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Attes’s head swung sharply back toward the fallen god. “That’s impossible.”
“And I see none.” Nyktos steered me farther away from the fallen god. He looked at the other Primal. “Either his soul hasn’t left his body yet or he has none. I would know.”
“Yeah, you would.” Attes nudged the god’s leg. There was no reaction. “Intriguing.” He lifted his head, silver eyes flat. “We should be on our way.”
As we started forward, I glanced back at Dyses. The god was dead, but could he have truly been…soulless? I swallowed, thinking of what Gemma had said about some of the Chosen who’d disappeared and returned as something she’d never seen before.
U
“I see His Majesty has been doing some redecorating,” Nyktos commented as we walked into another courtyard that I was too afraid to check out.
“So it appears.” A muscle flexed along Attes’s jaw, a small reaction that seemed to speak volumes. “I’m not sure what sealed their fate, but I believe some were Chosen taken from a recent Rite.”
The breath I took scorched my lungs as I briefly closed my eyes.
Nyktos squeezed my hand, saying nothing as Attes led us under a heavily flowered breezeway, the sweet floral scent and pale pink-and-purple beauty of the blooms completely at odds with what I’d witnessed.
“Were you summoned here?” Nyktos asked as we passed the smooth sandstone walls of several bungalows.
“Kyn was.” Attes glanced at Nyktos. “So, I decided to join him.”
Something passed between the two Primals as Attes refocused on the winding pathway. “Hanan is also here. Whether he was summoned or not, I do not know.”
Unease stirred even stronger, but Nyktos only smirked. “And why is it that you decided to join us?”
Attes stepped in front of one of the bungalows. “I was hoping to see Sera.”
Nyktos slowly turned his head to the other Primal as eather crackled in the air around his eyes.
I sighed. “I think you find some perverse pleasure in irritating Nyktos.”
“I have many perverse pleasures,” Attes admitted. “But I wanted to make sure you remembered what I told you when we first met.” His steps slowed. “That while I found your sharp tongue to be refreshing, and even alluring,” he said, his cool silver eyes meeting mine, “others will not. Especially those you will find here at Cor Palace.”
Within the shadowy alcoves lining the gold-adorned halls leading to the atrium, individuals, partly clothed and fully nude, engaged in every sexual act imaginable—and some I hadn’t even considered—both alone and in groups. I didn’t look close enough to tell if they were all gods or not, because…good gods, there was a lot happening everywhere if the moans and gasps echoing around us were anything to go by.
Neither Nyktos nor Attes appeared all that bothered or even aware of the flashes of bare limbs and glistening skin beneath gilded ceilings, leaving me to wonder exactly how common this was.
“When did you arrive?” Nyktos asked as I worked to keep my gaze away from the plated columns lining the entrances of the alcoves and only on the golden, brocaded curtains at the end of the hall.
“Only a few hours ago,” Attes answered, his eyes slightly squinted. “You likely won’t be surprised to hear this, but Kyn is already deep in his cups.”
Nyktos smirked. “Not even remotely.”
“Is anyone else here?” I asked. I didn’t say her name, but I felt Nyktos’s gaze on me.
“No other Primal that I’m aware of. My presence alone more than makes up for their absence.” He sent me a quick, teasing grin.
I rolled my eyes, relieved to learn that Veses was absent, but worried that Nyktos might just remove at least one vital organ or piece of Attes by the time we were finished here.
The embers thrummed faintly as the golden curtains parted ahead. My heart kicked around in my chest. The space beyond was a large, circular chamber, but not one I would necessarily call an atrium. Deep couches and settees sat at the foot of thick swaths of material which appeared to cover the windows lining the walls, and the ceiling above looked to have been painted over by…gold.
My gaze immediately went across the chamber to the raised, columned dais between two closed archways. Gold curtains were tied back to the columns, revealing a throne trimmed in what appeared to be diamonds and…gold.
I was begi
I noticed the atrium was not empty. A tall, dark-haired male stood to the right of the dais with his back to us as he spoke to someone I couldn’t see. He was dressed like Attes and Nyktos—dark leathers and a sleeveless tunic. A silver cuff adorned his upper biceps. He had a cup in his hand, half-full of a dark, amber liquid.
“Hanan,” Nyktos advised under his breath, dipping his head toward mine.
My stomach felt like it was full of serpents as I gave a short nod. There were others in the atrium, spaced throughout, resembling the guards we’d passed—fully armored and faces painted gold.
Nyktos guided us to a settee to the left, as far as possible from the guards. He sat, pulling me into the space between his legs. I went stiff for half a second before I remembered why he’d positioned me so. I relaxed against his chest, keeping my expression blank.
Attes arched a brow. “I must locate my brother,” he said, glancing back to the very…active hall we’d traveled through. “Before he gets himself into some sort of predicament I’m likely to find displeasing.”
“Attes?” Nyktos stopped the other Primal as he folded his arm across my waist. “Why did you kill Kyn’s guards?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Attes’s shoulders went rigid as I remembered them speaking about Kyn’s guards when Attes had come to tell us that the coronation would need to be delayed. “They were taking young ones years out from entering their Culling to their encampments,” he said, and a rumble of disapproval radiated from Nyktos and against my back. “It wasn’t to keep them safe, so I gutted them and then ended them.”
The Primal then bowed before pivoting on his heel. I watched him leave the atrium, the curtains settling back into place behind him.
“Were you not expecting that answer?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t have a few months ago,” he said, stretching out one leg as I kept mine tucked between his.
I turned my head toward his, speaking as quietly as he had. “Did it seem like Attes was…looking out for me?”
He nodded as he glanced over the atrium. The eather had subdued in his eyes, but his gaze remained alert. “It did—does.”
“So maybe you can stop threatening to rip out his eyes?” I suggested. “He could be a…friend.”
“Then he should stop looking at you like he wants to taste you.”
My brows shot up on my forehead. “First off, he was not looking at me like that.”
“That is the only way he looks at you.”
“And even if he was, you have no right to be jealous,” I reminded him.
“Agreed. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am, and that Attes will inevitably find himself having to regenerate his eyes.” He turned his head to our left.
A door near the dais opened, and a woman walked out carrying a tray of glasses. She had her tightly curled hair swept back from her face, and her painted mask shimmered against the cool, black tones of her complexion. My attention shifted to the body-length garment—a loosely fitted peplos gown made of a nearly transparent material. Golden bangles were stacked on her slender arms from her wrists to her elbows.