“Sit,” he said quietly.
Trembling, I turned as if in a daze and sat. I stared forward, not seeing any of those before me. My gaze fixed on the ivory chair in the alcove. It was empty, with nothing but a stain of bluish-red blood on the back of the seat.
The numbness slowly faded, leaving only simmering anger as I stared at a heavily muscled beast about the size of a horse but shaped like a dog with skin the color of midnight oil.
A dakkai rested beside the steps leading to the dais, chewing on what looked suspiciously like someone’s leg bone. My lip curled. There was still meat on it.
I’d nearly had a heart attack when the thing first arrived and trotted across the dais. Kolis had only laughed, calling to it like one would a favorite hound. He’d even scratched the beast beneath the chin, avoiding the meaty leg bone jutting from either side of its mouth. The dakkai merely sniffed the air around me and then went to where he lay now as Kolis finally held Court.
It wasn’t like the kind Ash held in the Shadowlands or what I’d seen in Lasania. Nor did it consist of gods droning on about what was asked for or left as offerings at one of his Temples.
Yes, gods who called Dalos home came before the false King with requests. Some asked for permission to travel between Courts. Others wanted to enter the mortal realm. Kolis approved what they sought with an indifferent nod, appearing mostly bored with the proceedings.
Blowing out a ragged breath, I scanned the crowd below. I found Attes beyond the crush, his brows lowered and jaw set hard as he leaned against a pillar.
Shame prickled my skin. I didn’t even want to know what he thought about what I’d done. Or if Kyn had shared with him the second deal I’d made with Kolis. But as I stared at him, I thought about our conversation regarding Sotoria’s soul. Had he found something? There had to be. After all, there was The Star—the diamond taken from the Undying Hills the Arae intended to use in case they ever needed to hold the embers of a Primal if no Primal of Life could Ascend to replace one who’d fallen. Obviously, one of the Fates had foreseen what was to come but hadn’t seen that what they’d created would give Kolis the object he needed to transfer the embers.
Gods, that still ticked me off. But if The Star was powerful enough to hold embers, couldn’t it do the same for a mortal soul?
Kolis had the diamond. Somewhere.
But hadn’t he offered me jewels? More importantly, would he be idiotic enough to give me such a powerful item? Likely not, but it was worth a try.
Kolis’s movements snagged my attention. He sat straighter, his upper body tipped forward as he listened to the two gods who had approached the dais. The dakkai was gone. It must have wandered off at some point. I hadn’t been listening closely enough to pick up the gods’ names. My mind was far too consumed with thoughts of what I’d done. I couldn’t care all that much about what they had done. All I knew was that the one on the right was angry with the one on the left, over some sort of perceived insult.
“What would you like me to do, Amais?” Kolis asked.
“I want him punished,” the one on the right, who I assumed was Amais, demanded, jeweled rings glittering on his clenched hand. “Seir has insulted my honor.”
The other rolled amber-hued eyes that reminded me of others. “As if there is any honor left to be insulted.”
Despite my internal crisis, my brows lifted.
Amais spun on Seir, eather crackling from his fingertips.
“Cease,” Kolis ordered with a wave of his hand.
Nostrils flaring, Amais stepped back and faced the false King. “Your Majesty, something must be done about him.”
“Exactly what was this perceived insult?” Kolis asked, his fingers tapping on the arm of the throne.
One he shouldn’t be sitting on.
“It is most egregious, Your Majesty,” Amais said. “He insinuated that I’m a cheat.”
A dull ache pierced my temples as I glanced between the two gods. Seir wore brown breeches and a simple cream tunic. Meanwhile, Amais reminded me of one of the Lords of the Vodina Isles with his all-white attire and glittering, jeweled fingers.
“A cheat at what?” Kolis pressed.
Amais lifted his chin. “He accused me of cheating at a game of cards.”
“And what do you have to say to this, Seir?”
My lips parted on an inhale. Was this for real? Amais was here because the other had accused him of cheating at a game of cards, and Kolis was actually entertaining it? For gods’ sake, it was all so…mortal. No wonder I was getting a headache.
“He was cheating,” Seir answered with a shrug.
Amais’ hands fisted. “I have been your loyal servant since you Ascended as the Primal of Life.”
I believed he meant since Kolis killed to become the Primal of Life.
“Any insult, no matter how paltry,” Amais continued, “is an insult against you, Your Majesty.”
Well, that was an exaggeration.
“You have been loyal, Amais. Impressively so.” Kolis leaned back, his attention shifting toward the pillars. The unnamed draken I’d seen earlier, and the Revenant I suspected was Dyses, now stood with a veiled Chosen. “I wish I could say the same about you, Seir.”
My attention darted back to the gods before me. Seir had lost his casual stance, and Amais…
That god now smiled broadly enough to show fangs.
“I, too, am a loyal servant.” Seir’s golden skin had lost some of its luster.
“And yet you have not given my title the respect it deserves.”
That wasn’t true. Seir had called him Your Majesty and bowed upon approaching the dais. He just didn’t say it every five seconds like Amais did.
“Therefore, you shall become a reminder to all how unwise it is to have your loyalty called into question.” Kolis’s fingers stopped tapping.
And that was it.
Seir’s legs caved, the strong bones cracking like thunder. His neck followed suit, breaking and silencing his screams of pain before they could even pass his lips. The embers in my chest throbbed as the god hit the floor, still alive but wounded.
“Put him on the wall,” Kolis instructed.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Amais bowed. “There is no other like you.”
Disbelief flooded me as two guards came forward to collect Seir, and Amais strode from the Council Hall with a swagger. I didn’t move until then, finally turning to Kolis.
Aware of my stare, he looked down at me. “You appear displeased.”
It took me a moment to find words. “Is that what you wanted to show me? How you wanted us to spend time together?”
Kolis arched a brow. “You said you’d enjoy some time outside your quarters. I have Court, and as much as I would like to spend my day catering to your wants and needs, I have responsibilities.”
I didn’t know what the most sickening part of that was. The fact that he’d completely missed the point of what I was saying? Or that he sounded as if he’d rather spend the day catering to me.
“When I asked to leave my quarters,” I said, making myself say what I did next, “to spend time with you, I didn’t expect this.”
“And what is this exactly?”
“You showing me that the Primal of Life is capable of nothing but death.”
The perfect lines and angles of his face lost all their summery warmth. “How do you figure that is all I’ve done?”
“What happened with Evander—”
“That was your choice.”
That was such bullshit, but if he wanted to play this game…fine. “You allowed me to do it, knowing that he was not causing Jacinta harm. That doesn’t foster endearment or even fondness. All it did was prove a point that could’ve been told to me instead of shown.”