Adoration swam in his eyes as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, eyes seeming to drink my face in, murmuring, “I knew you’d realize it eventually. Even if I had to slaughter all those who tried to take you from me first.”
Swallowing down the rage he stirred in me, I nodded and kept my tone soft as I responded. “None of them were strong enough to be my Emperor…but you are.”
I hoped that was what he wanted to hear. I was completely winging it based on the drivel he’d spewed to me thus far. With how powerful he was, I couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t just replaced Malakai to become the Emperor and rule how he wished. Why have a puppet leader when he could have achieved his goals more easily himself?
Something wasn’t adding up to me, but I wasn’t sure if he even knew his own mind, not if the swift emotional changes he’d displayed many times over were anything to go by.
His head jerked back before he chuckled and raised a brow. “Me, the Emperor? No.”
I let surprise flutter across my face as I asked, “Why don’t you want that? You’re the most powerful man in all the lands.”
I allowed my eyes to drop shut as he closed the distance between our faces, pressing a kiss to my forehead before murmuring against my skin, “We will find a new puppet to put in charge of our empires. I refuse to be held prisoner to one land to simply rule over idiots. We will ensure it is run as we see fit before traveling to find another land, conquering it, and implementing the same changes.”
A small gasp fell from my lips, which I quickly rushed to cover with a cough, making him pull back as he looked me over in concern. “What’s wrong, my love?”
Wincing at the use of the name Elijah used for me, I stammered out, “This armor is just hurting me. Would you mind if I took it off? I know you’re strong enough to protect me if anyone tries to attack us.”
His eyes heated as he nodded, allowing his hands to find the straps holding each piece in place. “Let me help you. I’m so glad to see this trust you’re placing in me, Kyella. I know that you’ll prove to me how right I was to choose you.”
Forcing a pinched smile to my lips, I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything as I moved to take off the waistband holding the items I would so desperately need once this armor was off. It was a risky move, but I knew that he would be less suspicious with me willingly removing the defensive armor. I had to bide my time for the perfect moment, no matter how much my fingers twitched to grab my daggers from the floor and plunge them into his neck.
Holding the belt in one hand, I turned my face to glance up at him as he let the metal on my arm and shoulder fall to the ground. What I hadn’t expected was for his face to be so close to my own, leaving me no room to dodge the kiss he forced upon me.
I fought with everything in me to not bite his tongue when he shoved it into my mouth, realizing that this was my moment. He truly thought I was captivated by his strength and willing to stand by his side. All I had to do was continue to convince him of that for a few moments more.
Forcing my mouth to open, I kissed him back, not wanting to raise suspicion. Meanwhile, I slowly reached with both hands behind me to grab the soft, silky petal of the flower from within the pouch before dropping it to the ground. Carefully, I raised my hands to thread into his hair as he dipped me back, deepening the kiss. The flower lay between the palm of my hand and his hair, and I could hardly breathe as disgust at his kiss and anticipation for what I was about to attempt flowed through me in tandem.
As he pulled back slightly, breaking our kiss and rubbing his thumb across my jaw affectionately, I smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at him as I whispered, “I’m sorry, Lazarus.”
“It’s okay, Katarina,” he breathed out affectionately, eyes completely clouded with love.
I almost halted at the use of my mother’s name as he spoke to me. His mind was further warped than I had even imagined, but I used it to my advantage, pushing that belief upon him even more.
“I should have never denied you,” I admitted wistfully, and his eyes began to pool with tears as he sniffled and nodded.
The moment he opened his mouth to answer me, I pulled my hand with the flower down and shoved it into his mouth, catching him by complete surprise in whatever trance he found himself in.
Using his shock to my advantage, I continued to shove my fingers further into his mouth and hit the back of his throat. Using the tips of my fingers I forced it down his throat until he gagged and swallowed reflexively.
I prepared myself for a blow as his brain caught back up with the present, but that didn’t stop the swift blow to my already damaged breastplate from causing me to cry out in pain as he slammed the butt of his palm against me. I flew through the air once more.
Using the last semblance of energy I could find within my battered body, I recalled the tuck maneuver Myrin had taught me as we worked on tactics for fighting as a smaller woman. It was a little harder with the armor on, but I brought my knees to my chest and let the force of the move overtake my body, spinning upside down before letting myself untuck. Coming to the ground, my feet crashed into the floor, the impact rattling my heels and shins but leaving me standing as I prepared for another attack from Lazarus.
I knew his speed would have him upon me in a split second, but as I bent my knees, preparing to counter, I blinked rapidly at what I saw before me. His hands were clawing at his throat, and he began to convulse the same way Barnabus had, alerting me that the flower was working.
Not willing to leave this to chance, I quickly ran to grab my daggers off the floor before rounding to face him.
I couldn’t believe the facade had worked. His sick obsession with my mother, something twisted and broken that had transferred to me, ended up being my saving grace. His sick delusion led to his downfall.
How could he be such an idiot, for all the years he’d spent cultivating his plans?
As he fell to his knees, his face turning a beautiful shade of purple, I called out, “Why my mother, Lazarus? Why me? You had everything else you wanted.”
The last thing I expected was a real answer. But it seemed as if clarity entered his eyes for the first time as he choked out in a wheezing breath, “What’s an Emperor without his Empress?”
I was stunned by the answer. He had no idea what it was like to love…and he thought he could force that connection.
Maybe it was the way he watched everyone around him find love as millennia passed by, that made him want it so badly that he allowed it to become his downfall. The one thing he couldn’t force someone to do was love him, truly. If he did, he’d still know that it wasn’t of their own free will…a false pretense.
