lowering to a whisper. “Pain does.”

Disgust knotted in my throat.

“So now you know,” Kolis said, sitting back.

Slowly, I twisted toward him, our gazes colliding.

“What did you say you’d do?” he said, the golden flecks a strange light in his eyes. “You would shove a blade through their heart?”

“I did.”

“Then you have a choice,” Kolis ordered. “Do as you said and kill him.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Do as you said you would do if you thought someone was being wronged in such a manner. Shove a blade through his heart.” Kolis’s voice filled with challenge. “Unless you are like so many others and speak about what you would do and not what you will do.”

My brows shot up in disbelief. There was no way he thought I wouldn’t shove a blade through someone’s heart when I’d attempted to do it to him. “And if I do this, what will you do?”

“To you?”

I nodded.

“Nothing, my dear.”

I stared at him for a moment, having no idea why he’d offer this to me. Why he’d challenge me to act and kill one of his gods.

Pressing my lips together, I looked back at those in the ivory chair. Jacinta was trembling. If her Rite was two years ago, that meant she was likely close to my age. As a Chosen, she wouldn’t have had much of a life in the mortal realm, but she had been safe. Now, her knuckles were bleached white from how tightly she clenched the god’s arm. Her gaze darted wildly across the Hall as if searching for help. Assistance that obviously wouldn’t come from any of those in this space. Not even Attes and Keella, who were still speaking to each other and likely unaware of what was happening in the shadows. But if they did know, would they step in? Or was this one of those terrible things that Ash had been forced to witness?

Something glittered on Jacinta’s painted cheek—a tear. The breath I took went nowhere.

Kolis’s motivations didn’t matter.

Setting the chalice on the floor, I rose. The gown settled around my feet as I faced Kolis. “I need a weapon.”

“Elias?” Kolis called.

The guard stepped forward silently, unstrapping a shadowstone dagger. His dark eyes briefly met mine as he extended his hand. I didn’t know what he was trying to communicate in his stare, but I really didn’t care.

Kolis took the gleaming hilt of the dagger, expertly flipping it so the handle faced me. My fingers brushed his as I took the weapon and glanced down at the shiny black blade. The weight of the dagger was hefty, thanks to the absurd gold hilt, but it was manageable. I looked up, meeting his stare once more, and for a second, just a heartbeat, I entertained the idea of plunging it into his heart.

But what good would that do? Other than inflicting pain, even if I could kill Kolis, shadowstone would only serve to irritate him, and it would do nothing to help Jacinta. Mindful of the pillow, I stepped back. As I turned, my gaze danced over Callum.

The Revenant was smiling.

Callum was almost always smiling, but something about it caused my stomach to dip.

Turning, I pressed the dagger close to my thigh so the panel of my gown hid it. My gaze fixed on the fair-headed god as I descended the steps. Conversation quieted and then ceased as I passed those closer to the dais. I felt their curious stares following me as Phanos and the god he spoke to fell silent. They parted, the vibrant blue that both wore reminding me of the sea. I passed them, giving Naberius a wide berth. I neared where Diaval stood. He pushed off the wall, but whatever he did next was lost to me as Jacinta’s tear-filled eyes met mine.

My stare dropped to the hand covering her mouth. Gold paint smudged Evander’s fingers. My gaze moved lower. He had his arm around her shoulders, pinning one arm to her and the other to his chest. His other hand gripped her breast as she jerked, her body moved by the one surging under her. For a second, I didn’t see her. Or him. I saw me. I saw Kolis. The side of my neck smarted.

“Excuse me,” I said.

The girl blinked, tears clinging to her lashes.

The god moaned.

And something turned off inside me. Whether it was my humanity or something else, it was just as it had been when I delivered my mother’s messages. Or when I acted on behalf of the Ladies of Mercy.

Leaning over the frightened servant, I grabbed a handful of Evander’s pale hair. The god stopped moving beneath Jacinta. “Release her,” I ordered quietly. “Carefully.”

The Chosen’s entire body jerked, and then I heard a deep voice say, “What the fuck?”

