“Did he deserve it, Esmyra?” Atlas barked, rising to stand. “You think revenge makes you righteous? That your pain is holy because it drips with power and grief?”
He looked her up and down, disgust written into every feature of his face. A face so painfully like Draevyn’s that it nearly made her chest crack open and bleed out on the floor.
“DidElowynnedeserve it?” he boomed, his cheeks flushing red with anger. “Did she deserve to be captured by you and hauled away from her betrothed and kingdom? She did nothing to you, and yet, you brought her into it!”
“She assaulted me with her magic!” she screeched, her wrists burning as she pulled against the velsinyte restraints, baring her teeth. “She made me see, made mebelievehorrible things. Your little elven wasn’t innocent.”
“She did that to protect me!” Shadows lashed out from Atlas’s palms, through the bars of her cell, halting mere inches from her face. The cords in her neck pulled tight, every muscle threatening to snap as she stared at them.
“She isn’t worth the trouble, Your Majesty,” Varis said. “I made sure she’s no threat.”
But Atlas only held up a hand to halt him, his eyes remaining on her.
“Drae believes you to be a goddess, but I see no god here,” he began again, his dark tendrils slowly retreating. “You’re nothing but aghost dragging him into your grave. And I fucking refuse to let that happen.”
Esmyra’s breathing came in heavy gasps as fury threaded through every shattered piece of her. “Your father broke a bargain that he knowingly had no intention of keeping. So, while I may be a fool for believing him… what I have become was at your father’s hand.”
Shadows swirled around Atlas’s wrists as he listened, his nose still turned up in distaste.
Esmyra’s vision turned blurry at the edges as tears stung the back of her eyes. “Itriedto be better. For Draevyn—” Her voice cracked on his name. “I tried to be better for him. But you Rowes do nothing but take and take andtake. And now?—”
“Now you’re here,” he interrupted, stepping closer to the bars, wrapping his fingers around them as he stared down at her. “Powerless and alone. And your rage has left you with nothing. Not even him.”
Her lips parted as pain seared her throat. His smile grew wider, knowing his words struck true.
“Does it haunt you?” he started again, his voice low. “That he chosemeover you? That he’s the reason you’re here?”
Esmyra assumed that if there was anything left of her heart, that it would’ve shattered right then and there. But she held his gaze, unflinching, even as her knuckles whitened against the chains.
It was then she finally realized Draevyn wouldn’t do that to her. He wouldn’t have held her down and begged for her to listen to him if he planned to just hand her over to his brother. The man always had nothing but her best interest at heart, and never again would she believe lies about him without further proof.
Esmyra was done being a puppet whose strings were pulled in whatever direction others desired. She was done being a weapon in other people’s pawns. And she was done being manipulated.
“I don’t believe you,” she whispered, voice like a rising tide as her stare lifted back to his.
Atlas’s smile faded. “Elowynne better be unharmed once we get her back. Not only for your sake, but for Draevyn’s as well.”
Her eyes flared, her head tilting in confusion as he threatened his brother’s life, but she said nothing.
“Varis here is acting as my aide and advisor,” Atlas said. “His first duty is dealing withyou. So, if I were you, I’d be a good little siren for him. He’s known to be much more brutal than I.”
Esmyra’s stare lifted to the man. He gave her a dainty wave accompanied by a creepy grin. She bared her teeth at him.
Atlas lingered a moment longer then turned with a cold scoff and ascended the steps, the echo of his boots chasing him into the dark.
“Pardon the damage dealt to that pretty body of yours.” Varis’s grin turned feral. “I just couldn’t take any chances for my new king.”
The sickening look in his gaze had nausea climbing her throat. Her brows furrowed in answer as she looked down at herself, and he took that as his excuse to leave. A moment later, he was following Atlas up the stairs.
What the fuck could he mean bythat?
Esmyra slumped back against the wall, the heat of her fury boiling beneath her aching skin. She had no power, no allies, and no means to escape. And for the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to do.
CHAPTER 38
Syrena
Syrena let out a gasping breath as she stumbled back from the Veil of Visions. The crystal waters churned violently, its liquid surface rippling with the echoes of magic.
