Total pages in book: 362
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 347293 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1736(@200wpm)___ 1389(@250wpm)___ 1158(@300wpm)
My lips curved into a small smile as I met his glare. I didn’t look away when Ash drifted to the edge of the dais.
“You can go ahead and leave, Veses,” he said.
The Primal Goddess of Rites and Prosperity’s brows flew up. “So, that’s how this plays out? You’re not even going to ask for my support?”
I rolled my eyes.
“No,” he answered. “We already know where you stand, and even if you offered it, we don’t want it.”
She inhaled sharply. “Then why was I even summoned here? Other than you wanting to be graced by my presence?”
I rolled my eyes again.
“We wanted you to know what you could have had.” Ash’s smile sent chills down my spine. “Real freedom. No fear. True power. Now, you will have what you deserve. Nothing.”
Her chin dipped as eather flared in her eyes. “That was unnecessarily rude. I remember a time when you wouldn’t have—”
“You have no idea the effort it is taking for me not to fuck you up.” Essence throbbed hotly, rising with my anger. “So, do not finish whatever disgusting, twisted thing was about to come out of your mouth.”
Her arms unfolded, and her skin thinned again, showing a sheen of gray beneath. “And you have no idea what it’s taking for me not to do the same.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Attes whipped his head toward her. “You’re really going to threaten her?”
“Don’t try to reason with the dumb bitch,” Bele tossed out. “I want to see what happens if she tries something.”
Veses smirked, holding my stare. “I tried to talk some sense into you before. I warned you that you would regret not taking Kolis’s deal. What happened to your family is your fault.”
I stiffened.
“Leave,” Ash ordered. “Now.”
Veses huffed out a laugh and stepped back. Tendrils of mist gathered at her feet. “You all are making a mistake,” she cast out with a sharp slice of her hand. “You’ll see.”
“Veses?” I called out to her. Her narrowed gaze swept to mine. I gave her a smile. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”
The Primal goddess vanished with a hiss.
“Fates, I hate that bitch,” Bele muttered.
Maia laughed and smoothed her hands over her hips. “We are in perfect agreement there.”
“Kyn?” Ash said.
The Primal lifted his stare to the dais, smirking. I waited until his arrogant gaze met mine before I said, “You will die.”
The smile slipped from his face. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“You sound a lot like Kolis,” Phanos remarked.
“I said I would not rule like Eythos or Kolis. I will not be unnecessarily cruel or brutal,” I clarified. Remembering what Attes had said, I lifted my chin toward Kyn. “But I will not be forgiving to the point of foolishness. What you have done and the things you have aided in are abhorrent. We could never create real change with you at our side.”
Kyn’s eyes narrowed, and he swung his head toward Attes. “What do you have to say about that, brother?”
Attes didn’t turn around, and I knew what he said next must have hurt him. “I have no brother.”
“That’s how you feel?” Kyn sneered.
“That’s what you caused.”
Kyn’s flesh thinned, revealing swirling shades of silver underneath. Mist poured out of him as I held his glare. Some of the tension eased from Attes’s shoulders once he was gone.
Phanos’s gaze met mine and then shifted to Ash. “You’re right. We have all just been surviving,” he said. “But even on the off chance you can force Kolis to abandon his rule, he will not fall in line. You’re a fool if you believe that. He will seek vengeance against everyone who stood against him and those who even considered it.”
I tensed.
“I know you don’t want to hear that, or maybe you don’t like it, but even if Kolis is removed from Dalos, he will not simply go away. He will want retribution.”
I wanted to tell him that simply forcing Kolis out wasn’t our ultimate end goal, but instinct warned me to stay quiet.
“Kolis is too strong. He will fight back,” Phanos stated, and I glanced at Rhahar and Saion. Neither looked happy as the Primal continued. “And he’ll fight dirty.” His gaze flicked to me. “You already know that.” He exhaled heavily and lifted his chin. “I’m sorry, but I cannot swear fealty to either of you or lend my support.”
Bitter disappointment swelled, its weight nearly crushing. We were offering him a chance to rule equally and live without fear. How could he reject that? But I already knew the answer. Fear. All the Primals who remained, and even the two who had left, had borne the brunt of Kolis’s anger in the past.
“Then you will stand with Kolis?” Ash demanded, his voice a cold shadow that slipped over the floor and walls.
“I’d rather not stand with him either,” he replied.