She giggles as if we’re sharing secret crushes. “Kaden was so close with his mother and I inserted myself into their lives. He saw me all the time—started to depend on me. When I discovered of how horrible Serafina’s marriage was, I convinced her to have a thirdchild. Said it would heal a hole in her heart. The strain on the marriage grew and the fights became too numerous to count.”
I swallow thickly. “Zelos was blamed for the murder. But that’s not true, is it?”
She looks to the side, eyes faraway. “A little bit of sleeping plague and she was gone.”
The revelation rocks me to my core. So much so that I need to hold on to a nearby chair for stability.
She sees my reaction. “Well, I couldn’t let her live. How else would he come to me with all his problems?” She glances to the balcony and sighs. “Then,Oslohad to ruin it. Remind him of his duty. But I bid my time. Kept going. I provided support and reassurance—everything a spouse would do.”
“He saw you as a mother.” And she groomed him to be her husband.
“He saw me as an equal,” she argues. “Until you came into his life.”
“No,Iam his equal. You are just a hopeless old female with delusional dreams that are everyone’s else nightmares.”
Her smile melts away, eyes growing cold. “If that is the case, why is he bonded to me and not you?”
Now I smirk. “You had to result to magic and tricks to get a bonding with him. I have the Gods on my side. Who really won?”
I expect the hit. Energy whips through the bedroom, slamming into my chest. I brace, holding my magic back, concentrated on my body. The force knocks me back, slamming into the golden wall. A dent is left as I slide down, blooding trailing behind me.
Thankfully, it’s a small cut. And she didn’t slice my neck like Reid.Small miracles.
Looking up from the floor, her face contorts into a mask of fury. Red colors her cheeks and she raises her hand again. The Hadeon jumps to my aid, nuzzling my shoulder as if to help me up.
My chest tugs and that burn from my dream starts to spread. But it doesn’t go further, it doesn’t blister, and I pull my tunic open to watch in fascination.
A small red mark, more of a rug burn, shows but nothing else.
Aoife screams, stomping her foot, eyes wild. “He gave you the potion!”
Thank you, Baris.
“What can I say?” I quip, standing on shaking legs, using one of the Hadeon’s head as a cane. “My father thought this through.”
If it keeps my heart in my chest, I assume it does the same to her. I may be able to use her blood against her, but I won’t be able to crush her heart. I’ll have to fight her with my weapons and avoid her magic in order to attempt to end her.Easy enough.
Clenching the hilt of my daggers, I lower my shoulders as another voice calls out from the doorway, “Am I interrupting?”