“Leave,” I told her.

She hesitated, then scrambled from the god. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as Evander’s gaze swung up to meet mine. The god was already pale-skinned, but whatever pink there was in his flesh vanished. I wasn’t sure what he saw in my eyes or if he saw anything at all. Maybe his reaction was because he recognized me as the one who’d been on the dais.

Perhaps he saw me as the Consort of the Shadowlands.

I didn’t know.

And I didn’t care.

Because I really didn’t see him.

I saw only Kolis.

The corners of my lips rose as I struck, my arm whipping out. I thrust the shadowstone blade deep into his chest, into his heart.

Surprise widened his cornflower blue eyes. The aura of eather behind his pupils pulsed intensely at the same moment the embers in my chest did. Jerking the dagger free, I let go of his head as my hands started to warm. I stepped back as he slumped to the side.

Then the screaming began.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Heart lurching, I spun toward the sound. The high-pitched, agonized shrieks came from Jacinta. Her fingertips were pressed into her painted cheeks, clawing into them.

I stepped toward her, lifting my empty hand to comfort her. “You’re okay. You’re—”

She darted past me, her gauzy gown fluttering around her legs. Worried that she was in shock, I turned to stop her as she sprang forward toward the god.

“No, no, no,” she cried, stopping me in my tracks as she dropped to her knees before the chair. She grasped the god’s bloodless cheeks. “Evan, please open your eyes.”

Evan?

“Please!” she begged—screamed—over and over.

A heavy thumping sound whipped my head to the side, and I felt the breath I took lodge in my throat.

Naberius’s tail slid across the tile. Muscles along the draken’s face clenched, then one vibrant red eye with slanted pupils opened. His head lifted as the scaled skin below his nostrils vibrated and pulled back. A row of thick, sharp teeth appeared, and a low snarl hit the air.

A buzzing sound started in my ears as I turned back to Jacinta, the hum increasing with each staggered heartbeat. I took a step back as she pressed her shaking hands to the god’s chest, over the wound. I wanted to tell her that it was too late for that, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I couldn’t process what I was seeing. He’d been hurting her. Kolis had said…

A wave of chills swept down the back of my head and neck. Shimmering blood dripped from the shadowstone blade I held as I kept backing up, looking around, my gaze now as wild as Jacinta’s had been. I saw Attes first. The scar running from his hairline and across the bridge of his nose and left cheek stood out starkly. His jaw was clenched, eyes sheltered. Keella had her hand pressed over her heart, her normally warm brown skin ashen. Pressure settled on my chest as my gaze skipped over the hard lines of Kyn’s features before moving to the dais.

Kolis smiled, then lifted his chalice. Even from where I stood, I saw that this smile was different. It was like the one he’d worn when he ordered me to kill Thad. It was the same cruel lift of lips.

“Will someone please assist with dear Jacinta before Naberius does it himself?” Kolis instructed, lowering his chalice to the arm of the throne as my gaze darted to the draken. He’d risen slightly on his forelegs and peered into the alcove. “And remove Evander from our presence.”

Every muscle in my body tensed as I stood there. Guards came forward. Naberius’s head swiveled back around, growling at those who neared him. I closed my eyes, feeling my chest become tighter. Breathe in. Each breath I took felt too short, too shallow. Hold. A loud thump came again, followed by a curse. Breathe out. Jacinta…her cries grew more distant, muffled—

A sudden gust of hot air blew strands of hair back from my face—hot air that smelled like…meat.

My eyes popped open.

Two nostrils I might be able to fit my hand inside were only a few feet from my face.

“Naberius,” Kolis shouted.

Thin lips vibrated, peeling back farther from those wicked teeth as the draken leaned in, close enough that I saw the strands of saliva clinging to his fangs.

Kolis yelled his name again. “Stand down. Now.”

It didn’t look like Naberius was about to do that as his breath ruffled the strands of my hair. A low rumble came from his throat once more.

Naberius looked like he was about to eat me.

