“Wait, so you’re not from?—”
A chilling hand settled on my shoulder, devouring the oxygen in my lungs. That familiar dread spread through my stomach, mirroring what I’d felt in Veilmar before our capture. But there was something about this presence that was far more sinister, far more… lethal.
“The newlyweds,” a woman crooned, her timbre nearly angelic but in all the wrong ways. “Lovely to see the two of you standing on this dais, and soon, the one platforming the thrones.”
Stepping into view, she was clad in a leather bodice, royal purple spilling from beneath it to meet the dark marble floors. Her thin frame made it easy for one to assume she was harmless, but her aura hinted at something monstrous lurking beneath.
White locks, slightly curled, and stopping just above her shoulders, they practically matched the shade of her complexion. Her ember-like stare lifted, and it was then that I recognized the true danger that had approached us—Sorva.
With her hand gripping my shoulder, she tossed a glance toward Lorelie. “Ms. Olliviera, how does it feel to know that by the end of the evening you will be a Marellan?”
“Flattering,” Lorelie replied, that mask slipping back on with ease. Lids fluttering, she looked up at the despicable Other. “It is of the utmost honor to be able to bear a child for the Marellan line. I truly cannot wait to supply Kaelivan with a more than suitable heir.”
I held my breath as Sorva spoke, praying to whatevertruegod would listen that she had somehow missed or hadn’t heard the depths of our discussion. Nails clamping tighter, her talons threatened to carve into my flesh as she moved closer.
She smiled at Lorelie without an ounce of genuineness. “Go socialize, dear. You have many people you must introduce yourself to now that you will be taking the throne.”
“Are you sure? I would hateto?—”
“I’m absolutely positive, and I’m certain Kael believes it is appropriate.”
Nail piercing my chest, I clenched my jaw and gave my reply through gritted teeth. “Go, Olliviera.”
With a curt nod, Lorelie slipped away, but I didn’t miss the blaring concern in her honey-dew irises.
Once she was far enough away, Sorva huffed with satisfaction. Lips brushed against the shell of my ear, and a harsh, threat-filled whisper followed. “If you inform that woman ofanything,I will strip you of everything you have ever loved. While you parade around, whining about the loss of Percival, I know that heart of yours harbors care for that pathetic crew you joined, and even the man behind you who kneels at my very command. And just as much as he belongs to me, so do you, Kael.”
I swallowed the nausea her statement evoked, craning my chin just enough to find Caspian on one knee. Hand pressed to his chest, he struggled to draw in a rasped breath. His brows pinched together in irrefutable anguish, and I caught the slight tremor in his bottom lip, blood trickling from it to the ground.
“What did you do?—”
“If you wish to keep Caspian Vayne and the rest of his entourage alive, then you will accept the blood bind I offer you after the ceremony.” Fingers shifting to the back of my neck, she squeezed and forced my attention back to those attending our wedding. Venomous utterance still hushed, she lapped against my jaw with her forked tongue before continuing. “Consider it a courtesy. I execute your father, give you the power, and then continue running these lands with your aid, just as I did with him. And, in exchange, your friends keep their lives.”
“K-Kael…” Caspian groaned, running the back of his hand across his mouth. “Don’t… listen to her. She’s a fucking lying?—”
“Caspian,” Sorva hummed, his words silencing as soon as his name left her lips. “Would you be so kind as to go fetch Kaelivan a glass of wine? I’m sure he’d love one before the ceremony commences.”
To my horror, Caspian stood without a rebuttal of discontent andnodded. Brushing his hands down his uniform, he catered to his appearance before stepping off the dais and into the crowd as he’d been commanded.
It wasn’t out of willingness or a desire to follow her orders. No,shecontrolled him completely.
“What the fuck have you done?” I breathed, my chest hitching with panic.
“Reminded you where you stand and how much is truly at risk here, Kael. Now, be smart about what follows your joining with Olliviera becauseeverythingis at risk, and your decision is what will determine the fate of these lands and the people inhabiting them.” With a harsh pat, she slipped from my side and snaked her way between countless bodies before fading into nothing more than silhouette and shadow.
My gaze swept across the crowd, and I never felt more alone. The weight of the future rested on my shoulders, alongside the fate of the man who was the acting hand in Percy’s death. It was a burdensome realization that also highlighted the truth of Sorva’s claim.
I did care about them. I had grown to care about them regardless of all that had unfurled. And now, all I could do was hope that Alastair and the rest of the crew had a plan.
CHAPTER 50
Soul Eater
SYORAN
Ignoring the lingering pain in my abdomen, I stepped over the bodies of the men I had slain. Limbs littered the ground, an occasional arm here and a respective leg there. Carving through them had been easy, but Parran hadn’t been wrong—it still felt like the wound remained. But every time I glanced down, the lack of crimson proved that their healing had melded me back together.
I flicked my wrist, the blood lining my blade splattering across the brick-laid street. Speckling their dull gray shade, each drop served as a reminder of all that was at stake. The nuances of humanity were fragile, and yet my attention remained on one individual. The man whom I’d continue to saw through flesh and tendon for. The man who, according to the debrief withourcrew, had been betrayed to the furthest extent by none other than our quartermaster. Our navigator.
