Fuck.How am I going to explain velsinyte to him?He opted for the truth.
His jaw clenched, and he sighed before answering. “Those cuffs aren’t ordinary restraints. They’re forged from stone pulled from the gates of Irah’s temple.”
Keryth’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, his smile faltering.
“My father, in his reign, discovered the substance. It has the ability to suppress divine essence,” Atlas continued. “But it’s only ever been used on Lephyrin’s shores until now. Can’t be too careful being the only powerless kingdom and all.”
Keryth opened his mouth to speak, but a cruel cackle cut him off.
Esmyra stared at them grinning, blood staining her teeth. “So, tell him what happens when you take them off, Atlas. Tell him what you witnessed before you managed to chain a storm.” She paused, chest heaving. “Go on, don’t be shy.”
Her gaze cut to the elven king, sly and burning. “Do it. Take them off. Let your court watch as I call the tide to your doors and tear the breath from your fucking lungs.”
Keryth stepped toward her then, meeting her eyes with quiet fury as the guards aggressively pulled her to her feet. “I think you’re a liar,” he said simply.
Atlas noted his words sounded more like a question than a conviction.
She leaned forward as far as her restraints allowed, her cruel grin remaining. “Then unshackle me and pray to whatever god you worship that I am.”
The room fell silent. Even the torches along the pillars seemed to burn quieter, as if listening. And in that stillness, Atlas wondered if they’d made a mistake bringing her here at all.
Keryth’s eyes glinted in challenge, and the surrounding air thickened as he raised a hand directly toward the siren, his shoulders drawing back slightly. “I think you’ll find my god isn’t needed.”
Seconds passed as he remained glaring at her with an outstretched arm, but she didn’t even flinch. Esmyra stood motionless, head tilted slightly. There was no sign that the elven’s power had reached her at all.
A faint line crept across Keryth’s brow, his jaw tightening as his fingers flexed. Atlas could tell he was digging deeper, probing harder to try and break into her mind.
“It’s not working,” Keryth growled. He glanced nervously down at his outstretched hand.
Esmyra’s mocking smile widened.
The elven king stiffened. His lips parted slightly, and Atlas could see the tension behind his calm mask. He was trying again, harder this time. His jaw clenched as the veins along his neck rose.
Still, his power couldn’t touch her.
He whirled on Atlas. “We will speak of thissubstancelater. If it’s what I think it is, it never should’ve been dug up.” He looked him up and down with disgust.
Atlas’s hands curled into fists behind his back, trying to hide his surging shadows at the subtle threat in the male’s words.
Esmyra watched their exchange, seeming to be laughing at them with her eyes.
“You’re going to talk. You’re going to tell us where Elowynne is,” Keryth spat at her. “Whether it’s now, here and in chains, or screaming it from the altar we burn you on.”
She averted her gaze to the floor.
“Lock her up beneath the castle and do with her what you will. Get creative!” Keryth barked.
The guards seized her, but Atlas’s gaze remained fixed on the elven king’s face, watching his careful mask of composure crack further.
That hadn’t been a calculated decision. That had been emotional.Dangerous. It reminded him of when his father would snap in anger, leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
He would let it slide for now, noting that while he’d been dealing with the knowledge of Elowynne’s capture for weeks now, her father hadn’t.
Atlas watched Esmyra be dragged away. Her face was neutral as the guards forced her backward, but when she met his stare, her lips curled up. The smile, however, didn’t reach her eyes.
The look filled him with a cold dread, unsettling Atlas far more than he was willing to admit.
CHAPTER 40