I thought I should feel fear. Of all the ways to die, I imagined draken teeth tearing into flesh and crunching bone was likely a painful one. Regardless, I felt nothing but lingering confusion and disbelief. I didn’t even feel the embers.

As Diaval crept into the edges of my vision, Naberius…sniffed me.

The draken huffed out a breath that sent the top of my gown blowing back. Then he retreated, drawing his tail toward him.

“Come on,” Diaval growled in exasperation, jumping out of the way of the draken’s thick tail.

A different guard wasn’t as fast.

Naberius’s tail swept the legs right out from under him, knocking the god onto his back.

I blinked.

“Seraphena.” Attes’s quiet voice intruded, causing me to jerk. He stood close but didn’t touch me as Naberius’s head returned to the floor, and his eyes closed. “You should return to the dais.”

My gaze shifted back to Kolis as he reclined on the throne. “I…I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay,” Attes reassured, but it wasn’t okay. It was nowhere near all right. “You need to return to the dais.”

I didn’t feel myself walking, but I was. Attes stayed close to my side until I reached the platform. He remained there until I climbed the steps.

“Thank you, Attes,” Kolis said, his swirling eyes locked on Naberius.

Attes might have answered, but I wasn’t sure as the conversations picked up behind me, once more becoming a quiet murmur of voices.

“I don’t understand,” I repeated.

“About what? Naberius? He is old. Therefore, grumpy.”

“I’m not talking about the draken.”

Kolis’s gaze slid to mine. “Then what are you confused about?”

He couldn’t be serious. “Evander. He was hurting her.”

“He was,” Kolis answered.

“Why did she react that way then? She behaved as if—” I wheezed in a pained breath. “She behaved as if she cared for him. But that’s not possible. They weren’t known to each other. She didn’t like what he was doing to her.”

“And how do you know that?”

“You told me—”

“I did not tell you that.” Kolis’s head tilted, sending a lock of blond hair across his face.

“W-what?” I stammered, a wave of disbelief coursing through me. “You asked me what I would do if I knew—”

“I did ask what you would do if you knew someone’s consent was not obtained, but I did not say she was being forced.”

He had. My thoughts raced over our conversation. He’d named them and then said Evander knew how to feed and give pleasure, but he enjoyed pain. Then…then he’d said, “So now you know.”

He hadn’t explicitly said the god was forcing Jacinta.

I shook my head. “I saw her. She was in pain. She was crying.”

“Tears of pain? Or ones of pleasure?” Kolis asked. I opened my mouth. “Did you ask her? I assume not.”

Why would I ask her in front of the one hurting her? That was irrelevant anyway. “Why would I ask when you led me to believe—?”

“I didn’t lead you to believe anything, my dear,” Kolis cut in. “I asked what you would do in such a situation. You answered that you would shove a blade through their heart. I told you what I saw. You didn’t ask if they knew each other. You didn’t ask if she was in distress. You only asked about yourself and how your actions would affect you.”

I flinched.

“You, like my nephew and far too many others, hear what you want to hear. See what you want to see,” Kolis continued. “And then act upon what fits your narrative.”

“That’s not what happened,” I argued. He’d disregarded the entire context of our conversation leading up to that.

Kolis leaned forward. “That’s exactly what happened, so’lis. You filled in what I did not share. You chose to act upon that information and what you already believed. That was your choice.” His smile returned. “Perhaps you won’t be so trusting of what your eyes and mind tell you next time.”

As I stood there, I remembered the shock on Keella’s face. No. No. I looked around, not seeing her in the crowd. “What…whose Court did Evander—?” My voice cracked. “Where did he serve?”

Kolis dragged the edges of his fangs over his lower lip, and I knew. I fucking knew then. “He served in the Thyia Plains.”

Evander had been one of Keella’s gods.

My body flashed hot and then cold as the motivation behind what had just gone down became all too clear. It wasn’t about proving some twisted version of reality to me. It was Kolis striking back at Keella, who he likely knew didn’t believe a single thing he’d said about the coronation or my answer. And he’d proven it through me.

