“Psst.” The noise came whisper-soft from the doorway.
I moved my head too quickly, and my vision swam, the world tilting and doubling. I wasn’t sure if it was from the poison coursing through my system or the tears blurring everything.
I stood on unsteady legs and went to the sink, gripping its porcelain edge before splashing cold water on my face. A washcloth materialized on the counter next to me.
“Who’s here?” My voice came out raspy and weak. It couldn’t be the house mage, could it? Why in hell would he come here, to me of all people?
“M-m-m-me. W-w-we n-n-need t-t-to h-h-help N-N-Nico.” The stutter on every single word revealed how terrified Kage was.
“Nicolas? He’s here?” Of course he would be if the house mage was, but my brain wasn’t fully functioning yet. “Where is he?”
“Your f-f?—”
“Valentino!” I cringed as the booming voice came through the bathroom door that Kage must have shut, sending fresh waves of nausea through me.
I quickly wet the washcloth and ran it over my face, trying to erase any evidence of weakness before walking back into my bedroom on legs that threatened to buckle.
My father was standing in the doorway, his imposingframe blocking the exit, an annoyed look written on his face as if my poisoning was a mere inconvenience to his schedule.
As if he hadn’t been the one to order it.
“Father, what is the meaning of all this?” I struggled to keep my voice level despite wanting to rip his throat out. If I weren’t so weak, I might have done it.
But I couldn’t deny that my father scared the shit out of me. He hadn’t always been this way, though. It could have been worse—he could have followed my mother into bloodlust.
“Where’s the girl?” His question was a demand.
“Where’s Amari?” I steadied myself by leaning against a bookshelf, fingers gripping the wood hard enough to leave impressions. “Your men took off his arm. You better hope to?—”
He tipped his head back and laughed, the sound utterly devoid of humor. “Are you about to threaten me, boy?” He walked to the window and pulled the curtains aside, revealing the dark sky. “I should have known you would mishandle this.”
I stood silent and tried to control myself, biting back words that would only make things worse.
He let the drapes drop with a dismissive flick of his wrist before turning to look at me, his eyes calculating. “I never expectedherto try to take the crown.”
“She isn’t. I don’t understand how her return affects anything.” I really didn’t. With eleven council members, her vote wasn’t even needed.
“It affects everything. Although I suppose the council did its job in attempting to eliminate her as a threat. But their failure to contain her proves my point that I should be king.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Our politics were frustrating, to say the least. Even before Lilith overthrew theLuna family, the council was a revolving door of powerful men who only worked to better their own families.
I’d hoped to be different and to shake things up a bit.
What a fool I was.
He started pacing, one of his arms crossed with the other fist on his chin. It was his pensive look that meant he was coming up with another maniacal plan.
“Where did Winston’s village go? None of this was part of the plan.”
He shook his head as if he regretted what he was about to say. “Winston’s right hand figured things out. We had to eliminate all threats.” He sounded completely unremorseful.
“Women and children were threats?” My jaw clenched at the thought of my father doing this. “What did you do to them?”
Deep down, I already knew what had happened to them, but acknowledging it would shatter what little I had left of my sanity. I was barely holding on as it was, especially with my visit to Earth and Samara’s return.
“Don’t worry, they aren’t dead. We made them part of our army. I heard you met a few.”
I schooled my reaction. “We?” Who was my father working with? He wasn’t committing the most heinous atrocity of draining light from demons. Was he? “You’re draining light? Are you working with the shaman?”
