Lucien snorted, a column of smoke spewing from his snout. He looked up at me, his barbed tail trailing back and forth over the carpet, wagging as it ripped into the material every time a barb caught another string.
A grin slowly spread as he sat at attention, as if waiting for orders.
Chapter 29
Kade
The memories of what I’d done the last time I roamed Mysthaven stormed through my mind, unrelenting as the guilt festered inside of me.
Being here again made all of it too real. I wasn’t ready to face it. I breathed through my nose, clenching my jaw as I tried to push the memories aside.
“Do pay attention. It’s rude to ignore your king,” Thames ordered as he casually sat in an ornate gold-trimmed chair, the seat covered in onyx velvet. He swirled an amber liquid in his glass before taking another sip. “We have much to accomplish.”
I knew I needed to pay attention, but my head swam with an unrelenting grogginess, my vision blurring in and out. A hot breeze swept over my body, already slick with sweat. The heat in the room made it impossible to think clearly, but I needed to focus.
“Where are we?” I stared at Thames sitting across from me, surprised I remained unharmed. I wiped the sweat from my brow and noticed a glass of water on a table next to me. Reaching for the liquid, I hesitated as soon as it rested in my hand.
“I would drink up,” Thames said, steepling his fingers in front of his face. “Pulling you here from across Atheria isn’t the easiest thing for your body, powerful or not.”
I frowned, glancing at the liquid again. Would he try to poison me? Was this a trap? I smelled the glass, unable to detect anything suspicious. I would have to deal with the consequences later if my assumption turned out to be incorrect, because if I didn’t get something down my throat, I may combust. Swallowing the cool liquid in large gulps, I instantly felt relief.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
A smirk spread across Thames’s lips. “Firestone, of course. Where else would we be as the end draws near?” He stood and sauntered over to a railing I hadn’t noticed before. He looked pleased as he peered down, examining something below. “Yes, the weapon is almost complete.”
The longer I sat here, the more my senses returned to full capacity, even if they did so sluggishly. Far too slowly for this situation.
Thames turned away from the balcony’s edge, a firelight glow dancing over his face. “Feeling better?”
I hesitated, unsure of what the fuck was happening.
He cocked an eyebrow but didn’t make a move.
I nodded once.
“Come, come,” he said as he waved his hand for me to join him at the railing.
Thames acted as if I hadn’t completely disobeyed his orders. I hadn’t brought Lana to him—fuck, I hadn’t bothered returning to him at all. Every one of my senses urged me to proceed with caution, but if Thames was willing to talk, I would play along.
Carefully, I rose, feeling for my shadows within me, in case we needed a quick escape. Concern furrowed my brows. They felt distant.
We’re here. Pay attention. Survive.
I shook my head, clearing the last bit of fog, and moved to Thames’s side. “Tell me more.”
Before he uttered a word, my jaw dropped as I took in what he had been looking at. I glanced over my shoulder, realizing we were standing in a room carved into the side of the volcano. The walls were rough, without any pattern to how the hollow cave-like room was constructed. A slender staircase made up of uneven rocks snaked downward toward an opening in the center of the volcano. Molten lava bubbled in a large pool beneath us.
Thames’s eyes glistened with glee, as he placed his hands on the railing, surveying everything. “It’s here.” He whisked his hand before him. “It’s all here.”
I took a deep breath and allowed myself a moment to process what he’d laid out before me. “The volcano is the weapon?” I whispered, desperate for it not to be true.
“I have been feeding the darkness into the volcano for years now. Your father’s inconsistent help with this task irked me to no end. No matter, you are here now and together we will finish this.”
It was incomprehensible. Using the volcano as the weapon seemed impossible, but for a Fae who had been trapped for a thousand years, I wouldn’t put anything past him.
“How does it work?” I turned to face him, pretending to be captivated, in awe of his power and capabilities.
A bell rang in the distance, and footsteps echoed below. “I too have learned a thing or two aboutsacrificialmagic over the years,” Thames spat. “My mate was particularly skilled in that area of sorcery, and while she may have thought I wasn’t paying attention, I was.” The smile spreading over his face appeared eerier than usual as the glow from the lava danced over the curves of his face.
