“You have one duty.”
“To protect my–”
Her hand cracked against my face. I snarled and lunged, but the world spun, warped. I slammed onto my back.
She was on me. Naked. On her bed. My voice trapped in my throat as I bucked, powerless. Her laughter rang, shrill and cruel. My clothes—gone. Stripped without my knowledge or consent. Gods, how did I get here?
It was a dream. It had to be.
I threw my arm with all the strength I could muster. The strike landed soft, pitiful. My fingers scrabbled at her hair. Useless.
“Don’t touch me!” she hissed, slapping my hand aside. Her claws raked down my chest, not in play—but to wound. Blood welled up, soaking the sheets. Too much. Far too much for scratches that shallow.
She laughed, high and unhinged, dragging a finger through the mess. “Now they’ll find you, dearest. They know your secrets.”
I roared, fighting against the lead in my limbs. Rage surged, trapped beneath flesh that wouldn’t obey. What was happening to me? What had she done?
“Come here, son. Hold him for me.”
No.
Tallon stepped from the shadows. Older. Cruel. That cold smile split his face in two. “He’s weak. Trails after the girl like a pup.”
She leaned close. Her breath hit my lips, heavy with rot and iron. “He’ll never sire an heir.” Blood-slick fingers gripped my jaw. “I’ll make certain of it.”
The world blackened, but her weight remained, settled along my hips.
Eldeiade’s head lifted. Tallon had vanished. I lay beneath her, half-dressed in a sweat-damp tunic and loose trousers. The fabric barely managed a thin barrier between us.
I growled, driving my hips upward, straining with all that remained. My limbs lagged, slow and unsteady. Poison—had to be poison. Where was Greaves? Had she gotten to him too?
We crashed tothe floor, and her scream split the air. Nails dug for purchase. My hands locked around her throat. Her face twisted, shrieking beneath me. Radaan was better off with a murderer for a king than a queen who threw my nation to the wolves.
Her fist collided with my jaw. I hit the floor again, vision bursting with stars. She crawled over me, dragging herself back into place, grinding into my lap. My stomach churned. Her heat seared through the thin layers of fabric. My body betrayed me. My mind screamed treason.
This wasn’t duty or legacy. This was something else. Something wrong. Entirely, completely wrong.
Water surged into my nose. I choked—drowning. Coughs raked my chest, and I rolled, the motion too fluid for muscles still dulled by sleep. Pain bloomed as my skull cracked against the dresser’s edge. I swore, flailing for Eldeiade. Had she found a new way to kill me?
“Kallias!”
Not her voice. Nienna’s.
The fog lifted as I scrambled upright, hacking against the fluid burning down my throat.
Greaves knelt beside me, red bruises wrapped around his neck. A swollen welt pulsed beneath his jaw. Nienna hovered behind him, moonlight casting silver across her hair. She held an empty basin in both hands.
“He’s with us,” my friend muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, checking for blood.
Nienna’s shoulders dropped as a quiet exhale escaped her. “Get on the bed.” No softness in her tone. Not a suggestion—a command. Eldeiade’s voice echoed in my skull, and my mind recoiled.
Greaves rose and whispered something to her. I barely noticed. I needed to shake off the nightmare, feel whole again. What kind of king suffered dreams like that? Who lashed out at his friend? I thought the night terrors were behind me, that I’d mastered myself.
He threw a final glance over his shoulder and left, the door sealing me in with Nienna and the pieces I hadn’t yet picked up.
“I’m sorry you saw that.” My voice scraped dry as I used the dresser to haul myself upright.
She didn’t answer. Just stared, her face shuttered and still. After she set the basin aside, she eased onto the bed, moving with a wariness that stung. Like I might bite.
