Atlas’s mind went blank, his eyes widening slightly as he pushed down his rising panic of not wanting to reveal too much. “My brother. You’re aware he’s led Lephyrin’s armada for quite some time now, and he was the first to discover that Maerinys has risen.”
Okay, not that bad.It was only a half lie. A fib, really.
“The Phoenix?” Keryth asked.
Atlas suppressed his growl. “Yes.Draevynhas already come in contact with them and knows first-hand what they’re capable of.”
He didn’t dare speak a word of what she had done to Draevyn. The last thing he needed was for the kingdoms, who already feared his brother, to think he’d turned against them. Because after everything, he still planned to save his brother from any threat that came at them. Whether that be a god or the realm itself.
“And you want Sumnae’s help to not only retrieve Elowynne, but to rid the world of these so-called goddesses?”
“Kaelypso came from the sea like a storm, hovering above the harbor like judgment itself. And when she came ashore, she killed without hesitation. Guards. Nobles.My father. All to avenge a worthless man.”
Keryth’s eyes flared beneath furrowed brows.
“This ispersonalfor her,” Atlas continued. “She thinks she’s owed the world for what she lost, and she will stop at nothing until it happens.”
“Kaelypso created the depths. Why would she care for a man whotook it over when the realm assumed her to be deceased alongside her kingdom?”
Atlas stepped closer, lifting his chin. “Why don’t we ask her ourselves?”
Keryth’s head reared back as Atlas glanced over his shoulder and let out a sharp whistle. The one Lephyrin soldier who remained in the room gave a subtle nod before he slipped out the door.
Atlas turned and took a step back to stand beside Keryth. Moments later, footsteps echoed in the hall, and the grand doors creaked open as Varis and two more soldiers appeared, dragging Esmyra between them.
She was half-limp, half thrashing, her bare feet dragging across the stone floor. Her long hair was tangled and still matted as she remained cuffed and gagged. Her gaze burned with pure hatred as she jerked violently against her captors.
The guards stumbled for a moment as she twisted in their grasp, snarling behind the gag as they yanked her forward.
Keryth didn’t move. He just watched in regal stillness, fingers steepled before his lips as the goddess was forced to her knees in the center of the chamber before not one, but two kings.
“You should’ve started with the fact that you had her in your possession.” A low, wicked chuckle rumbled from Keryth. He cocked his head to the side. “So, you’re the cause of all this mess? You don’t seem very powerful to me.”
Esmyra glared, hair hanging in her glacial eyes like a curtain of fury.
Keryth’s hand reached out, aiming for her gag.
“Careful,” Atlas said calmly. “She bites.”
He then nodded to Varis, and in response, he unsheathed a dagger from his belt and sliced it through the gag, nicking her cheek.
The cloth dropped, and she spat blood at the floor.
Atlas stepped toward her slowly, savoring the moment as he watched a hint of menace light within the elven king’s stare.
Esmyra’s gaze met his—those same eyes that once crackled with divine power were now bloodshot and rimmed with defiance.
Atlas crouched, resting one elbow on his knee. “So,” he started, “now do you plan to tell us where Elowynne is?”
Nothing. Her silence was infuriating, but he refused to show it.
Keryth descended beside him, speaking in that lilting, razor-edged tone of his. “You don’t look like a goddess to me,” he said. “More like a washed-up myth.”
Esmyra’s attention turned toward him, her expression twisted with scorn. “Take these cuffs off, and let’s see if you still feel the same.”
The elven king let out a short, humorless laugh. “You’ve barely enough strength to stand. You want to put on a show?”
Keryth turned to Atlas, and they stood, the guards keeping Esmyra on her knees before them all. “What does she mean?”
