Page 19 of The Blade in the Ashes
“It’s hard to put a timeline on grief,” I told him, feeling fire in my bones even without magic to fuel it.
Hyrax’s eyes snapped to mine.
“I’m grieving the loss of people I viewed as family, after all,” I reminded him, carefully folding my napkin into neat squares. “You should understand how difficult it is to lose someone you loved.”
For a moment, the three of us all sat eerily still. Even the clicking of the clock in the parlor seemed to pause.
“That is entirely different!” Hyrax yelled, rising to his feet in such a rush that the table shook. “Pasnia was my wife! Those weretraitors!”
Hyrax’s blue eyes stared me down, the shade so familiar it made something deep inside meache.
There was so much pain in that gaze—true, unabashed agony—the kind that made me feel the tiniest inkling of sympathy for him.
As I stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking, I realized that regardless of everything else that had ever happened or any wrong he had ever committed, Hyrax hadn’t always been a monster. Not completely, at least.
No one could love another with a fierceness like that without a tiny part of goodness in their soul.
Pasnia was gone, though, and Hyrax wasn’t the same God I had met in the Underworld when his love for her had still been alive.
Her death had left him broken.
Caldrius took hold of my hand, intertwining our fingers in clear view. “Yes, they were traitors. It’s one reason I’ve been so insistent about giving my wife time before forcing her into the role of heir. When my brother betrayed me, it was unbearable, both because of his actions and because I mourned the bond we once shared with each other.”
Hyrax stood unmoving for a long while, huffing as he stared at me. I held his gaze, even as Caldrius’ grip on my hand tightened and goosebumps peppered across my flesh. Looking away was impossible. I couldn’t unsee what I was witnessing in my father’s eyes.
Eventually though, Hyrax’s gaze wandered to my hand in Caldrius’ before coming to rest on Caldrius himself.
Slowly, he nodded at him and took his seat again.
“No more talk of this,” he announced, clearing his throat gruffly. “There is an abundance of time for you to learn the requirements of ruling. We have an eternity, my dear, for you to step into the role of a Goddess among Mortals. Tonight, let us focus on family—our family, together here at last.”
“A wonderful idea, my Liege,” Caldrius agreed with a smile, beckoning towards a servant and holding out his glass expectantly.
Hyrax lost himself in conversation with Caldrius, the two of them reminiscing on some old tale from the Underworld as if that entire outburst hadn’t happened at all. They paused only to instruct the servants to take the uneaten food to the dining hall, so that any palace staff could have it. I sat quietly as they talked, chiming in with gentle laughter or sounds of agreement when necessary, but kept my attention fleeting, preferring to take in my surroundings rather than listen to them talk.
The suite had changed completely.
Gone were the banners of Athenia, the golden furnishings, the portraits of Zion and dragons. Gonewas… everything.
The walls were bare. The windows were free of curtains. In fact, the only real decor that had been added to the space were the vases of black dahlias. Otherwise, it was as cold and empty as the Underworld had been.
When dessert was over and sunlight faded into moonlight, Hyrax leaned back in his seat and scratched at his jaw as he quietly glanced out the terrace doors to the night sky. In the silence, Caldrius’ fingers danced over my shoulder once more. I lifted my chin to meet his gaze, surprised to find his brow lifted, lips holding back a grin, eyes containing more than a fair bit of understanding.
Gods, when he smirked like that…
It looked eerily similar to the smirk of another Descendant of Zion, one whose touch I would beg to feel.
Pressure locked down on my chest, pangs of longing and loneliness hitting me in rapid succession. I moved to shift back in my seat, but his hand locked around my shoulder, the understanding in his gaze shifting to something darker, something more serious.
Something more like a warning.
His gaze flickered to Hyrax, and he leaned forward, whispering in my ear, “He will dismiss us when he’s ready for us to leave.”
“I’m tired,” I responded aloud, feeling the gazes of both men fall upon me as I pushed out of my seat. I no longer cared if I offended either of them. “Thank you for dinner, but I will return to my suite now.”
“Areyou out of your mind?”
Caldrius’ voice was sharp as he shut the door to my suite behind us.
