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, pinning one arm to her and the other to his chest. His other hand gripped her breast as she jerked, her body moved by the one surging under her. For a second, I didn’t see her. Or him. I saw me. I saw Kolis. The side of my neck smarted.
“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-skinned, but whatever pink there was in his flesh vanished. I wasn’t sure what he saw in my eyes or if he saw anything at all. Maybe his reaction was because he recognized me as the one who’d been on the dais.
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.
Naberius’s tail slid across the tile. Muscles along the draken’s face clenched, then one vibrant red eye with slanted pupils opened. His head lifted as the scaled skin below his nostrils vibrated and pulled back. A row of thick, sharp teeth appeared, and a low snarl hit the air.
A buzzing sound started in my ears as I turned back to Jacinta, the hum increasing with each staggered heartbeat. I took a step back as she pressed her shaking hands to the god’s chest, over the wound. I wanted to tell her that it was too late for that, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I couldn’t process what I was seeing. He’d been hurting her. Kolis had said…
A wave of chills swept down the back of my head and neck. Shimmering blood dripped from the shadowstone blade I held as I kept backing up, looking around, my gaze now as wild as Jacinta’s had been. I saw Attes first. The scar running from his hairline and across the bridge of his nose and left cheek stood out starkly. His jaw was clenched, eyes sheltered. Keella had her hand pressed over her heart, her normally warm brown skin ashen. Pressure settled on my chest as my gaze skipped over the hard lines of Kyn’s features before moving to the dais.
Kolis smiled, then lifted his chalice. Even from where I stood, I saw that this smile was different. It was like the one he’d worn when he ordered me to kill Thad. It was the same cruel lift of lips.
“Will someone please assist with dear Jacinta before Naberius does it himself?” Kolis instructed, lowering his chalice to the arm of the throne as my gaze darted to the draken. He’d risen slightly on his forelegs and peered into the alcove. “And remove Evander from our presence.”
Every muscle in my body tensed as I stood there. Guards came forward. Naberius’s head swiveled back around, growling at those who neared him. I closed my eyes, feeling my chest become tighter. Breathe in. Each breath I took felt too short, too shallow. Hold. A loud thump came again, followed by a curse. Breathe out. Jacinta…her cries grew more distant, muffled—
A sudden gust of hot air blew strands of hair back from my face—hot air that smelled like…meat.