Page 89 of Vicious Kings
"Yes." There's no hesitation or apology in his voice. "Because it's the only way you're going to get close enough to strike."
I'm on my feet before I realize I've moved, putting distance between us. "You're out of your fucking mind if you think…"
"Your mother tried the direct approach," he interrupts, and the words halt me mid-retreat. "How did that work out for her?"
I freeze. This son of a bitch has me painted into a corner, and he knows it.
"Besides," he continues, "if you're Corvinus's pet, you're also Drakiss's pet. And Tallon's. That's three times the chances to kill my brother through their shared bond when the time comes."
"And when might that be?"
"Not yet." He plucks another shadow flower and offers this one to me.
I hesitate before reaching out to take it, only for the flower to break apart in dark, smoky wisps within my grasp, as if it can only be held by someone made of the same darkness as it.
"Patience, little hunter," he says, lowering his voice as he leans in close enough for his alpha scent to wrap around me like a silken noose. "You may think you know how to navigate this world, but you've only been trained to hunt our kind in isolation, and I guarantee you've never been up against anything like the triad. Stick with me, do what I tell you, and we'll both get what we want in the end."
"I already refused him," I say, holding his gaze. By far the most annoying part about being an omega is how difficult it is to avoid the instinct to look away from an alpha's stare. "How am I going to agree to be his pet without making the triad suspicious?"
"Leave that to me," he says, turning to walk toward the gate. "Just keep doing what you're doing."
So suffering, pretty much. Got it.
"If you're lying, I'll kill you," I call after him. "Even if it's the last thing I do."
He stops in front of the gate, the ivy curving back for him, retreating from the iron bars. "I would expect nothing less."
With that, he's gone, leaving me alone in the garden with his strange shadows and a key that's become my only chance at vengeance.
If Caelyx betrays me, I'll just melt it down into an arrow to pierce his heart.
Twenty-Six
BILLIE
The fabric slips through my fingers like water. I'm supposed to be arranging it into something that screams "safe space for a vulnerable omega," but all I can think about is how many different ways I could strangle someone with it.
Threesomeones, in fact.
Maybe a fourth, depending on how he behaves.
Three days since Caelyx gave me that iron key and told me to play along with Corvinus's obsession. And it's been threemoredays of Prince Charming being in every single one of my classes except this one, asking pointed questions he already fucking knows the answers to and carrying my bag like we're sweethearts in high school.
And not a word from Caelyx about when we're meeting again.
"You're doing it wrong," Olivia says, not unkindly, reaching over to adjust the pillows I've stacked like defensive fortifications instead of the welcoming nest they're supposed to be. "It's supposed to invite someone in, not keep them out."
"Maybe I don't want anyone in," I mutter, but I let her rearrange them anyway.
The Nesting and Domestic Arts classroom is exactly what you'd expect, with soft lighting and pastel everything. There are stations set up for pairs of omegas to practice building the perfect sanctuary.
The professor, a Fae woman named Madame Silvaine who makes Madame Loriyne look relaxed by comparison, circles the room like a shark, critiquing everyone's work with absolute brutality for something that's supposed to be subjective.
At least Corvinus doesn't take this class. Apparently even his obsession has limits.
Thank the saints.
Olivia hums while she works, completely in her element as she transforms our disaster of a nest into something that actually looks... nice.
