The seat next to him, at the head of the table, was empty.
Cronan rose from the opposite head. He was wearing the same dark clothes and cape he usually did. His smile was unsettling, because it didn’t reach any other part of his face. “Our guest of honor has arrived,” he said, raising a massive goblet. The other men at the table, besides Grim, followed suit. “Behold...my worldkey.”
“And what a striking key she is,” the man to her left said. His beard was shaped as carefully as a maze. His skin was bronze, his hair gold. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the bare skin below her collarbone.
“Sit,” Cronan said, the word a clear order.
Isla strode over to the empty chair as confidently as she could, her dress fluttering behind her. This was no different than the Centennial, she told herself. She had dined with plenty of people who wanted her dead before.
Cronan remained standing, his goblet raised. “The gods are dead,” he said. “We feast on their bones and corpses.”
When Isla went to take her seat, she realized the chairs at the table were upholstered in furs. Beautiful, vibrant furs in various colors, like great beasts had been skinned to make them. That wasn’t all—their silverware was made of bone. Just like the god-bone from Horus that had helped Isla get to this world, that Cronan had taken away from her.
Cronan met her eye across the table and lifted his goblet toward her—he was drinking out of a skull.
Isla looked around at the richly appointed table and nearly vomited.
Especially as the other men raised their goblets once more, for yet another toast, and she noticed all of them were missing one of their fingers. She remembered Cronan’s words. He required a bone, from each of his supporters.
As if watching her put the pieces together, Cronan just grinned—and his crown flickered again to one of the many it held inside. The crown of bones. The god-bone was now amongst them, shining more brightly than the rest.
It settled back to metal, and the meal began.
Conversation erupted as the men toasted loudly and drank from the skulls. Only she and Grim remained silent. She glanced over at her husband and found his face expressionless. She wished she could access his powers again, use his abilities to feel his emotions. But the bond between them was well and truly gone.
“Your destruction of the planet Finestra was a wonder to behold,” a man two seats down said. His dark skin was covered in colorfultattoos, and she thought she saw one of them shifting. “Tell us about the next one. Will you keep it...or consume it?”
Cronan took another long sip from the skull. “Some worlds are better left conquered, as you know,” Cronan drawled, his eyes on Isla. “Some house the greatest beasts in the universe, who thrive in their natural habitats. Some contain deposits of ore that amplify power. Some produce energy that can be mined when needed.”
The men nodded, hanging on Cronan’s every word. Isla wondered if they were each the leaders of their planets and what resource they had that was of value to Cronan. Clearly it was enough to keep them alive, let alone earn a seat at this table.
They must have all been offered the same deal as Isla. Had any of them hesitated?
“Other worlds, though,” Cronan continued, “are more useful feeding my own power. They’re better off not existing.” Cronan lazily swept a hand in front of his crown, and it changed, yet again. This time, it became a circle of sparks. The light and energy from the room were leeched away, pulled into that circle like it was a void. Isla gritted her teeth against it. And from those sparks, a galaxy formed. Dozens of planets, swirling in a spiral. Her throat went dry.
These were all the planets Cronan had destroyed. They lived in his crown.
But they didn’t live inhim.
He hadn’t truly consumed them, then. He wasn’t like her. He was simplymovingpower, collecting it, not absorbing it.
Isla didn’t want to compare herself to a monster like him. But she couldn’t help but feel like her power was stronger. She was sure Cronan would prefer not to have to keep all his conquests outside of him, in a crown that Isla had proven could be taken.
Cronan’s voice knocked her from her train of thought. “Take for example, a foolish world whereallpeople, not just the elites, can access power.” Cronan’s eyes remained firmly on Isla’s. She ground her teeth.“A world where power is drawn from all major forces. The sun. The moon. The stars. The sky. Darkness.Nature.” Isla heard a roaring in her ears. “I gather you all here in celebration, for we have finally found our way to our next frontier. A new galaxy to pillage. In just three weeks, we will break through this foolish world I speak of in order to get there. It will be our feeding ground before we make the journey onward. It will be the door to our destiny...”
He smiled at Isla. This time, it did reach his eyes. Cheers and cries of excitement sounded all around them.
“I will kill every single person there. Until the world is nothing but dust and ashes in our wake.”
GRIM
Don’t do it.
Grim knew exactly what the witch was going to do. He had a chance to stop it—but he didn’t. He just sat back and watched her grip the bone-carved fork.
And fling it through the air, right at Cronan’s heart.
Fuck. Her aim was perfect. It would have worked, if Cronan hadn’t turned at the last moment—and stopped the fork an inch from his chest.
