Andrian hung his head as nausea crept up his throat.
He had to escape this. He had to get away from Kol. But he knew that no matter where he went, he could never go back to Mariah.
Never would he endanger her again. He was nothing more than a walking trap for her.
Kol’s fingers dug into Andrian’s shoulder, as if the dark god could still read his thoughts.
“I hope this serves as a reminder to you all. None shall stand in the way of the new world I will bring. I will exalt those who serve and punish those who resist.” Kol released Andrian, turning on his heel and stalking back to his makeshift throne.
“Gabriel Laurent. Please step forward.”
Andrian’s head shot up.
Gabriel had always been gentler. He wore his heart on his sleeve, coddled by a life of affection.
Andrian was surprised to see a careful mask set across Gabriel’s aristocratic features, the fires in his blood carefully hidden in his golden eyes. Eyes that were so much like hisfathers. He stood proud, arms clasped behind his back, and lifted his chin to Kol.
“You are now the Lord of Antoris. I hope you serve me and that station far better than your predecessor.” Kol’s red-gold eyes burned the back of Andrian’s head. “Bothof your predecessors.”
Andrian didn’t need to turn to know that Kol was moving, sweeping across the dais and out of the hall, Ksee on his heels. A tension snapped in the room and the crowd heaved a collective sigh.
They quickly retreated, however, when twomudaeguards stalked from the shadows, hauling Julian Laurent’s corpse between them and leaving the hall.
Andrian stayed there for a long time—how long, he couldn’t be sure—kneeling in the stain of his father’s blood.
It was hard to break the habit of calling the man his father. He knew he shared no blood with him. He remembered his childhood; he couldn’t even say he felt he’d been raised by him. The man had been cruel and selfish and so often had tried—and succeeded—in hurting people Andrian loved.
So why did he now feel so hollow and stained and empty?
Boot heels clicked on marble. Andrian’s gaze landed on a familiar golden stare.
Gabriel glanced between him and the ruby stain on the dark floor. His mouth opened and closed, so much emotion flickering like embers behind his eyes.
Andrian didn’t want to hear what his brother had to say. Not right now. Gabriel was too good, too bright, to be tainted by this darkness.
And he would need every drop of his fire to survive in this den of serpents.
So, without another word, Andrian rose from the floor and strode from the hall, pieces of his shattered heart falling witheach step as he left his brother beside the evidence of his greatest sin.
Chapter 20
“Delaynie—wake up!
Something pounded. A fist on wood?
The world around Quentin was fogged with pain. His eyes blearily fluttered, sagging heavily against his companion. “Quentin, by the fucking skies. You made it all this way; please help me out a little.”
Rylla.That’swho was with him.
Quentin blinked again, trying to survey his surroundings. The world was too bright, too fuzzy around the edges, but he recognized the inside of Amasis’sserekah. This was the floor where Mariah, Ciana, and Delaynie kept their rooms.
“How…?” He could barely croak the word, his tongue like sandpaper in his mouth.
“How’d we get back here? We walked. Or rather,Iwalked. You stumbled and were half-dragged.” Rylla muttered a Kreah curse. “All because you refused to see a healer. If you die, it’s your own fault.”
The memories surged against the haze of his pain.
His excursion into Desva. Finding the darker side of the city. Defending Mariah and getting tossed into the pits. A fight to the death—two fights, really.
