“I… I must admit something to you.” The Blood Queen angled her body toward mine. The scent of roses reached me. “I never really had any intention of ruling Atlantia. I don’t need the kingdom. I don’t even want it. I just want to see it burn. Ended. I want to see every Atlantian dead.”
Casteel
She will die in your arms…
Millicent’s words kept cycling through my head. I hadn’t slept since she’d been here. I couldn’t stop thinking about who she was—what she’d shared. I couldn’t deny that she was Poppy’s sister. They looked too much alike. Hell, if the hair was the same color and Millicent had fewer freckles, they could almost pass as twins. And what she had said about Poppy? What she’d said I needed to do?
I growled low in my throat.
Fuck that.
Even if Poppy were powerful enough to wreak the kind of havoc Millicent had warned of, she would never do it. That kind of evil wasn’t in her.
Millicent might be Poppy’s sister, but I didn’t trust her. And I didn’t trust a damn thing that had come out of her mouth.
Footsteps echoed from in the hall, jerking my head up. Golden Boy entered. Alone. He carried no food or water with him.
“What in the hell do you want?” I snarled, my throat dry.
“I wanted to see how you were doing, Your Majesty.”
“Bullshit.”
He smiled, his facial paint and clothing so damn golden that he shone like a bulb of light. “You’re starting to look…not so well again.”
I didn’t need this jackass pointing out what I already knew. Hunger gnawed at my insides, and I swore I saw his pulse thrumming in his neck.
But the Rev just stood there, staring.
“Unless you’re here to tell me about the weather,” I drawled, “you can show yourself the fuck out.”
Callum chuckled. “Impressive.”
“Me?” I smirked. “I know.”
“Your arrogance,” he said, and a low rumble radiated from my chest as he stepped forward. His smile widened. “You’re chained to a wall, starved and filthy, unable to do anything to aid your woman, and yet you’re still so arrogant.”
Another growl clawed its way up my throat. “She doesn’t need my aid.”
“I suppose not.” He touched his chest. “She stabbed me yesterday. With my own dagger.”
A rough laugh left me. “That’s my girl.”
“You must be very proud of her.” He knelt slowly. “We’ll see how that changes.”
“It’ll never change,” I swore, my jaw throbbing. “No matter what.”
He studied me for a few moments. “Love. Such a strange emotion. I’ve seen it take the most powerful beings down,” he said. Millicent’s words knocked around in my head again. “I’ve seen it give others unbelievable strength. But out of all the many, many years I’ve lived, I’ve only seen love stop death once.”
“Is that so?”
Callum nodded. “Nyktos and his Consort.”
I stared at him. “You’re that old?”
“I’m old enough to remember the way things used to be. Old enough to know when love is a strength or a weakness.”
“Don’t really care.”
“You should. Because it’s a weakness for you.” Those pale, unblinking eyes were unsettling as hell. “You know how?”
My lips peeled back. “I bet you’re going to tell me.”
“You should’ve fed from her when you had the chance,” he said. “You’re going to regret not doing that.”
“Wrong.” I’d never regret not jeopardizing Poppy’s safety. Never.
“We’ll see about that, too.” The Rev held my stare for a long moment and then moved.
He was quick. I jerked back at the sight of a glint of steel. There was nowhere to go. My reflexes were shit—
Pain exploded in my chest, taking with it the air in my lungs in a fiery wave. A metallic taste immediately filled my mouth. I looked down to see a dagger deep in the center of my chest and red everywhere, coursing down my stomach.
I lifted my head, biting out, “Missed my heart, dumbass.”
“I know.” The Rev smiled, yanking the dagger free. I grunted. “Tell me, Your Majesty. What happens to an Atlantian when there’s no more blood coursing through their veins?”
The wound felt like it was on fire, but my insides were drenched in ice. My heart gave a sluggish lurch. Bloodlust. Complete and absolute. That’s what happened.