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“Then have a seat.” Kolis extended a hand toward the chairs and settees as the Primal of Peace and Vengeance finally looked in my direction.
Resentment was evident in his eather-filled eyes and the hard press of his lips.
Kyn did not like me.
I could understand that, even though his feelings were misplaced. Kolis had forced me to kill Thad, one of Kyn’s young draken, as punishment for Ash not seeking his approval for my coronation. I’d brought Thad back to life, but Kyn didn’t know that. Maybe if he did, his raging dislike of me would change.
But my seething anger would not. The embers throbbed in my chest as I held Kyn’s stare, more in tune with the Primal’s vengeance than life. I didn’t care if he had been manipulated or what his orders were. He’d attacked the Shadowlands. Killed those I’d come to care about. Whatever understanding existed in me had ended there.
“Perhaps this conversation is better held elsewhere,” Kyn stated, sending me a scathing glare that lingered. “As it has to do with the Shadowlands.”
A bolt of tension shot through me.
“Of course, it has to do with my least favorite Court at the moment,” Kolis replied dryly. “We can discuss the Shadowlands openly in her presence. She is not going anywhere.”
This was one of those moments when I had to remind myself to keep my mouth shut.
Kyn hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “May I?” He inclined his chin toward the dark cherry-wood credenza.
“Of course,” Kolis murmured, his fingers beginning to tap idly. “Help yourself.”
“Thank you.” Kyn went to the sideboard, his long legs eating up the distance. “I spoke with one of Nyktos’s commanders regarding their presence along the Bonelands’ coast.”
I racked my brain, thinking about who he could be speaking of. It had to be one of those close to Ash.
“They are unwilling to heed commands,” Kyn continued, pulling the glass stopper from a large decanter full of amber-hued liquid. “They refuse to move their forces until Nyktos is released.”
Pride surged through me, and I had to fight not to show it because I could feel Kolis’s gaze on me.
“I expected that,” Kolis said. “Are the draken still with them?”
Pouring himself a glass of whiskey, Kyn nodded. “Yes. Three of them.”
“Nektas?”
“Yes.” Kyn replaced the stopper.
My heart began thumping as I waited for him to say the others’ names.
The Primal took a drink, his lips peeling back, I had to assume from the bite of the liquor. Even from where he stood, I saw the size of his fangs. They were massive.
“Nektas being there and them refusing to leave the Bonelands does not bode well for negotiations,” Kyn said, turning. His gaze flickered over me. “You know how the draken are with lands they believe sacred.”
Kolis hadn’t mentioned that.
The false King sighed. “If they thought of every land containing the remains of those fallen in past battles thus, every piece of land would be sacred.”
“Yes, but the lands west of the mountains bleed into the mortal realm,” Kyn said. Was he speaking of the Skotos? “Where the Ancients—”
“I know what is in that land,” Kolis interrupted. “There is no risk of them encountering a mortal there. None have crossed the Skotos and entered the Bonelands in eons.”
So, this land existing between the Skotos and another mountain range was actually in the mortal realm? It made more sense than what the mortals believed, which was that the realm simply ended east of the Skotos.
Kyn made his way back to the sitting area and took a seat. “They use the sea and skirt the mountains, which puts them within range to attack Dalos.”
“I’m also well aware of that.”
“We must make sure Phanos can assist if such a situation arises.”
