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“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-ski
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 ma
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, pi
“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-ski
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.