I examined her face, finding only honesty. I believed her and her intentions. It was those around us I didn’t trust. It was in my nature to distrust vampyres, but somehow the three Lords had bypassed that completely, and now Myrin was having a similar effect on me.
“So the others wanted to hunt them to extinction, all because they were a threat to their power?” I clarified, my jaw clenching.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Even the old gods could be corrupted by greed and power.”
“This need for complete power and control—it’s like Malakai,” I said harshly, feeling more pissed than I had in a long time. “I don’t understand it. I’ll never understand his brutality and hatred of humans. His greed to control every being in his empire.”
Her expression darkened at my words before observing, “You hate Malakai.”
“Of course I do.” I tempered my voice and looked down at my cup of blood. “He took away my freedom before I could even put a value on it.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“No,” I admitted, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “He’s cruel to everyone, and he rules his empire in a way that oppresses all but his Lords. He disregards the rules he implements for everyone else, and he thrives off the humiliation and suffering of others.”
A small clicking noise had me looking up at Barnabus, who seemed perturbed. I guess my tone made him upset. I looked back to the Empress, catching an odd look flash across her face before it smoothed out.
“It sounds like the Thaician Empire needs a drastic change,” Myrin offered after a moment. Her delivery was casual, but she closely observed my reaction.
I couldn’t hold back my scoff. “Yeah, that’s one way to phrase it.”
“Change that a war could bring forth.”
My eyes snapped up at her words.
A sympathetic, yet serious expression filled her face, like she hated to be the bearer of bad news but was going to anyway. “Malakai is going to come after you. That isn’t the question—I understood that when I decided to let you stay. I need to know if you are willing to fight for the change your homeland needs. Are you willing to fight against him and secure the freedom of the empire?”
I didn’t have to think about my answer, because while I had escaped with my freedom, what she was suggesting was so much more than that. There were so many families like Tristan’s that deserved freedom, to live like they did in the Tridian Empire. Determination coursed through me at the idea of fighting for them. The change would alter the course of the Thaician Empire and bring Malakai’s rule crumbling to the ground.
“Yes.”
ChapterEighteen
Dakath
“Dakath! Put me down!”
Kyella’s squeal followed by laughter had a smirk breaking onto my face. Once she left the corridor outside of the Empress’s private library, I’d scooped her up and thrown her over my shoulder. The other guards on watch paid us no mind as I carried her away, ignoring the way she tried to squirm off of me. Her fists playfully hit on my back, furthering my amusement. Maybe it was meant to be threatening, but it felt sort of good, like a massage.
“No can do, Ky,” I explained, keeping up my pace. When Elijah had explained he would be picking her up for lunch, I told him I wanted to do something special so I would gladly go grab her. The bastard had nearly argued with me about it but had ultimately swallowed his annoyance, resolving himself to be in a piss-poor mood.
Everything would be a lot easier once he came to the conclusion Kolvar and I had.
Kyella was ours.I didn’t know how she managed to fit into our group like the perfect puzzle piece so easily and quickly, but I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity of a lifetime. It felt right, and that’s all that mattered.
Well, at least to Kolvar and I.
“Why not?” she asked, pushing against my back to straighten up. I adjusted my grip as she slid further over my shoulder, one hand on the back of her thigh and my other on her perfect ass.
“You left bed without waking me up.” I’d hated waking up without her next to me, and it only took one time for me to know I never wanted it to happen again. I wanted to spend the rest of my days seeing her sleepy, gold gaze as the first thing, like my own personal sunrise.
Yeah, I had it bad for her, and I was perfectly okay with that.
“I didn’t have a choice! Elijah took me to breakfast so early; I wanted you both to sleep,” she reasoned, her voice filled with a light amusement that was becoming far more normal to her. Something that made me ridiculously happy. She was slowly opening more with each passing day, her spunky and fun energy starting to peek out. I couldn’t wait to peel back more and more layers.
Kyella deserved joy. She deserved beauty in her life. She deserved everything, and I wanted to be one of the men to give it to her.
“Not an acceptable reason,” I growled, swatting her butt lightly. “But I’m making up for it now by kidnapping you.”
