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Or any child for that matter.
“You may think what you wish, but I did not lie,” she snarls, her eyes flashing a brilliant blue. “I’m here to help. And you will sit there. And. Let. Me. Speak.”
It takes everything I have—every single ounce of restraint I possess—to not jump over the ruined kitchen island and punch her right in the fucking face. The nerve of this bitch.
“I did not lie.”
My ass.
Considering I can’t have any more children—hell yes, she fucking well lied. I give her a look of death she can’t see and mutter, “Fine,” under my breath.
I drop my shield, and Kyle’s posture immediately relaxes. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the brute of a wraith wanted into the Ice Queen’s pants.
Good luck there, pal.
Wraiths have some severe mating habits. While phoenixes are a matriarchal society, wraiths are predominantly run by the males. I figure it’s mostly due to the wraith male’s irrational need to protect their mate. If Kyle thinks Nicola is his mate, there is no order he will follow, no rule he won’t break for her. If that’s what is going on here, Nicola just bought herself a six-foot-seven burly-as-fuck shadow.
“I have reason to believe that your visions have been infiltrated by Iva. From what I understand, she is sending them to you—ones you can’t change or interpret until the event has come to pass or is too close to be prevented. It’s punishment for you both, but more for you, Rhys.”
“Why is she punishing Rhys?” I ask, confused. “Because he didn’t want to be my soldier? Because that’s cracked, even for her crazy ass.”
“Oh, child,” Nicola tsks. “You don’t know?” She tilts her head in Rhys’ direction, but her eyes miss the mark again, drifting toward the light of the picture window behind us. “Why haven’t you told her?”
“Because I didn’t want her to hate me more than she already did, maybe?” Rhys says scathingly. “You’ve already let the cat out of the bag—might as well tell her the rest. I’ve had her to myself for less than twenty-four hours, but you go right on ahead and ruin it.”
An expression of disapproval flashes across her face, and Nicola’s lips screw into a grimace.
“Anyone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” I gripe, tossing up my hands.
“She is punishing Rhys for betraying the Legion,” Nicola confesses. “Rhys’ brother, Julian, was to assassinate Olivia Black before the conception of her next child. It was to look like a rival’s kill and not lead back to the Legion. Julian told Rhys of his assignment and refused to be dissuaded from his task. In turn, Rhys delivered Julian to the wraiths to prevent Olivia’s murder.”
“And because you gave your brother over,” I muse, “you saved Olivia, and Evan got to be born? And I’d hate you because of that, why?” I tilt my head slightly to the side to see his expression.
His jaw clenches as he grips the back of his neck, refusing to look me in the eye. “Because my actions resulted in us being bound against your consent as punishment? Because I chose a stranger over my own brother? Really? Take your pick.”
“So, you think I’m such a heartless cow that I’d approve of the murder of a harmless woman to prevent my own suffering?” I ask incredulously.
“I don’t think you’re a heartless cow,” he murmurs, finally meeting my gaze. “I just thought you wouldn’t see my side.”
“Even when I hated you, I still saw your side. I’m not going to fault you for things you did to save someone else. That’s just not in me.”
“I just didn’t want you to hate me anymore.”
“I won’t. Can we discuss this shit another time? Say, when we aren’t in a serious time crunch of impending death? Because I gotta say, this ‘We’re Gonna Die’ bullshit is getting old.”
Rhys inclines his head in agreement and shifts to face Nicola. “So, are soldiers really coming, or has Iva cracked the lock on Aurelia’s head for real?”
Nicola seems to think about it for a moment. “I believe she’s still having trouble due to Aurelia being Aegis. Aurelia’s visions of herself seem to be on the level, it’s just the visions outside herself that appear to be affected. If you tell me what you saw, I could tell you if it is from Iva or from beyond the veil.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I bark. “Who said anything about an Aegis? Who the fuck is an Aegis? I know it’s not me because all the Aegis I know died before maturity because they fucking vaporized themselves, and whatever way they did it, they didn’t come back.”
I’m half-shouting at Nicola now because the border of ridiculous has just been crossed.
“And what would a power-hungry diabolical bitch of a leader do if she found one that could survive into maturity?” Evan pipes up from the circle of West’s arms. “She’d either bind you as an oracle so she could control what you see—or kill you. Since she can’t do one, she’s damn well going to try the other.”
I pinch my brow, my brain on fire. “And by getting into my head she accomplishes what?”
“She gets to torture you—make you crazy. She gets to change that strong-willed, beautiful girl I fell in love with into a freaking hermit,” Rhys answers, his voice ravaged. “She gets to twist the knife in my gut because I’m the reason she’s doing this.”
