Page 40 of The Blade in the Ashes
Hyrax had called Caldrius a son so naturally.
Caldrius had been at his side for lifetimes, both as an advisor and a friend. He was more of a son to Hyrax than I would ever be a daughter. Of course, Hyrax would prioritize his wishes above mine.
Hiding my irritation behind a soft smile, I intertwined my fingers through Caldrius’ hand on my hip and pinched his skin in silent warning. Gods help me, if Caldrius didanythingto harm Veric, I would make him suffer for the rest of eternity for it.
He chuckled darkly as he pressed a kiss to my temple.
“All in the past, my liege.” His breath was warm against my skin. “No need to punish a man for having the misfortune of being forced into an engagement with a woman who would never return his affections.”
It seemed to take some time for the God to decide how he felt about that. His eyes bounced between the two of us for a long time before he eventually shrugged and turned to seat himself on the onyx throne behind us.
A throne that had been golden only a fortnight ago.
Now it towered higher than I’d ever seen it before, the once shining glimmer of it now replaced with something altogether more ominous. It wasn’t quite the throne of skulls and bones that he’d sat on in the Underworld, but it was clearlyhis.
“You’ve stopped breathing,” Caldrius whispered to me.
I had?
Yes, I had. My chest had locked. My grip on his palm neared crushing.
I forced myself to inhale. A single deep breath in. A single deep breath out. Again. Again.
“Good.”
“I don’t need your approval,” I hissed back at him under my breath, pushing at his hand.
His mouth quirked into that sideways smirk, and he gave my hip a single squeeze before nudging me forward gently.
“You need to be thoughtful in how you handle this,” he murmured into my ear, his lips brushing against my skin. “He wants you to behisheir, not someone who still longs for Athenia.”
I glanced backwards at him, noticing the subtle tension in his shoulders. His jaw twitched unhappily, those fingers stretching at his sides as they did when he was worried.
Caldrius being worried was never a good thing.
“Why are you here?” I asked Rani, returning my attention to the matter at hand.
The Empress glanced up at me. Tenebrisian fashions usually revealed more than those favored in Athenia, so she had chosen a more modest gown than the last one I had seen her in. Still, it was crafted from that shimmering fabric that many of my gowns in Tenebris had been made of, leaving her a mass of glittering finery. Diamonds sparkled on her ears, neck, and fingers.
No golden crown, though.
She hadn’t dared to wear a crown before a being so much more powerful than her.
“We felt the rise of his Holiness and have come to pledge ourselves in his service.”
“You’re Descendants of Zion,” I reminded them blandly, unable to keep the contempt from my voice.
Despite being the last of my line, when I’d visited their country, they’d treated me as far less important than Clay because of our lineages.
Where had all that House Zion pride gone? Where was their loyalty to their ancestor now?
Hyrax laughed softly behind me. “Surely we should not turn away their loyalty because my brother sired them, my dear. If we judged everyone so harshly, you would not be so happily married, after all.”
Caldrius quirked his head in agreement, shifting his weight and lifting his chin as he addressed the monarchs. “It was wise of you to come here and acknowledge the power of the God among you. One must always know when they need to get on their knees and bow.”
His voice was thick with authority, coated in arrogance. Forgetting that I was supposed to behappily married,I turned to glare at him, my upper lip curled back in disgust. But he avoided my gaze, keeping his attention focused instead on the monarchs at his feet. That smug satisfaction was rolling off him in waves.
He loved this.
