A guard rushed over and opened the cage. I could have resisted when Cyrus closed in and hauled me to my feet, but why risk opening my wound? Also, I was determined. And curious. What did he have in store for me?
“I suggest you behave and walk behind me like a good little girl.” He smoothed the wrinkles from my clothes before striding from the cell.
With a final glance at Victors, who winked, buoying my spirits, I followed Cyrus through multiple corridors, up two staircases, and into a large, opulent chamber.
“The emperor’s chamber,” Cyrus stated without emotion. “Mine now.”
I came to an abrupt halt as the door shut—and sealed—behind me. A sheen of sweat glazed my brow when I spotted the massive bed, with its covers pulled down, ready for someone to slide underneath. Nervousness fizzed in my veins. “Why are we here?”
He opened the door to an equally luxurious bathroom with gold everything. Faucets, sinks, counters. Even the toilet.Grotesque.After he opened the shower stall and pressed a series of buttons on a wall panel, hot, steamy water rained from an overhead spout. Only then did he face me straight on and command, “Strip.”
A protest burst from my mouth, spurring a smile from him.
“Don’t worry, sweetness. I have no plans to force you to bed me.”
I bit my tongue, tasting blood. The sound of Astan’s preferred endearment coming out of Cyrus’s mouth was more disgusting than that gold toilet. “You intend to watch me bathe.”
He gave a negligent shrug. “You’ll clean up and dress on your own, or I’ll help you.”
An act clearly meant to intimidate and shame me. Well, he’d miscalculated. There was no better way than this to reach the heart of Cyrus, a man who had no desire to share me with another.
Holding his gaze, I shed my shirt. When his breath caught, I grinned inside.Ding, ding, ding.Head high, I shimmied out of my pants.
He swallowed and fisted his hands. I removed my undergarments sloooowly, sliding off the straps of my bra ... unhooking the clasp ... letting the material whoosh to the floor ... pinching the sides of my underwear and wiggling free. Naked, I rolled back my shoulders.
Panting a little, he roved his gaze over me. His pupils spread over his irises, snuffing out the stars, and I knew I’d succeeded.
“See something you like?” Triumphant, I traced a fingernail between my breasts.
He took a step toward me, stopped abruptly, and scowled. “I comprehend your play, but again, you forget I am Cyrus and Cyrus is me. I can do nothing he doesn’t allow.”
Well, well. He’d just copped to a big weakness. I mean, he and Victors had already explained it, but the far-encompassing consequences hadn’t dawned on me until this moment. Cyrus could, indeed, be saved.
I smiled with glee.
Realizing his mistake, he stomped from the room. “You have ten minutes. If you choose not to wash and change, I’ll carry you out naked,” he snapped before slamming the door shut, leaving me alone.
Reeling, I scrubbed from head to toe and donned the clothing he’d provided, opting to play the game to its conclusion. A sheer, gauzy gown of pale pink that clung to my curves like a second skin, with a hem that floated around my ankles, revealing barely-there sandals.
I steeled myself for what was to come. Another meeting with Briar Rose, probably. She had yet to choose her host. Since there were still two contestants in the running, and Lolli had already granted her consent, I must logically conclude the goddess was desperate to have me.
I’d get the hard sell again, cranked to level maximum, guaranteed. But no matter. My determination solidified.
A soft tugging on the inside drew my attention inward. Determination fizzed along my connection to Domino. The most potent determination I’d ever encountered, tinged with excitement. He must have discovered something in his book.
The librarian’s emotions fed my own. We would get through this, whatever was thrown at us. We’d do what was needed, when it was needed. If Cyrus and I ended up on a battlefield, as I’d read, so be it. Maybe I would even stab him. Heck, at this rate, I wouldabsolutelystab him. But I wasn’t afraid of the notion anymore. All we had to do was survive the battle. Everything else could be fixed.
If I lost his love, I lost his love. “It will hurt,” I muttered, needing to hear myself say it, “but I. Am. Not. Afraid.” Hearts could mend. I nodded with confident assurance, dulling thedoubts. “I’m not afraid.” I repeated the mantra again and again, until I was screaming it. “I am not afraid!”
In the ensuing silence, my heart rate slowed. A heavy weight I hadn’t known I carried lifted from my shoulders, and a little laugh escaped me, all hint of fear gone.
“You are stronger than I anticipated.”
Cyrus’s voice pulled me from my head, and I twisted to face him. He stood in the open doorway, one shoulder leaning against the frame. Though he did his best to appear completely at ease, he couldn’t mask the sharp energy seething beneath his skin.
He held a glass of what looked to be champagne.
“Vyle said the same. But I’m stronger, period,” I replied and grinned. He might host a god, but I servedthegod. The one who’d defeated Astan before, who would do it again. A fact that I’d lost sightof at some point. I had consumed the Rock. Tsuri himself. Son to Soal. I could do anything. “I believe you mentioned we had a place to be.”
