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)
Veses was lying straight through her pearly white teeth and fangs.
Surprise flickered through me, then faded in sudden understanding. Veses had sensed the embers of life and had come at me, believing that Kolis would be enraged that Ash had hidden me. As much as it killed me to admit it, she had been trying to protect Ash from Kolis’s wrath.
I’d hated acknowledging it before, but Veses cared for Ash in her own twisted way. The fact that she would lie now was further proof of her desire for him, fueled simply by the fact that she could not have him. And it had actually grown into some sort of fondness.
Yet she supposedly wanted Kolis.
Who didn’t want her.
I smirked.
“Traitors? The realm seems to be filled with them these days,” he remarked. “And what has happened to these traitors?”
“They have been dealt with but were questioned first. That is what occupied my time. I wanted to make sure their plotting did not extend into other Courts,” she lied—so damn smoothly. “Some were reluctant to talk, but in the end, I’m confident no others were involved.”
“Well, it is a relief to hear that a coup has ended before I even became aware of it,” he remarked. “You are such a dutiful servant.”
Veses stiffened, having heard what I did: a hardening in his warm tone.
“Yet you somehow still managed to fail me,” he tacked on.
Veses’ delicate, pale brows furrowed. “Failing you is the last thing I will ever do.”
She actually sounded like she meant that.
Kolis’s fingers kept tapping. “But you did.”
I glanced to where I’d last seen Attes. Another god now occupied the pillar the Primal had been leaning against. I scanned the alcove as my heart kicked against my ribs. I didn’t see him.
Pressing my lips together, I refocused on Veses. I wasn’t sure if the other gods were paying attention. More drinks had arrived. Some of them were the purple radek wine, and there was a lot more…activity in the alcoves. Phanos was paying attention, though. He watched the drama play out with a bemused expression.
“Then I apologize for however I have failed you,” Veses said.
“You apologize before asking how you’ve failed me?” Kolis chuckled, and the sound caused tiny bumps to spread across my skin.
Veses’ throat worked on a swallow as she smoothed her hands across the waist of her gown. I had no clue what Kolis was getting at, but it was clear that she was treading into dangerous waters. Her nervousness bled into the air.
“How have I failed you, Your Majesty?” she asked, her gaze flicking to me.
That didn’t pass Kolis by. “Do you recognize her?”
“I’m not sure,” she said.
“She lies,” I said, unsure why as her stare shot back to me. I smiled.
Actually, I was lying to myself now. I knew exactly why I’d spoken up. Veses wasn’t just lying to protect Ash. She was also safeguarding herself. After all, the deal she’d made with Ash was to keep my existence unknown to Kolis in exchange for Ash allowing her to feed from him.
“Do tell,” Kolis murmured.
It would’ve been wise of me to keep quiet. Exposing Veses could expose Ash, but my pettiness and spitefulness had their claws in me. “She saw me in the Shadowlands.”
“Really?” Kolis drew out the word.
“More than once,” I confirmed. “The first time was shortly after I arrived.”
Veses inhaled sharply, and my smile kicked up a notch.
“Interesting.” Kolis’s chest brushed my back as he leaned forward. “What task did I entrust you with?”
Her lower lip quivered. “Keeping an eye on Nyktos.”
My entire body flashed hot. This was new.
“And how well have you been keeping an eye on him? No—” Kolis held up a hand. “Don’t answer. It’s obvious to me that it’s not nearly close enough.”
Unfortunately, he was wrong about that.
“You were aware of her presence in the Shadowlands, yet you did not share that information with me,” he said. “Why is that?”
Better yet, why was he even asking that question? He’d known about me long before Veses ever did.
“I…I didn’t think her presence mattered.” Her upper lip curled. “She was just some mortal.”
“You are so incredibly wrong in your assumptions.” Kolis’s voice rumbled with excitement.
He was enjoying himself.
That was why he was asking irrelevant questions. It was a game to him, inquiring about things he knew one could be backed into a corner with if they weren’t careful enough with their answers. Just as he’d enjoyed manipulating me into killing Evander, he derived pleasure from the power he wielded as the King—power over me and the other Primals and gods.
“I know you haven’t been able to sense Ascensions in quite some time,” Kolis continued. “I find it hard to believe that you could not sense what is within her when you were keeping such a close eye on Nyktos. When you were aware of Primal energy being used.”