I wasn’t counting how many people I killed when Atrius and I tore through that castle. Maybe a dozen—maybe twice that, or three times, or four. It had been a long, long time since I had lost myself like this.
I’d forgotten how good it felt
Now I understood why Atrius fought as he did—no anticipation, just perfect awareness of his current moment. In the waves, nothing exists but the next move, the next strike, the next wound, the next body you yank your sword from—every one of them a justice long overdue.
We fought our way up the first flight of stairs, then another. Atrius’s men must have been following us by then, but I paid no attention to them if they were. Nothing existed to me, after all, but the man at the top of those stairs.
We found him, at last, on the top floor, in a small room full of grand things. The far wall was open, revealing the expansive view of the full moon hanging in the mist-soaked sky over the ocean. Aaves was a skinny, greasy man clad in ill-fitting silks. Even his presence was repulsive—full of desire and anger and pain and selfishness.
All of his bodyguards had already thrown themselves at us and died for it. There was no one left to save him.
The coward knew it, too. When we rounded the corner, he was kneeling on the ground, holding his dagger.
His head snapped up and his eyes went wide when he saw us approaching. For a moment he lifted the dagger with trembling hands, like he was considering using it as a weapon.
Fool.
I didn’t realize I’d laughed until Atrius glanced at me, like the sound made him see something he’d missed before.
And perhaps it made Aaves realize how foolish he was, too, because he then turned the blade on himself, pressing it to his own throat.
“Vampire scum,” he spat, though his voice wavered ever so slightly. “You don’t get the satisfaction of my death.”
I knew when the blade broke his skin, opening a trickle of blood down his wrinkled throat, what a mistake he’d just made.
Atrius scoffed. He raised his hand, his long stride unfaltering, and Aaves flung away the dagger as his limbs went rigid.
Behind us, Erekkus and the others had slowly filed into the room, exhausted and blood-drenched. They were all perfectly silent, their attention fixed on Atrius as he held Aaves in place.
I couldn’t look away, either.
“You think your death is a satisfaction?” he sneered.
A flick of his fingers, and Aaves’s body reeled toward Atrius as if dragged by an invisible grip. He was terrified, every muscle trembling, his mouth gaping but making no sound.
Atrius caught him at the entryway to the balcony, grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him to his feet. His eyes had turned red—deep, violent red, as if his soul was drowning in bloodlust.
“I’ve killed demigods,” he snarled. “Your death means nothing to me.”
And I didn’t so much as breathe as Atrius’s teeth closed around Aaves’s throat, ripping it out in one brutal movement, the blood spraying like flower petals over the marble floor.
Aaves let out one final agonized gurgle. Atrius spat a chunk of bloody flesh over the balcony into the sea, grabbed the diadem from Aaves’s head, and, in one more swift movement, pushed the body over the rail.
The room was full now with Atrius’s warriors. They were stoic, as if witnessing something religious.
Atrius turned to them and raised the diadem. Perhaps one might have expected this to be met with wild applause or cheers. It wasn’t. It wasn’t a celebration or a gloat. It was a gesture of acknowledgement: We have won.
Atrius shouted a command, and just as silently as they had filed into the room, his warriors turned and began to leave it.
For a long moment, Atrius stayed like that, the diadem raised, breath coming hard, watching his warriors depart.
Then he let the crown fall to the floor with a clatter, unsheathed his sword, and pointed it at my throat.
17
I raised my hands and backed up. I hadn’t yet caught my own breath—the adrenaline of the battle still pounded in my veins. And yet, there was something about having a sword shoved in your face by the most efficient killer you’ve ever met that immediately sobered a person.
“What did I do to deserve this?” I said.
“You lied to me.”
Atrius’s presence was impossible to read even at the best of times. Now, with my magic thoroughly exhausted, it was no use to even try.
“You got your victory,” I said.
“At a steep cost. This was not the right time to make this move.”
Ah, shit.
I forced down a strange tightness in my chest—nervousness, yes, but also an unexpectedly strong wave of guilt.