Gemma did, her exhale bit against her gag, tears soaking the cloth. Relief? Grief? A twisted mix of both maybe?
Was she mourning Perseus, or mourning that I had been caught? Or maybe she cried for joy because Elva was no longer shackled to that bastard.
I looked at Callum, his glare on me heavier than that damn boot on my skull ever was.
Obrann only nodded, like we were performing exactly as he’d scripted. A snap of his fingers, and another servant approached, a tray balanced between their palms. Three goblets balanced within it, mockeries of his own.
“I’ve waited for this moment,” he leaned back, arms spreading wide, “long before today. But when I learned my son had been poisoned—” The server stopped before us; knelt like offerings. “I thought, what better time than now?”
“We didn’t kill the prince.” Callum’s voice tore from his throat, desperate in a way I’d never heard.
The man who usually pressed swords to spines, who never begged, sounded like he was pleading now. And he was right to. The air was drenched in verdict.
One of us, if not all, would die today. But who was he pleading for? Me? Elva? Gemma? Or himself?
Obrann’s jeweled fingers tapped the throne’s armrest—
One. Two. Three.
The rhythm was quick at first, impatient, like a heart pounding against its cage. Then it slowed into something measured, deliberate.
One. Two. Three.
He propped forward; chin perched on the back of his hand. “I knowyoudid not kill him, commander.” His finger shifted up, brushing his cheek. Again—
One. Two. Three.
“But out of the three of you,” his hand sliced lazily through the air, dividing us like pieces on a board, “who do you think did?”
The stone bit into my knees as I shifted, trying to shake the weight pressing down. He was bluffing. He had no proof. We’d done everything right.
Callum’s throat moved, but he no longer stared at me, even as I reached through our bond to explain.
Callum...Not surprisingly, none of my words reached him.
Maybe I would’ve told him if he’d trusted me with the dragons. Maybe he would’ve helped if he’d known what Perseus was doing to Elva. Judging by the new bruises on her arms, the task had simply been passed along.
Obrann’s silence stretched, a predator’s pause. When no one spoke, he said, “I’ve been watching your little cabal for some time. The stunt with the dragons was impressive. How did you get them to obey?” Before anyone could answer, he lifted a finger, a flash of revelation dancing across his gaze. “Oh,” he murmured, pointing it directly toward us. “You stole from me, Callum Hale.”
The words landed like a trap snapping shut.
Double, triple—Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“I didn’t take you for their leader,” he snickered. “You were a fine commander. Loyal, predictable, but weak where it counted. And stealing from my trove?” An unimpressed click rolled off his tongue. “Let’s see if the dragons come to your aid now.”
My throat bobbed. Gods, don’t let him hear the gallop of my pulse, the sweat bleeding through my skin.
A snap of his fingers, and the servant knelt, placing the goblets before each of us, liquid glinting dark.
“We are no rebels,” Callum voiced. “I am your commander of the guard, Your Majesty. My loyalty is to the crown.”
Obrann’s smile curved. “Have you heard the story of the king beyond the mountain, and the downfall of his realm?” Not waiting for our answer, he settled back into his throne. “Shame. Let me share it with you.”
The sound of his throat clearing tugged the hall into silence as he began. “Long ago, when the skies still sang, before crowns and borders sculpted the land, there was another realm. One where light bowed to the Seraph Ascendant. The Angel ruler.”
My head jerked toward the oval window, reaching for the mountain.
“His queen fell ill, turning her wings gray, her heart dimming near death.” His pause lingered, stretching, letting the weight of the tale settle. “The ruler, as proud and unbending as he was, had always refused to kneel before the Gods. He called their worship weakness, their mercy a chain. But the queen’s son could not bear to watch her fade. Desperate, he sought out the Gods in secret, begging them to save her.”
