Page 173 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

But when they open again, they are suddenly the soft, warm brown eyes I recognize from so long ago. In this moment, I see my Elijah staring back at me, just long enough for him to focus, for me to see the revulsion , the flinch of pain as he watches me beneath another male, and then he’s gone, and Malachi is back in time to hear the lord empty himself into me with a series of grunts.

What if Zander was right?

The doubt that bastard Islorian king planted in my mind begins to sprout, its roots winding deep to take hold. Will Elijah thank me or doom me for all the ways I have made him suffer, first within the Nulling and now, as the unwitting hand and voice delivering Malachi’s cruelty?

A tear streams from the corner of my eye, the only reaction I allow Malachi to see as he kneels on the bed, prepares himself, and then thrusts into the waiting lord.

47

Romeria

My shoulders sag with relief the moment the crypt walls appear. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it back.”

“You were worried about me, Your Highness?” Tonight, Lucretia wears a brown leather outfit to match Abarrane, her hair in three identical braids. “I am touched.”

“Tell me you learned something.”

“I learned many things.”

“About Sofie and Malachi and what is happening in Cirilea,” I press. I know Lucretia’s game well by now.

She slinks around Jarek, pausing to tip her head to admire his face. “Hello, Commander. I missed you.”

The muscles in Jarek’s jaw ticks. “Answer her question or you are no longer of use to us.”

She grins as if she was baiting him to get that hostile reaction. “The new queen of Islor misses her husband dearly.”

“She’s not Islor’s queen!” Zander snaps.

Lucretia frowns with genuine confusion. “But she wears the crown.”

I squeeze Zander’s arm. It’s not worth arguing semantics with the sylx. “Tell us what you saw.”

“The king fornicated with a mortal and then ended her life.”

I share a look with Zander. “In front of Sofie?”

“No. Well, the fornicating part, yes. But the not-queen of Islor left to her chamber and I stayed for the end.” She slides her fingertip over Jarek’s vest and he slaps it away. “It was quite something to watch.”

“That must have been difficult for her to see,” Zander admits.

If Malachi took over Zander’s body and made me watch that? “It would be soul-crushing.” No wonder Zander’s words about Elijah needled her.

“He does it nightly, according to the servants who whisper when they think no one is listening.” Lucretia waggles her eyebrows as she slinks around the vacant stone pillars. “Sometimes they are servants. Sometimes they are lords and ladies. Those, he does not kill.”

We don’t need explicit details on Malachi’s sordid sex life. “What else did you learn?”

“She cried herself to sleep last night longing for the male trapped within the male. I gave her dreams to help console her, much like the ones I give to you.” Lucretia smiles up at Jarek. “She enjoyed them as much—”

“What else? What is important for us to know?” I cut her off before Jarek pulls his daggers out and chases her off.

“Are they executing the mortals with the daaknar? Is it true?” Zander jumps in.

“Yes, and it was a slaughter. Both young and old. They died and everyone watched. They keep the beast in a cage. That is the only way to control it. There will be another event tomorrow night, and every night after until the mortals learn their place.”

Zander curses. “And what about Annika? Was that also true?”

“The source of that information was the wielder, who communicated it to the not-queen tonight while they were on their way to you.”

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