Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Kyn circled Veses. A low-backed chair slid across the floor as if tethered to the Primal by an invisible string. He shoved Veses toward it. She bent over it, her face shielded by all those golden curls.
Kyn approached her, planting a hand on the center of her back and drawing it down. Someone hooted. Another catcalled. This time, it was I who flinched with every sound that came from those watching.
No one deserved this.
Kyn gripped the sides of her gown—
“Stop!” I shot to my feet, breaking Kolis’s hold. Everything stopped. The sounds. The jeers. Kyn’s hands. “Stop this now—”
“You,” Veses spat, having moved faster than I could track. Standing upright now and facing the dais, she pointed her finger at me as if she were about to curse me with misfortune. The flesh of her beautiful face had thinned, exposing a dull gleam of red similar to her crown. “You will not interfere on my behalf. It is not needed.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “This—”
“Nor wanted.” Veses’ eyes burned with the same silver fire that flared inside me.
“So’lis,” Kolis spoke quietly as onlookers shifted their attention to the newest drama unfolding. “Exactly what are you doing?”
Chest thrumming, I turned to him. “This isn’t right.”
Kolis stared back at me, his features impassive.
My hands shook. “Please stop this.”
His fingers had ceased their tapping. “And if I don’t?”
The embers pulsed more intensely inside me, pressing against my skin. “You will.”
His chest stopped moving.
“Because this is wrong.” I took a deep breath. “Because stopping it is the right thing to do.”
A long, tense moment passed, and then Kolis rose, drawing the attention of his guards and Callum. He didn’t speak until he reached my side. “It’s time to return to your quarters.”
“Stop this first—”
“Silence,” he hissed, his fingers curling around my jaw as his will snapped out, wrapping around me and sinking deep, seizing control. “We will return to your quarters, and do so in silence.”
A silent scream of fury thundered in my head as I glared at him. I started to push against the compulsion, fueled by rage and ancient instinct—
Golden swirls erupted across his chest as a faint mist seeped out from somewhere under him. “Do not even think it.”
The embers continued to swell, goading me to do more than just think it. They wanted me to act upon the rage and power building inside me.
“Your Majesty?” Phanos interrupted.
“What?” Kolis bit out, his gaze never leaving mine.
“I assume Court has ended for the evening,” he said as, from the sides of my vision, I saw others peeling away from the shadows of the alcoves, some in states of disarray, their clothing wrinkled and hair tangled as they crowded around Veses and Kyn. “But I need to speak with you.”
The mist faded around Kolis. “I have something I must take care of first. Then, I will return.”
“Of course,” Phanos remarked, his tone indecipherable. “I’ll be waiting.”
Chest rising and falling rapidly, I seethed as Kolis released my chin and took my hand. He guided me toward the doors we’d entered through, Kyn’s laugh echoing in the Hall.
“What did I tell you?”
Kolis towered over me as we stood in the cage, his nostrils flared. I couldn’t answer. His compulsion still had me in its grip.
But I didn’t think he wanted an answer.
“I warned you not to question me, and within the hour, you not only did so again, but also in a very public manner.” Golden swirls raced across his face at dizzying speed. “I warned you not to use the essence, and you did so twice in the same span of time.”
Damn it.
He had felt it.
“I can see it even now.” He grasped the sides of my face, tilting my head back. “The essence that does not belong to you, fueling your stubbornness. Your temper. I deserve neither of those things from you.”
I would’ve laughed if I could have.
“I defended you against Veses’ insults, and you proceeded to interfere with her punishment,” he said, angling his body to the side. Beyond him, I saw Callum. He paced silently. “And this is how you repay me? With disobedience and ungratefulness?”
My gods, he was…he was demented.
“You repay me by siding with the woman who would have my cock in her mouth in five seconds if I allowed it?” His eyes were wide. “Have you no honor?”
I could not believe what I was hearing.
The fury faded from his features, from his voice. His eyes slammed shut. “Why did you have to disobey me? Not once. Not twice. But three times.” A shudder ran through him. “I had such high hopes for today. Plans.”
So fucking demented.
“I wanted to show you all I was capable of.” His voice dropped, his eyes opening. The glow behind his pupils was almost too bright to look upon. “I wanted to show you what I’m risking for you.”