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“Alpha.”
Isla’s focus snapped to the high-backed armchair by the fireplace, where Ezekiel rose from, a smile like that of a fox, not a wolf, sliding across his lips as he tucked the book he’d been reading beneath his arm. He bowed deeply to Kai before shifting his attention to her.
Isla schooled her expression. She hadn’t seen the beta since before the challenge. He appeared much more haggard than he had, then. His salt-and-pepper beard was lengthy and slightly unkempt, his sleek dark hair, much like Ameera’s, nearing his shoulders. His eyes were tired and worn and…seeking. Incredulous.
“And the Luna of Deimos, at last. You once told me I’d be on my knees bowing to you.” Isla’s eyes flared wide as he cleared his seating area, placing his book on the coffee table. “My queen.”
He dropped to his knees, bowing his head.
Isla’s eyes slid to Kai, whose features were a mix of discomfort, confusion, and the slightest bit of smugness. When he met her stare, through the haze of the bond, she could’ve sworn he said,if he wants to kneel for you and put on a show, let him.
But Isla still felt his condescending undercurrent with the movement, and whatever glory was supposed to wash over her felt like grime.
“Get up,” she demanded, bracing her feet apart and folding her arms. “Don’t embarrass yourself more than you already have.”
Ezekiel lifted his head slowly and surveyed her, then turned to watch Kai.
“Your luna gave you an order,” Kai said, with no room in his tone for question or protest.
One foot at a time, Ezekiel stood, his stare once again glided between them as he wiped at his clothes, a simple gray tunic and pants. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised by your visit. From what the smug bastard Sol has told me, I figured it wouldn’t be long until you cast me out as a rogue to never have to deal with me again. But then you allowed my wife to visit, though we didn’t have much…privacy with the guards.”
“Are you complaining?” Kai deadpanned.
“No. I am grateful for your graciousness. I just wish it could’ve been my whole family.”
“We extended an invitation to Ameera today.” Something wicked rose within Isla then, venom coating her tongue. She wasn’t sure what exactly had set her off, but the poison felt good after everything they’d been dealt these past few months. “She has all the freedom to come see you. Any time.All the time.She just doesn’t want to.”
Her biting words clearly roused Ezekiel, whose eyes became slits.
“And yet, here you are,” he seethed, and Isla felt Kai bristle at the tone. She stuck out a hand to hold him back, to allow Ezekiel to spew his vitriol. “The Imperial Beta was here for the coronation, I heard.Your father,whosent your mate into a battle for his life.Your father,who aids the Alpha, allowing Charon to fall to ruin, who likely knows of attacks—”
A blade whizzed just beside Ezekiel’s shoulder, wedging perfectly into the wooden mantle above the fireplace. One step over and it would’ve plunged into his heart–one wrong word and Isla may have decided to better center her aim.
“You don’t get to talk about my family.Not like that,” she growled before steeling herself. “But they, Cassius’s plans, your plans are what we’re here for.”
Ezekiel’s chest rose and fell heavily.
“Sit,” Kai told him. Isla hadn’t even noticed he’d moved, now spinning Ezekiel’s armchair away from the flames. The former beta wisely obeyed, lowering with his features pinched, eyes darting between them. Not cowering, though. Prey that would put up a fight.
Goddess forbid this would be simple.
Kai went back to where he had been standing. “No more tricks, no more lies, no more games. People are dying because we don’t know how to move, where to move.”
“Everyone is hiding shit from us,” Isla continued, waltzing to the hearth to retrieve her blade. She wrenched the metal from the wood and, for a moment, embraced the heat. Let the burn chase away her deep-set cold. “And that ends now because, for some reason, we’re the ones at the center of this. At least, that’s what we keep hearing.” She turned away, leaning against the back of Ezekiel’s chair, balancing her dagger on a point. “So, you’re going to tell useverythingyou’ve been hiding. Everything you know.”
“And if you miss anything, I’ll know.”
Kai’s words seemed to right Ezekiel most, his throat bobbing as a crack fissured in his cavalier armor. He’d been at the alpha challenge, and he understood enough.
Suddenly, his lips curled in perverse delight. “Look at you—both of you. Everything your father could’ve dreamt of. Powerful. Feared.” His head twisted to Isla, still standing just out of his direct sight. “I never told you this, but despite everything, I think Kyran would’ve liked you.”
Isla watched Kai’s features twist at the words, a torment flashing in his eyes. He said nothing.
Isla saw it fit to start.
“The rebel units in Mimas, Tethys, and Iapetus.” She twisted her blade, nearly piercing the couch before she pulled it away. “Do you know about them?”
It was actually a simple question, and the surprise that sparked on Ezekiel’s face told her he hadn’t expected them to be privy to that measly fact in the ocean of their sought clarity.
