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Adrian’s heavy breaths indicated he felt the same, at least in his hatred for her, albeit it was for different reasons. She’d destroyed everything we’d built once, bringing the Blood Brothers to ruin.
I touched the ancient stone wall, knowing nothing would be the same as it once was. This couldn’t be our world. Not where aniccipere roamed freely as a part of our royal hierarchy. One where the princess was dead, and any chance of me becoming king was gone with it. The idea of the crown had never been so strong, if not for a different motivation than before.
It wouldn’t be long until she crowned herself queen and announced her return to Sanmorte.
The goddess was far worse than any of us could have known. The revelation of her true identity to me, the night she’d killed Kalon, still played on my mind, as I realized I’d missed so many clues. Of course she’d captured my attention. She wasn’t just the goddess of the underworld, but she ruled the darkness, embraced it, molded it. The freedom in her true nature purred with mine, causing an insatiable need to be close to her. But since meeting Elizabeth, the unsuspecting mortal with a sharp tongue and penchant for using a dagger, Salenia had becomenothingto me.
Salenia clapped her hands, a smile building on her heart-shaped face, her blue eyes glistening under the pale moonlight arrowing in through the open doors and tall windows. The lights flickered from inside the adjoining feeding room across from the ballroom, a feast laid out for our guests. I’d kept Elizabeth from the onslaught, but not Carla, who was at Salenia’s side, her mortal pet.
“Welcome, favored aniccipere,” Salenia bellowed, her assertive tone mixed with a fondness that didn’t match her expression. “We have been separated for long enough. Come join us for an evening you will not forget and make yourselves at home. My mother will greet you shortly.”
I scoffed, and Salenia glanced at me. Some knew she was Salenia already, like Adrian and the Blood Brothers, but for the rest of the castle, her identity remained a rumor.
Once Salenia had rid herself of our princess, I’d hoped she’d leave for the underworld. But the moment she glimpsed the crown, and felt its power, she decided this world would once again be hers. Like once before. Except this time, her beloved Vener wasn’t here, nor was his mortal soulmate.
“Niall, dear,” she said, snapping my attention back as the aniccipere fell into the feeding room. Mortals shrieked as the creatures squealed in delight upon seeing them chained up for their pleasure. I was only grateful the guards closed the doors behind them. “Come with me. We have much to discuss.”
Adrian patted my back as I walked to Salenia’s side, a sigh loosing from his lips. I followed her up the stairs and into her chambers, imagining a hundred ways I’d kill her if I could. Her painted red lips curled as she looked me up and down, then at the door. “Close it.”
I rolled my eyes up, begrudgingly turning and locking us both inside. A year ago, I would have done anything to be alone in a room with her. Now, even a kingdom apart wouldn’t be enough. “What do you want?”
“Now, now, Niall. Is that anyway to address your queen?”
“You are not anointed by the gods,” I seethed. “Or crowned by the people. You arenotmy queen, nor anyone else’s.”
Her features twisted, her expression falling from mild amusement to cold, icy anger in a second. “Yet, but I am a goddess,” she announced. “I will crown myself, tonight.”
“Your siblings would never allow it.”
She white-knuckled the red drapes around her four-post bed, then slowly uncurled her fist from the fabric. “They are not here.” She regained her composure, sliding herself onto the bed, the slit of her dress falling around her leg, exposing her thigh. “You can be with me or against me. With me, you can achieve great things.” Her glacier eyes sparkled, her fangs poking out under her top lip. “Against me, you will lose everything.”
“I don’t want to be alive in a world with you as my queen.”
She shook her head, running her fingers across the silk sheets. “You always were so…rebellious. It’s why I like you.”
I scoffed. “The feeling isn’t mutual.”
She didn’t move her gaze from me, but something shifted in her eyes. I just couldn’t tell what. “I know you want to become king. Actually, I know all about your plans, to marry the bitch princess and kill your adopted father and Sargon.”
The muscle in my jaw feathered as I averted my gaze, shoving my hands in my pockets. I had told no one, except Azia, but he only knew because he’d sensed my desires with his psychic abilities. “How did you know?”
“I have eyes and ears everywhere. Plus, you wrote them in your journal. An idiotic move, but you’ve always enjoyed writing your thoughts down.”
I thought I’d hid that well. At the back of my bookshelf, behind the most boring book I could find, concealed then behind a slab of wood to match the shelf. “It helps me understand my ideas.”
“All the better for me. I like to know what’s going on in your head.”
“Why?”
She smirked, then changed the subject. “Do you still desire to become king?”
My heart palpitated. I glanced around the room, noting the several bottles of imported perfumes, their atomizers worn from constant use. A long, red and black dress hung from a hanger over the Gothic wardrobe, cloaking the long mirror. The walls were papered in red and gold and across from her bed, the portrait of her original form taken from inside the ballroom. I gazed at the woman in the painting. Her mystical gaze was similar to Gwen’s, but there was something distinctly different. Her face appeared as if it had been carved by the stars. A luminescent, silver hue covered her skin, matching the silver pools in her eyes. Her blond hair was pulled up, fixed around a pointed crown of silver and blue. Stardust shimmered on her high cheekbones, nose and chest, running down to a sparkling, silver dress. She was quite beautiful. It was a pity the insides didn’t match.
“Yes,” I admitted, although my motivations had shifted purely to getting her off the throne. “Not yours, however.”
She laughed. “You despise me, yet I remember a time when you wanted nothing more than to be with me.” She paused, and I rolled my shoulders, sensing her stare boring into my back. I slid my eyes from the portrait back to her. She pulled my gaze to her lips as she dragged her thumb against them, a coy smile on the face of a predator. “Where is your mortal girl…Elizabeth, is it?” she asked, tilting her head.
My breath hitched, although I fought back my flinch at hearing her name. “I handed her over to the Blood Brothers,” I answered nonchalantly. “Why?”
