But my eyes lock on his smile.
That familiar, measured tilt of his lips as he stares with grim satisfaction.
“Holy fuck,” Ego breathes from beside me. “That’s The Architect.”
My blood runs cold as those lips curve higher, edging into a smirk.
The identities of the High Commanders have long been guarded secrets within the military, limited to the strictest need-to-know basis, but over the years rumors have circulated about the one who started it all.
The ruler who wasn’t satisfied with his reign of terror on the other side, so when the pathway between our worlds opened, he unleashed his armies on our cities. He slaughtered mercilessly while wearing that same smile he wears now.
Ruthless, with an unquenched thirst formore.
“I didn’t know we were expecting company, Xenesis,” he muses.
His voice is softer than I would’ve expected. It’s velvety and rolls over me like silk. His solid white eyes never leave Xeni as he tilts his head with predatory interest that makes my skin crawl.
“Don’t be rude,” he continues. “Introductions should be made in these types of situations, wouldn’t you agree?”
“We’re leaving,” Xeni says with a threat spiking every word. “Turn around and walk away.”
“Now, why would I do that when this is such a special opportunity to meet those important to you?”
His eyes shift beyond Xeni, clocking Cato, Sakane, and Ego before landing on me.
For the first time, his composure slips.
“You—” he begins.
Xeni takes a step forward with a growl that rumbles from deep in his chest. “Don’t look at him!” he shouts.
The Architect’s eyebrows flicker up in momentary surprise. “He’sdead,” he responds, low and dangerous as he stares at me for a few long breaths. His attention moves back to Xeni, eyes wild and voice climbing with each word.
“He is supposed to bedead!”
His fury fills every empty space, and the loss of composure unleashes a wave of power so oppressive it closes my windpipe. He charges forward as Xeni releases his own power and meets him step for step, and they collide with a force that shakes the air.
There’s no oxygen left in the room. My throat is full of sand, and my lungs are heavy as concrete. My head swims, but I don’t dare look away.
The Architect grabs Xeni by the wrists, unblinking as he pushes them almost nose to nose. “Stand aside,” he commands, and the force of it coasts over my skin like ice.
Xeni’s body quivers as he fights the magic. His arms jerk as he takes a half step back, but he doubles down with a howl that sounds pained and pours even more of his power into the room.
“No,” he grits through clenched teeth, his feet inching forward despite the strain. “Get out of here and let us go.Leave.”
The Architect laughs, a droplet of crimson blood dripping from his nostril as he leans closer. “You dare to think you could ever overpowerme? You are nothing more than a cheap imitation of what you could’ve been. We could’ve had the entire fucking world, Xenesis. Together, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against us, but you wasted every opportunity. The child of a king who gave everything up for hishuman mate. You arepathetic!”
The world slows to a crawl as his words hit me, and my eyes dart between the two of them standing off before me.
Grim satisfaction crosses The Architect’s face as he notes the surprise on mine.
“He never told you who he really is, did he?”
Xeni snarls as he shoves him back a step, but the older Cavese is unbothered as he flashes another of those familiar smiles.
“It would seem my son has been keeping secrets from us both, wouldn’t it?”
So many things make sense in that moment.
