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Nyktos’s fingers halted, and seconds ticked by—moments filled with the knowledge that we knew he hadn’t Ascended Bele. And that whatever stood beside him wasn’t quite right. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Attes glance at the guards, and I wondered if he was thinking what I—and likely Nyktos—was.
How many of these guards were ones reborn under Kolis—a Primal who shouldn’t be able to restore life?
“Both of you seemed surprised to see Dyses alive and well.” Kolis glanced between Attes and Nyktos. “Have you two shared the same concerns as Hanan?”
“I have not seen you bestow the honor in a long time, Your Majesty.” Attes shrugged. “It’s just a surprise to see you do such a thing.”
Kolis nodded, then his attention shifted to Nyktos. That smile of his deepened, tightened. “And you?”
“It is unlikely that Hanan and I share any concerns,” he replied smoothly. “I, too, am surprised for the same reasons as Attes. And for the dakkais you sent to my lands shortly after the energy was felt.”
A shiver tiptoed down my spine as I braced myself.
Kolis leaned forward, letting a hand drop over the arm of the throne. The crown glimmered as brightly as the sun. “Why would you think those two things are related?”
“They’re not?”
“No.”
“Bad timing, then?”
“Yes, bad timing.” Kolis’s head tilted in a…a serpentine ma
I stilled.
So did Nyktos.
That was bullshit, and I doubted that Nyktos believed him. I wasn’t even sure Kolis thought we believed him. Unease ratcheted up. This felt like a game where the rules were kept hidden.
“You know what happens when I’m displeased, especially with you.” Kolis’s voice slipped and slithered across the atrium, coating my skin in oil. “And yet it seems you take great joy in doing so. I have been so very tolerant, but you disrespected me, and that ca
“I know,” Nyktos said, and that was all he said. Fear, cold and hard, bolted through me.
“It was my fault,” I blurted, heart seizing as Attes’s head swung in my direction.
“Sera,” Nyktos hissed, straightening as he grasped my hips like he fully pla
“No.” Kolis rose. “I want to hear what she has to say.” Those golden, churning eyes fixed on me. “How is it your fault?”
“I…” I swallowed, my heart thumping as my thoughts raced. “He didn’t seek your permission because I asked him not to.”
“That is not true,” Nyktos growled.
“Yes, it is,” I argued, scooting forward as far as I could go as Kolis’s gaze flicked between us. “You see, I feared—”
“Me?”
“No,” I quickly denied, willing my heart to slow. “I have no reason to fear you.”
Kolis came to the edge of the dais, glided to it, and those tendrils of eather spilled onto the marble.
“I feared that you’d find me unworthy. I am just a godling. And Nyktos, your nephew”—I choked on the word, widening my eyes—“he is the Primal of Death. Surely, many gods are far more worthy than I.”
Kolis said nothing as he stared down at us.
“We truly didn’t think it would be a cause for concern because Nyktos did believe you to be too busy for such things. But it was I who was the cause, and I am deeply regretful.” Icy anger pressed against my back, and I knew I would never hear the end of this—that was if Kolis didn’t strike me down right here. But I couldn’t allow him to punish Nyktos. I wouldn’t. “I hope that I can be forgiven and am able to prove that I can be worthy of such honor and graciousness.”
Kolis remained silent for long enough that I began to feel pressure creeping into my chest. But then a slick smile appeared. “You are…brave, Seraphena, to admit such a thing to me, the King. That alone would make you most worthy. But I will have you prove yourself to me.”
Nyktos suddenly had me on my feet, then was standing before me. “If anyone needs to prove their worthiness, it is I.”
“I am sure there will be other ways for you to do so in the future. But if you want my permission to take her as your Consort”—the mask faded from around his eyes and churned down his cheeks—“she must earn it in the same ma
“I can do that,” I said, not letting myself think about what ma
Kolis looked at Kyn. “Did you bring what I asked?”
My gaze swung to the Primal of Peace and Vengeance. Kyn leaned over, half-sitting up as Attes frowned. “Yeah,” the Primal replied gruffly. “In the hall.”
Kolis snapped his fingers, and two guards peeled away from the walls, disappearing behind the curtain.
“Fuck,” Attes uttered under his breath, turning to face the dais. His eyes closed, and my stomach…dropped.
“It should be—” Nyktos started.
“I command silence,” Kolis interrupted. “Do not disobey me, Nyktos. It will not be you who suffers.”
Nyktos’s hands clenched at his sides as he held himself still, and my stomach kept pitching, falling.
The guards returned with a…a young male. One a few years younger than me. He was fair-haired like Reaver and pale of skin, soft in the face. My heart pounded fast as he lifted his chin, and I saw…
Crimson eyes.
A draken.
A draken, who would still be considered a youngling.
“How do you pay the price of disrespect, Nyktos?” Kolis asked.
The Primal stared at me, his chest rising and falling in short, shallow bursts. And my heart…it wasn’t slowing down. “With a life.”
Oh, gods.
My hands started to tremble as I stared at the young draken. He couldn’t mean…
No. No.
Kolis couldn’t have summoned Kyn to bring one of his younger draken with him just to be slaughtered. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be the price Kolis demanded.
But wasn’t that what he’d done so many times that Nyktos’s flesh was riddled with those reminders, those warnings?
Still, I heard myself whisper, “I don’t understand.”
Kolis inclined his head. “A life is owed to me to pay for the dishonor.”
“But he…” I gestured at the draken, swallowing. “What has he done?”
“Nothing,” Kyn bit out.
My wide gaze swung to the young draken. He stared straight ahead, his lips pressed firmly together, ruby eyes clear. He did not speak. He did not blink. He did not cry.
“Pay the price,” Kolis said as Kyn withdrew a slender dagger. The dark blade trembled in the Primal’s hand. “And both you and Nyktos will be forgiven. You will have my permission.”
I shook my head as I stared at the shadowstone, horror clawing and scraping its way through me. “And if I…if I don’t?” I asked. Nyktos turned to me, his face bloodless. “You will refuse the coronation?”
“He will kill me instead,” the draken spoke then as he looked up at the false King. “And then he’ll kill you. But not before he summons a draken from the Shadowlands to also be killed.”
Kolis chuckled softly. “I detect no lies.”
I choked on my gasp. “There has to be another option—”
“He spoke the only other option,” Kolis snapped, appearing on the floor within the blink of an eye. The eather around him spun. “Refuse me, Seraphena, and I will do exactly as he warned.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised. Not a single part of me. Not when I’d been warned there were things that Kolis could make us do. Things that would haunt us. But no matter what had been said or what Aios had told me, nothing could’ve prepared me for this. This was something I couldn’t even comprehend.
“Why? Why this?” I whispered hoarsely, my heart thumping. “What do you gain from this?”
Where was the balance in this?