It was the kind of haven he’d hoped to find for his people, but he wouldn’t trust this palace of lies so easily. Not until he ripped the intentions of these druids from Kaedryn’s throat.
It couldn’t be as simple as them idolizing those so-called “children of earth and starlight.”
Worshipping. Revering. Their entire wretched flock had sunk down in supplication. Bending the knee like something inextricably spineless.
The image struck fast, unbidden. Out of his control. Down on hisownknees, Jassyn’s long fingers cupping his jaw, tilting his chin to meet his eyes.
Lykor’s breath hitched, a sensation flaring hot, nearly violent. Heat surged up his spine, curled in his gut—a primal urge clawing to be let loose.
An annoying gnat, Aesar chuckled at his side.I thought we were stuck in a cage, not a pleasure house.
Forming a fist, Lykor obliterated the thought. He disintegrated Aesar, slamming him back into the farthest recesses of confinement.
He swallowed hard, still parched. Even after draining multiple chalices of water, dehydration lingered, fogging his senses.
Muddled. That’s what he was. Still raw from being splayed beneath the sun. Unbalanced from the absence of his armor. And, worst of all, suffocated by fuckingsilk.
No. He wasn’t thinking straight. He’d never kneel for—
His gaze snapped to Jassyn.
Across the room, Serenna and Jassyn hovered over Vesryn, who lay sprawled across a couch—the lot of them blessedly oblivious to the mortifying way his pulse still pounded, warmth creeping up his throat.
You can try to kill a thought.Aesar’s voice drifted back into his mind as he peered out of the doors of his library, studying his brother through Lykor’s eyes at the threshold.Bury it, scorch it, smother it under your pride. Like you always do.He kicked back a leg, crossing his arms as he leaned against the frame.But you felt it. And that means it’s real. You don’t have to deny it.
Lykor breathed out of his nose, wrestling his hammering heart into submission.IF YOU CAN BRING YOURSELF TO GIVE ME A MOMENT’S PEACE—AND BY THAT, I MEAN SHUTTING THE FUCK UP—YOU CAN TAKE OVER IN AN HOUR.
There. The nuisance got what he was after.
Satisfied, Aesar smirked before slipping back into the library, clicking the door shut.
Crimson light waned from Serenna’s palms as she finished healing Jassyn’s sunburns, ensuring he could focus more clearlyon Vesryn, who obviously needed mending more than anyone else. In the carriage, they’d worked in hurried unison to stabilize the prince, their combined efforts keeping him from slipping past the point of no return.
From where he lay half-buried in cushions, Vesryn released a dramatic groan, an arm flung across his forehead. Still too drained to do more than bemoan the state of his ruined legs and feet.
A steady procession of palace servants had filtered in and out after they’d been settled into this opulent cell. The druids brought wraps, tinctures, and whatever other useless remedies they thought might aid the prince.
As tempting as it had been to pry the scales from their flesh and shred their wings, Lykor had reined himself in. Instead, he’d flashed his fangs and chased the lizards out.
A rustle from the other side of the room drew his attention.
Fenn. Finally stirring.
Lykor stalked up to him and demanded, “Were you here the entire time?” He fixed his scowl on the lieutenant, who was draped across a chaise. His eyes flicked over an array of fruits that glistened on silver platters. “Drunk on nectar and gorging yourself on figs and peaches while we were poisoned, kidnapped, and roasted in the sun?”
Fenn blinked sluggishly and slurred, “There’s peaches?”
He slowly swiveled to swing his legs off the couch. The absurd ribbons of his robe tangled around his ankles as he planted his feet on the floor. The moment he tried to rise, his knees buckled, sending him collapsing back into the cushions.
“I think they dosed me with more venom than I’ve ever had—and that’s saying something,” Fenn mumbled, squinting up at Lykor as he strained to focus. “When I first roused and realized that Serenna wasn’t with me—that she was tethered somewhere…”
He rubbed his eyes before his head whipped around the quarters, mounting urgency cutting through his glassy expression. The instant he spotted Serenna draining a glass of water, worry etched deeper into his expression.
Fenn lurched to stand again, but Lykor clamped a hand on his shoulder. Doing the fool a favor, he shoved him back down before he fell on his face.
Serenna was at Fenn’s side a heartbeat later, clasping his outstretched claw.
“What happened?” Fenn asked, eyes flaring as they cleared enough to scan her sunburned skin.
