Seeing Malik was almost like looking at Valyn—a man he’d known his whole life. It had to be hard.
And he hadn’t even seen Attes yet.
Millicent stiffened, muttering under her breath, “Fuck my life.”
Malik was still several feet from the mouth of the hall, but he heard her. His already bloodless face paled further. He jerked to a stop as he entered the atrium, his wide eyes finding her immediately.
His chest rose sharply as he came forward as if in a trance and stopped a few feet from us. “Millie.”
Millicent’s arms once more crossed over her chest. “Prince Da’Neer.”
Malik flinched. It was quick, but I saw it before his expression smoothed out. “Where…?” He suddenly seemed to notice Callum. His gaze flicked back to her. “That’s where you’ve been?”
“What’s it to you?”
He raised a brow. “I could’ve helped you.”
“I didn’t need your help.” Her head cocked. “Clearly.”
“You could’ve told me,” Malik said, undeterred. “You could’ve toldanyone. I’ve been worried—we’ve been worried.”
“We?” Millicent laughed.
“Yes. Me.” Malik knocked back strands of his hair. “Your sister.”
“My sister doesn’t even know me,” she replied. “So, how—?”
“I don’t have time for this,” I interrupted before I lost my shit dealing with this. Because I was about ready to. I looked at Malik. “Fill her in.”
“I’d rather be filled by those faceless half-dog things that crawled out of the ground—wait.” Millicent’s nose scrunched in an all-too-familiar way as Malik’s jaw hardened. “That didn’t come out right.”
“You don’t say,” my father murmured.
“I’d rather be filledinby a horde of rabid draken,” she said, pausing as she turned her cheek. “Well, come to think of it, if the horde of draken was in mortal form and rabid, I wouldn’t exactly mind being f—”
“We get it,” Malik bit out, his cool golden gaze turning to a blazing amber.
Millicent’s head straightened as she locked eyes with Malik. “Are you sure? I have no problem going into very precise and obscene detail about how I’d prefer to be—”
“I’m positive,” Malik cut her off.
“Great. You both are on the same page,” I ground out. Millicent started to speak. “No,” I stopped her.
Her eyes narrowed as she silently mouthedno.
I glanced at Callum. His lashes were fluttering. “And do something with him.”
Millicent looked down and sighed. Turning, she kicked the back of his head, definitely cracking his skull. “Something ordered.” She looked up with a smile that bordered on bizarre. “Something carried out.”
I stared at her for a moment.
Nobody responded as my father and I left the atrium.
“She’s…different,” he commented as I led him back through the Hall of Gods.
I snorted.
Understatement of the year.
