Esmyra saw the way he staggered, shoving The Goddess of the Surface onto the floor, before his shadows surged upward, curling like a protective smoke.
Naerysa yelped as she slammed into the marble, her golden hair sprawled out in all directions. She slowly pushed herself up and stood, somehow remaining calm as her illusion fell to pieces.
Esmyra’s pulse quickened.
“Rysa, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Irah lookeddown at his hands, curling them into fists over and over again as his jaw hung open. He looked up at her again, brows creasing as undeniable rage contorted his face.
Naerysa swallowed. “You were never supposed to know. Not until I?—”
He leapt off the bed and towered over her, his voice booming in her face as he screamed, “Not supposed to know?!” His voice was like a snarl. “How long have you been doing this?”
Naerysa smirked, and it was like watching a dagger smile.
“Has it ever occurred to you thatI’mthe one you should be with? I am the sun and you are its rays. It was alwaysusthat were meant to be.”
Esmyra winced, her talons digging into her palms.
Irah’s body trembled. Shame warred across his features, his fists clenched so tight the skin of his knuckles went pale. The shadows writhed around him as flames lit across his shoulders.
“Just because you had something in your mind doesn’t make it the truth!” he boomed. “I’ve never felt anything for you. You’re not Kae.”
Naerysa jolted back as if she’d been shot, and Esmyra wished she had been.
With a fucking velsinyte bullet. Straight through the heart. She was no longer convinced that the rage roiling through her was Kaelypso’s alone.
“You’re not her,” Irah growled, his jaw ticking. “You never were, and you never will be. And I hope that kills you inside.”
Naerysa stepped forward again, still smiling as if this entire twisted show amused her.
“And yet,” she whispered, “your cock doesn’t seem to know the difference.” A click of her tongue sounded as she winked.
There was silence for a heartbeat.
And then Irah exploded.
“You’re a monster.” Shadows lashed behind him like wild whips. “I’ll burn every fucking lie from your lips before I let you use me again.”
Irah reached out and grabbed Naerysa by the throat, slamming her into the wall and lifting her from the floor. “Where. Is. She,” he demanded. “Where is Kaelypso?”
A wicked giggle slipped from Naerysa as she tried to take in air. “You think she’ll believe you overme? Please.”
His arm shook as he lifted her higher, looking as if he was crushing her windpipe. “I would never do that to her. She knows that.”
The goddess within Esmyra purred at his words.
Naerysa’s eyes narrowed on him, a sly grin climbing her face. It was the look of a predator. Cornered but calculating as she watched him come undone.
“You know, I’ve been doing some thinking,” she mused, the words barely audible as she tried to take in air. “Vydenne was right. There never should’ve been two gods of the sea. It’s just simply not fair.”
Irah’s eyes flashed with fury, his chest heaving as he shoved her away from him.
“Perhaps Asyris was onto something with how he rid the world of Malya.” Naerysa’s voice was silk-wrapped venom once she found her footing, something wicked blooming behind her amber eyes.
“You don’t get it, do you?” she whispered. “I don’t want tobeher. I want what she has. I want her power.”
He stiffened, his neck visibly tightening. She stepped into him, her talons grazing his jaw with deceptive softness.
“Just as the God of Life devoured the Goddess of Death to make this world their own, I’ll take what’s mine. Her magic. Her soul. And then”—she leaned in, voice dropping to a hiss—“I’ll be the onetrueGoddess of the Sea.”
