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Donning that veil of nothingness and holding it close, I stepped between his legs. My gaze briefly met Elias’s as I turned, sitting so I was perched on Kolis’s knee—
His arm snaked around my waist, hauling me deeper onto his lap. Stomach churning, I stared ahead, not allowing myself to feel anything.
“As I was saying,” Kolis began, his voice low as he spoke directly into my ear, “you will not be punished for questioning my past decisions. But continuing to do so?”
My hands balled into fists as I held them in my lap.
“That will make me rethink the deals we struck. Both of them.”
My breath snagged in my chest.
“I will not break them,” he said, drawing his hand across my waist. “But…”
Kolis let the word hang in the air between us. I knew what came after. He could recapture Rhain—technically, he would’ve still fulfilled his deal. He could also delay releasing Ash. There were so many ways out of his agreement that I hadn’t been wise enough to foresee.
Yet another failure.
Worse yet was the knowledge that him simply mentioning the deals we’d made gave him the upper hand.
And why would he ever want to lose that by fulfilling the one that carried the most weight?
Releasing Ash.
Kolis’s nose brushed the side of my face. “Do you understand, so’lis?”
“Yes,” I answered, my nails digging into my palms.
“Good.” Kolis patted my hip. It took everything in me not to give in to the chill of revulsion. “And I’m capable of more than just death.”
Lies.
“I will prove it to you.” He leaned back just enough that I no longer felt his breath on my skin. “You will see.”
I closed my eyes, not giving a damn about him being able to create life when his unspoken threat choked me.
Kolis didn’t need to break his promise. He could simply continue finding reasons not to release Ash. Panic started to unfurl as I opened my eyes and looked at the blurred faces of those who remained in the Hall. Chest tightening and thrumming, I scanned the crowd, catching sight of the cold, harsh lines of Attes’s features, and his brother…
Kyn was seated in one of the alcoves near the dais, a drink in one hand, and the other under the gown of a woman in his lap. Her head was buried against his throat, and based on the way her arm moved between them, she, too, had at least one hand full.
Kyn wasn’t paying attention to her. He was staring straight at me, a smirk fastened on his lips.
I hated him.
And I fucking hated Kolis.
Chanting that in my head, I pulled my gaze away, skipping over red and gold before landing on Attes. He pushed off the pillar, his jaw tightening. Wait.
That red…
It was the shade of blood.
And that gold?
My head swung back. I searched those on the floor below, looking for that sheen of polished stone and gold…gold hair. My breath left me as I realized it wasn’t some fancy headpiece I’d seen.
It was a crown.
One shaped like a small jade tree carved from stone the color of blood and streaked with gold.