Just as he’d done with Kyn.

Callum went to Kolis’s side, bending to speak quietly to the Primal. I…

I just stood there.

I couldn’t believe what he’d just said. I knew what I’d heard. What I’d seen. Kolis may not have said that Jacinta was being forced, but he had implied it. He hadn’t insinuated that she was enjoying herself or that she derived pleasure from receiving pain. He’d told me what he believed I wanted to hear. What I…

What I would have easily assumed and had assumed moments before when I saw Malka and Orval. He’d known what I would do and had goaded me into it.

Into killing a possibly innocent god.

Into punishing Keella for daring to ask about me.

The weight of the dagger I still held felt even heavier then. I looked down. Blood no longer dripped, but it still smeared the midnight-hued blade. My knuckles around the hilt were as white as Jacinta’s had been.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze to Kolis. He still spoke to Callum, one hand relaxed on the arm of the throne that glittered like his crown, the other holding the chalice by his fingertips, letting it dangle. His legs were spread, knees loosely bent. He lifted an arm, brushing some hair back from his face. Warm light glinted off that band around his biceps. The false King was entirely at ease, the smile on his face slippery and smug.

In an instant, my memories took me back to when I’d stood before Thad. When the young draken had asked me to get it over with. I saw in Kolis now what I’d seen then.

What was in that golden essence of his—his power and beauty. A darkness that had nothing to do with death. It was the same thing I saw in his smile. The kind that was just as real as the lopsided, uncertain ones.

Something tainted.

Vile.

Corrupt.

It smudged the aura beneath his flesh and shaded the gold in the lifeless gray of the Rot.

The embers in my chest started thrumming violently. And like before, I was there, but I wasn’t alone.

I felt Sotoria.

I could feel the ancient power of the embers awakening and stretching. I felt the same entity I did before, entrenching itself deep in my bones. And I heard that voice in my thoughts that started as a whisper and became a scream. Mine. His stolen power. It was mine. The crown. Mine. His pain. It would be mine. Vengeance. Retribution. Blood. Mine. All of it would be mine.

But this time, I knew the entity was what the embers had shaped me into from birth. The voice wasn’t a spirit nor the ghosts of many lives.

It was my voice.

The entity was me.

Who I truly was.

And I was full of pure and primal rage. As my lips curved into a smile, I took a quiet and quick step toward Kolis.

“Your Majesty,” Attes called, his deep voice like a crack of thunder.

Kolis looked up, though not at me. He looked straight to where Attes stood at the foot of the dais. “Yes?”

“Is it time to start?” Attes asked as something white and gold filled my vision.

A chest covered in a white tunic and protected by golden armor—that the shadowstone dagger I held had begun to penetrate.

I looked up, finding Elias standing before me. My entire body jerked. Wordlessly, he took his dagger from my suddenly limp, cold hand.

“Sit,” he said quietly.

Trembling, I turned as if in a daze and sat. I stared forward, not seeing any of those before me. My gaze fixed on the ivory chair in the alcove. It was empty, with nothing but a stain of bluish-red blood on the back of the seat.

The numbness slowly faded, leaving only simmering anger as I stared at a heavily muscled beast about the size of a horse but shaped like a dog with skin the color of midnight oil.

A dakkai rested beside the steps leading to the dais, chewing on what looked suspiciously like someone’s leg bone. My lip curled. There was still meat on it.

I’d nearly had a heart attack when the thing first arrived and trotted across the dais. Kolis had only laughed, calling to it like one would a favorite hound. He’d even scratched the beast beneath the chin, avoiding the meaty leg bone jutting from either side of its mouth. The dakkai merely sniffed the air around me and then went to where he lay now as Kolis finally held Court.

It wasn’t like the kind Ash held in the Shadowlands or what I’d seen in Lasania. Nor did it consist of gods droning on about what was asked for or left as offerings at one of his Temples.

Yes, gods who called Dalos home came before the false King with requests. Some asked for permission to travel between Courts. Others wanted to enter the mortal realm. Kolis approved what they sought with an indifferent nod, appearing mostly bored with the proceedings.

