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“You’re probably right.” Rhain inclined his head. His eyes appeared more gold than brown as they tracked me in the glow of the wall sconces. “But trusting you…”
I muttered a curse. Bad word choice on my part. I kept pacing, even faster now, the skin on the back of my neck tight. Nyktos’s speech obviously hadn’t had that much of an impact on Rhain, and that left me a little sad. Rhain had been all smiles before, less guarded and friendly.
“You should trust her,” Ector chimed in. His eyes were still closed, but apparently, he hadn’t been sleeping. “Besides what she tried last night for us—for all of us—that Cimmerian was gu
“I don’t need his gratitude,” I said before Rhain could say something that would likely irritate me further.
“Well, you have mine.” Ector opened his deep amber eyes.
“And mine,” Rhain grumbled. “Thank you.”
I snorted.
“That sounded as if it pained you.” Ector shot him a look I couldn’t even begin to decipher.
“It did. A little.” A muscle ticked along his jaw as he glanced at Ector. “What? Why are you looking at me like I’m being an ass?”
I arched a brow, for once keeping my mouth shut.
“Maybe because you’re being an ass,” Ector responded. “To the person who had your back out there. Who has had all our backs. Who also carries the embers—”
“I think he gets the point,” I interrupted. Ector’s defense surprised me, even with Nyktos’s speech. I’d had no idea where I stood with him. Then again, I hadn’t known before. Ector was an…odd one, joking one moment and somber the next. He was also far older than Nyktos, having known Eythos and Mycella fairly well, which I guessed played a role in why Nyktos had sent him to watch over me while I’d been in the mortal realm, along with the godling, Lathan.
“You’re coming at me?” Rhain demanded, taken aback. “In her defense? She plans—”
“Pla
“Does your change of heart erase the intentions that came before that?” Rhain challenged. “Does ru
“I didn’t say it did.”
“It doesn’t. No matter what you supposedly pla
“Rhain,” Ector warned.
I stopped pacing. “What has he sacrificed for me?”
“Other than his sense of security in his own home?” Rhain spat.
“Other than that,” I demanded.
“Nothing,” Ector said, rising. “Rhain is just being overdramatic. He’s prone to being so.”
My eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“It comes from a good place,” Ector reasoned, going to Rhain’s side. He placed a hand on the god’s shoulder. “She’s not the enemy at the end of the day. You should know that. But if you don’t, all you have to do is go back out onto the Rise and look at the lives lost.”
Rhain looked away as the a
The doors flew open, stopping midway as if invisible servants had caught them before they slammed into the walls. A ripple of icy-hot energy tore into the office first, tickling my skin.
“Daddy Nyktos is not happy,” Ector murmured.
No, he was not.
“At least it’s not in response to something we did.” Rhain looked pointedly in my direction with a raise of his brows.
“This time,” Ector added.
Nervous energy buzzed through me as Nyktos blew into the office with the force of a storm. Swirling, silver orbs locked on me as he crossed the room, unsheathing his swords.
“Did I not tell you to remain inside?” Nyktos stopped in front of me, slamming the swords down on the desk behind me. “To not push me on that?”
“You did.”
His chin dipped. “And yet you did exactly what I asked you not to do and went out onto the Rise, risking not only your life but also Saion’s.”
“You didn’t ask that of me. You demanded that of me.”
“Same thing.”
“It absolutely is not the same thing, and how did I risk Saion’s life? He chose to follow me—”
“He had no choice in the matter, as he was tasked with keeping you inside,” he said. Over his shoulder, I saw Rhain and Ector steadily slinking toward the doors. “He’s lucky I’m not in the habit of punishing another for someone else’s misdeeds.”
Frustration rose, joining the anxious hum. “The only one committing misdeeds at this moment is you.”
Nyktos’s brows flew up. “I ca
Right then, something shifted from deep within that crack. Something absolute. I didn’t reach for the veil of nothingness as a raw, volatile mix of anger and determination pounded through me. “From the moment I learned that I no longer had to answer to a duty I never had a choice in accepting, I became my own person. Someone who gets to make their own choices. I will not be ordered about and told what I can and ca
Nyktos withdrew, taking several steps back. The wisps of eather slowed in his eyes, evoking a small change in the cold set of his features. A tense silence followed until he said, “One of you please retrieve a bowl of clean water and a cloth for me. The other needs to leave.”
“You know, I think I’ll get that stuff for you and then make myself…scarce.” Rhain backed up, grabbing Ector’s arm. “Come, be scarce with me.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” Ector pivoted. “He’s got the scary face again.”
He kind of did.
Nyktos waited until we were alone. “Someone has to worry about something happening to you since you don’t. You never do.” Nyktos took a measured step forward. “You want to make choices no matter the risks? The problem with that is you don’t ever think about those risks. Or the consequences.”
“That is not—” I sucked in a sharp breath. Nyktos was suddenly standing no more than a foot from me. “Can you not do that?”
“Why?” He stared down at me, the wisps of eather growing brighter in his eyes again. “Don’t tell me it scares you.”
“It doesn’t scare me. It just a
His lips twisted into a tight smile. “Of course, not. You don’t have the instinct that warns most when they’re in grave danger.”
“Not true.” I started to cross my arms, but the tug on the wound along my waist stopped me. “My instincts work completely fine. Earlier they warned me that you’d be angry with my decision to go out onto the Rise.”
His eyes narrowed into thin, glowing slits. “Have you ever tried, oh, I don’t know? Listening to it? Valuing your life?”
“I’ve never really had the opportunity to do so, now, have I?” I snapped.
Nyktos went completely still, all except his eyes. A long moment passed, and I wished I had his ability to read emotions, to gain some sort of insight into what he was feeling or thinking. He turned then, walking stiffly to the credenza and picking up a crystal decanter full of amber liquid. “I know I said this before, but I mean no offense when I say you don’t value your life,” he said, pouring a glass, stopping, and then pouring a second. “It’s truly not meant to be an insult.”