A tense, horrible anticipation coiled inside me. I would witness Kallias reduce Vellos to nothing but heaped ruins. My dragons would scorch Tallon and the Velli palace until it existed only as drifting ash.
Let them feed me, strengthen me. They had no idea I’d be their doom.
“I would like to bathe,” I said, my voice firmer than before. Kallias’ spark of hope kindled somewhere deep in me. It fed my soul, bolstering my resolve. I was a queen draped in sweat and blood.
“It is not my place to ask,” Aida whispered, her tone tremulous, careful not to carry.
“Don’t bother with Tallon. Give my request to King Deimos.”
The plate clattered to the floor. She gasped, snatching it up, fingers trembling as she tried to mask her shock. Wide, dark eyes flicked to the door, then back to me. Questions swirled in their depths before she blinked them away.
Leverage. Power. Greed. I could play this game, setting Tallon against his Velli king.
“If you’re certain,” she said, straightening with the plate and cup, offering a final chance to change my mind. It revolted me that she feared Tallon more than the horrors of her own sovereign.
What atrocities had he wrought against these people to make them tremble so?
She departed without another word, leaving me to sink onto the bed and bask in the visions of Tsunami devouring Tallon, of Kallias pulling me close.
The Velli women moved with deliberate care, fingers tender as they washed my back. Warm water pooled over my tense muscles, seeping into the knots of fatigue, coaxing days of weariness from my frame. Even in the steam and warmth, my neck remembered the bite of cold metal, a quiet whisper of Tallon’s cruelty. He had left it off again, and I couldn’t tell if it was mercy, a prelude to feeding, or simply because he only fastened it when he wanted to humiliate me in front of the court.
The three of them worked over my hair and body, scrubbing away grime. The soap was sharp, pungent, herby—more reminiscent of a hearty meal than the faint, perfumed scent of a noblewoman.
Their silence was unbroken. I almost wondered if they were mute, guiding me through the cleansing with gentle hands that carried no expectation. It was a rare indulgence. Here, I outranked them, and they treated me with a care I had long gone without.
The door burst open.
The women recoiled, darting against the walls, heads bowed, hands clasped in front of them.
I flinched, water sloshing, muscles snapping taut, bracing against pain that hadn’t yet arrived but always lingered near when his presence entered a room.
“Cunning Nienna.” Tallon’s oily voice slid across the floorboards, low and smooth, sending my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
I wrapped my arms around my chest, the bath reclaiming fragments of dignity. “A proper prince would have knocked.”
Egath followed behind him, using his heel to kick the door shut. His dark gaze swept the women before settling on me, and I felt the weight of that stare cut straight through me with frustrating intensity.
I flattened my mouth into a line, denying the hint of a smile that threatened to betray my defiance. He hadn’t found Kallias.
“Have you forgotten who you belong to?” Tallon’s hum slithered into my ears as he crouched beside the tub.
“No.” My body refused him. I belonged to myself—to Kallias. Not to any Velli.
He leaned closer, hand curling around my throat with teasing pressure. My breath caught, lungs fluttering against the sudden oppression, but his grip was light. He lifted me as though my body moved of its own volition, not by force—a show of dominance that required my silent surrender.
Rage erupted through me, hot and relentless, as water cascaded down my trembling skin. His lips twitched, amusement dark and private, before his gaze roamed, assessing.
“I didn’t think he would fall for you so quickly. And you, going past me to seek his favor. Do you actually believe he cares for you?”
“More than you.” My wet hands wrapped around his wrists, nails biting into his sleeve.
He chuckled, tossing me back into the bath. My feet slipped across the soapy basin; my body crashed into water, head ducking under the surface with a splash that left me choking for air.
A hand clamped into my hair, forcing me down further. My arms flailed, seeking the tub’s rim, grasping for purchase that refused to come. My mouth opened in panicked gasps, lungs screaming for breath.
He needed me alive.
I stilled, surrendering to the roaring panic within me. Mental walls slammed into place, locking my body into forced tranquility. He couldn’t kill me.