Blowing out a ragged breath, I scanned the crowd below. I found Attes beyond the crush, his brows lowered and jaw set hard as he leaned against a pillar.

Shame prickled my skin. I didn’t even want to know what he thought about what I’d done. Or if Kyn had shared with him the second deal I’d made with Kolis. But as I stared at him, I thought about our conversation regarding Sotoria’s soul. Had he found something? There had to be. After all, there was The Star—the diamond taken from the Undying Hills the Arae intended to use in case they ever needed to hold the embers of a Primal if no Primal of Life could Ascend to replace one who’d fallen. Obviously, one of the Fates had foreseen what was to come but hadn’t seen that what they’d created would give Kolis the object he needed to transfer the embers.

Gods, that still ticked me off. But if The Star was powerful enough to hold embers, couldn’t it do the same for a mortal soul?

Kolis had the diamond. Somewhere.

But hadn’t he offered me jewels? More importantly, would he be idiotic enough to give me such a powerful item? Likely not, but it was worth a try.

Kolis’s movements snagged my attention. He sat straighter, his upper body tipped forward as he listened to the two gods who had approached the dais. The dakkai was gone. It must have wandered off at some point. I hadn’t been listening closely enough to pick up the gods’ names. My mind was far too consumed with thoughts of what I’d done. I couldn’t care all that much about what they had done. All I knew was that the one on the right was angry with the one on the left, over some sort of perceived insult.

“What would you like me to do, Amais?” Kolis asked.

“I want him punished,” the one on the right, who I assumed was Amais, demanded, jeweled rings glittering on his clenched hand. “Seir has insulted my honor.”

The other rolled amber-hued eyes that reminded me of others. “As if there is any honor left to be insulted.”

Despite my internal crisis, my brows lifted.

Amais spun on Seir, eather crackling from his fingertips.

“Cease,” Kolis ordered with a wave of his hand.

Nostrils flaring, Amais stepped back and faced the false King. “Your Majesty, something must be done about him.”

“Exactly what was this perceived insult?” Kolis asked, his fingers tapping on the arm of the throne.

One he shouldn’t be sitting on.

“It is most egregious, Your Majesty,” Amais said. “He insinuated that I’m a cheat.”

A dull ache pierced my temples as I glanced between the two gods. Seir wore brown breeches and a simple cream tunic. Meanwhile, Amais reminded me of one of the Lords of the Vodina Isles with his all-white attire and glittering, jeweled fingers.

“A cheat at what?” Kolis pressed.

Amais lifted his chin. “He accused me of cheating at a game of cards.”

“And what do you have to say to this, Seir?”

My lips parted on an inhale. Was this for real? Amais was here because the other had accused him of cheating at a game of cards, and Kolis was actually entertaining it? For gods’ sake, it was all so…mortal. No wonder I was getting a headache.

“He was cheating,” Seir answered with a shrug.

Amais’ hands fisted. “I have been your loyal servant since you Ascended as the Primal of Life.”

I believed he meant since Kolis killed to become the Primal of Life.

“Any insult, no matter how paltry,” Amais continued, “is an insult against you, Your Majesty.”

Well, that was an exaggeration.

“You have been loyal, Amais. Impressively so.” Kolis leaned back, his attention shifting toward the pillars. The unnamed draken I’d seen earlier, and the Revenant I suspected was Dyses, now stood with a veiled Chosen. “I wish I could say the same about you, Seir.”

My attention darted back to the gods before me. Seir had lost his casual stance, and Amais…

That god now smiled broadly enough to show fangs.

“I, too, am a loyal servant.” Seir’s golden skin had lost some of its luster.

“And yet you have not given my title the respect it deserves.”

That wasn’t true. Seir had called him Your Majesty and bowed upon approaching the dais. He just didn’t say it every five seconds like Amais did.

“Therefore, you shall become a reminder to all how unwise it is to have your loyalty called into question.” Kolis’s fingers stopped tapping.