Bel immediately glowered.
“Truth.” I smiled with fang. “It will set you free from that damned doghouse, don’t you know?”
He grunted. “So we are back to that now?”
“Denial. It is a wonderful thing,” I singsonged.
King Belshazzar kissed my mouth softly, speaking against my lips. “Stay in denial as long as you need. I’ll be strong, even when you can’t be.”
It was my turn to scowl.
My lover chuckled deeply.
He was such a bastard.
Chapter Four
KIMBER
S’Kir
Island of the Unseen Gods
“Niallan was my son.”
The words tumbled over and over in my head.
Of all the things that had happened in the days it took us to return to the city, those words just kept spinning in my head.
Dorian had a son, and he was glad he was dead. His twin brother had murdered him, took his head, and brought it back—after three thousand years.
I looked out over the countryside from the window of the room I had been given. I could see the pale glow of the city ahead. We were only a half a day out, but after the insanity that was this afternoon, I needed to stop riding. I needed to sleep in a bed.
All of Savion’s men had dropped dead when they tried to attack the queen.
What kind of power did that amulet have? It was the kind of artifact that the council would have crushed and destroyed. It was too strong. And certainly too dangerous to wear as if it were a bauble.
What if it accidentally struck out at someone? Aiko had survived it, but what if he hadn’t?
I had to admit that I was very glad the queen ripped it off and threw it at King Belshazzar. He seemed too casual about such power.
What strange people they were. I wondered about the world they lived in. They spoke our language fluently, but it was peppered with words I didn’t know or that didn’t have an equivalent.
Scrubbing a hand down my face, I let out a breath.
“Niallan was my son.”
But then, at the same time, we had brought Savion’s with us to… trade, I suppose. Was Niallan as bad as Savion in his mad lust for power? I knew that Savion and his co-conspirators were horrible people. Selling children. Stealing and selling.
Dorian’s wife and son had been part of that.
Taking a deep breath, I realized it was better the three of them were now dead. I’d never know Niallan now, and it didn’t matter. I saw the insanity in Savion, and that was all I needed.
“Where the hell is the bathroom?”
A smirk crawled to my face as I turned to find the queen standing there.
“I’ve opened every door I’ve come across, and I can’t find a bathroom.”
