I did not need air, not when I had the essence ofhimto feast upon.
“You will not disappoint my queen, Palomides.” The Brutal Prince did not ask. He commanded.
I wanted to reach for his hand, to speak into his mind and tell him what those words meant. No memory at all, and yet still he understood. Maybe it was the mating bond. Maybe his beast. I did not fucking care. The possessiveness and threat in those words touched the broken part of me that had been ripped asunder.
Feet scraped against the ground—Palomides rising. I imagined I could hear his bones creak as he knelt on the floor, and I fantasized about what it would feel like to snap a few of them.
The two younger terrestrials remained stock still on either side of the throne.
I clicked my tongue, and they sprang into motion. They lacked the elder’s grace of movement, sinking into awkward bows that revealed their inexperience. They might stand on either side of Palomides’ makeshift throne, but neither of these terrestrials had been coached in courtly manners.
When all three sets of knees pressed firmly to the floor, I exhaled a slow, appreciative sound.
“Very good,” I purred, so softly that it almost could have been a hum, an exhale, not a word at all.
But Palomides heard it. His mouth tightened as he pulled himself back to his feet.
I was drunk on the power of it, tempted to remind him that he should stay on his knees until I invited him to stand. But that would be counterproductive. He’d knelt before all of his guards, his wards, and witnesses from the elemental and terrestrial kingdoms. That would do.
For now.
I flicked my hand, and the others rose. Arran did not move from my side.
Palomides elected to stand before his throne, rather than seat himself in our presence. Wise choice.
“We did not receive word of your visit,” our host said, tenting his fingers in front of his body.
“And yet, you were well prepared for us,” Arran said. There was no inflection in his voice, but he did not need it. He was terrifying on his own. Maybe that was the best course of action—pretend that there was nothing amiss. If he acted as if he had something to prove, it would only spur rumors.
Arran Earthborn did not explain himself or cater to the whims of a would-be lord. He was the most powerful fae in millennia. His power spoke for itself.
Palomides merely shrugged. “Castle Chariot is unfortunately situated. We have had to take unconventional measures to defend ourselves.”
I wondered how many shifters had hidden in the woods, reporting upon our approach. The serpent, who now stood at his side, could not be the only one.
“Did your predecessor employ similar defenses?” I cut in. As I spoke, I fingered the hilt of my dagger in its jeweled scabbard. Shifted my shoulders to accentuate the twin rapiers sheathed there.
Palomides recognized the threat, but his dark eyes were amused, rather than wary. “He did not.”
This time, I beat him to the shrug. “More the pity, him.”
He smiled, a poisonous thing that reckoned mine for wickedness. “Indeed.”
In the elemental kingdom, it would have been a crime punishable by death and torture to eliminate an ancient, noble house. But on this side of the Split Sea, where strength ruled, anything worth having was open to challenge.
I desperately wished to speak to Arran. We should have spoken before this, but we were so damned skittish of each other. We should have come into this hall with a plan—more of a plan. I’d been sorting through possibilities from the moment the black castle had appeared on the horizon.. But he’d asked me to stay out of his mind—ordered me, actually.
And I would not force myself upon him.
Not yet.
I lifted my chin, affecting an air of boredom with the proceedings. Time to cut through the bullshit. “We require access to your mines,” I said plainly.
Nothing in Palomides’ face shifted. He knew why we’d come, then.
But still, he said, “Which ones? I possess many mines.”
Ancestors-damned hell. I knew it. There was more to this terrestrial usurper styling himself as a lord. What other mines did he possess and would they be important to the war effort against the succubus?
