LadyLovatiapractically clung to his other side, “Oh,EmperorHadeon, since we are celebrating theSolstice, please, please tell us about your battle with theWorldBreaker.Abouthow you savedXyr!”Atthat,IsawHadeon’sgaze twist over the heads of the crowd for just a moment.Ilooked where his eyes fell and sawAbraxas, engaged with a few nobles of his own.
Hisface changed to one of annoyance for just a moment, but he quickly regained himself. “MyLady,Ihave quite the surprise for you later,Iwouldn’t want to spoil it with a story you have all heard before.”
LadyLovatiapractically buzzed in excitement, “Oh, you must tell us what it is!”
Hadeon’sgrip on my arm tightened, andIfelt it tingle as he laced his power through it.Helocked his eyes on mine, “Oh,Idon’t think so.Youknow your emperor loves a great reveal.”Lovatiawas still muttering something, butHadeonhad me locked in his gaze, andIsaw absolutely nothing but cruelty.
“Ihave never heard the story;Iwould love to know why you decided to kill theDragonMalech.”Thechatter around us died as ifIhad just uttered a great insult.Hadeon’sface twisted.
“Why?TosaveAdimos, of course.Whowould stand against theBreakingof our world if not me, the last fae with magic?”
“Whoindeed?Andhow did you do it?”
Hescoffed, “Niatatruly was a wasteland if you haven’t heard the tale.”
Ilet his insult roll off, “Iwould prefer to hear it from you,YourEminence.”
Westood at an impasse, but then the band struck up a lively tune, and he used that as an excuse.Ashe dragged me to the dance floor,Iheard him whisper in my ear, “Ifall the old gods are dead, who are the new gods?”
Ihad avoided dancing at any gathering thus far, but it seemed my reprieve was over.Hadeonswept me into a dance thatIvery much didn’t know.Idid my best to mimic whatIsaw around me, butHadeondidn’t lead me so much as shove me around, andIwas tripped constantly.Iwas already losing this battle.WhenIwasn’t watching my feet,Ionly saw his nefarious smile grow.Thesong ended, andItried to push away from him, but he slung his arm around my waist, pulling me up against him as an even faster song began.
Don’toverthink it,Tori.Youcan do this.Istopped trying to dance, and instead just shuffled my feet along to the beat and found that at leastIwasn’t tripping now.Hadeon’ssmile only grew. “Ihad heard such good things about you,Princess, that you are a delight to have in court these last few weeks.Myguess is no one has seen you dancing.”
“I’mstill learning the steps,YourEminence.Forgivemy clumsiness.”
Hiswicked smile turned into a frown. “Noneed to play nice anymore,Princess.Iwas hoping for some entertainment tonight.”
“I’mafraidIdon’t know what you mean,YourEminence.Isthis not how a princess should treat the emperor?”
Hesnagged my chin between his fingers, his nails cutting into my skin, “Howvery disappointing it would be to find that you have turned into this simpering, weak thing so quickly.Howvery similar to your dearly departed mother.”
Withoutthinking,Isnapped at him, trying to snag his fingers between my teeth.Hejerked away, but that smile laced with cruelty returned to his face.
“Oh, there you are, my little hellcat.Finally, we can have some fun.”Heran his hand over my back, pulling me even tighter to him. “Ialways did enjoy the fashion here.”Hisfingers landed on the metal chain of my underwear, andIfelt a jolt as he sent lightning dancing over it.Itlanded directly on my clit, andIstumbled at the extremely intense sensation.Hadeonloosed that cruel laugh, just like he had in my father’s throne room.Ittook every ounce of my control not to slap him across the face.ButIwas done hiding.
“Whathave you done toJun?”Iwas sure my hatred was plastered all over my face.Helaughed again, even more wicked.
“Sucha ferocious little thing.Noforeplay it seems.”Heraked his fingers through my hair, pulling my face right up against his. “Yourbrother has been well cared for in my court, asIpromised.Idon’t think you will have much chance to talk tonight, since you will be with me, but if you did,I’msure he would tell you that it has been quite pleasurable.”Ihad to choke back the bile in my throat.
“Youwill not touch him.”Ithrew it at him like acid.
“Oh, darling,Ithink you will findIcan do whateverIwant.Andsomeone as small as you certainly wouldn’t be able to stop it.”Helaced his words with his magic, and it flayed over my skin.IsworeIcould smell my flesh burning as the pain rippled over me.Buthe left no marks.Mybody seized, andIfell out of whatever dance stepIhad managed to maintain up until that point and crashed into him, my face much too close to his, “Butyou could be so much more.”Ishoved off him.
“Youhate me so,Princess.ButIwonder,” he pulled me up tight against his body again as the dance continued, “do you feel the same about your warden?”Helooked over my shoulder and then turned me soIcould seeAbraxas, dancing with another lady of his court. “HeandI, we are the same, you know.Idid so enjoy watching him conquerNiata.Quiteruthless, isn’t he?Didyou know it was his idea to bring the trebuchets?Hesaid a fast and devastating attack would destroy morale.Makeit easier to decimate the army.”Ishook my head as the words bubbled up,Heis nothing like you.WhatwasIthinking, of course he was.Theywere both monsters bound by nothing but their own desire for power.
Peoplethink they want sex and power, but it’s always more than that.Icouldn’t reconcileAbraxaswith the man who had held me in the hallway, that dangerous emotion in his eyes.
Ihad first seen them together, side-by-side.Hadeonthe glowing sun, andAbraxasthe darkness that madeHadeonshine even brighter.ThenIhad seenHadeon’scruelty and thought them just two sides of the same coin.Butseeing them here, together again,Isaw the truth.
Theyweren’t the same.Hadeonwas an erratic animal, barely caged inside his illusions of charm.Abraxaswas calm and calculated.Hewas mischievous, butIremembered the feel of his hand on my face as he looked at me with those eyes so full of worry and compassion.
Asmy thoughts raced,Hadeoncontinued, “It’sreally a shame.Ihad hoped for more of a fight, it has been so long since we’ve had a reason to raise the army.”Myteeth felt like they might crack,Iground them so hard.Iwas sure he saw it as well, delight dancing in his eyes, “Infact, the only fightIsaw was with you, my little hellcat.Oh, it's been so long,Ihad forgotten how much fun that is.”Hewrapped his hand tighter around my waist, “Wecould have such a good time together.”
Ifelt his power again, the electric shocks traveling across my skin, sitting on the razor’s edge between pain and pleasure as it raked over me.Mynipples hardened in response, but all the courtly training in the world couldn’t have kept me there, any pleasureIfelt was absolutely decimated by disgust.Ishoved out of his grasp.
“Youkilled my mother.”Ilet the words hang there, but he stepped right over them.
“Thatpathetic little creature?Oh,Princess, don’t you see,Ifreed you from her, and from your father.Youcan be so much more without them holding you back.Youcan let free that power that sleeps inside you.”Whatthe hell was he talking about?Thatenormous weight threatened my breathing again, andItried, damn me,Itried to get it under control.Iwouldn’t let him see me like that.Itook another step back and ran into a hard body.IfeltAbraxas’ hand come to rest at my waist ever so softly.
