Page 92 of The Shadow of Polaris

I swallowed the lump in my throat, frozen in place at the mention of his name.

“Well?” she asked.

I halted in my tracks, the sword suddenly heavy at my side.

“Where is he?”

I looked into her eyes, rage burning through me until I felt like I might combust. “He’s gone.”

She stopped short, eyes widening. “What do you mean, gone?”

“He’s dead. Your son is dead. Gone. In the immortal realm,” I cried, swinging my blade toward her. She snapped again and vanished, only to reappear behind me.

“I see.” A pang of sadness flicked across her perfect face, only for an instant.

I lunged for her again, and again she snapped and reappeared behind me.

“You might as well quit doing that. I wouldn’t want you to tire yourself out.”

“He’s dead because of you.” The words seethed through my gritted teeth.

“No, my dear, he’s dead because of you. I’ve done nothing.”

I leapt for her, the demons scratching against my mind. With a wave of her hand, vines erupted from the stone floor, wriggling and slithering toward me. I slashed them away, cutting branch after branch around my ankles. There were too many to escape. The tendrils weaved between my feet, knocking me to the floor. Pain exploded at the base of my spine, leaving me breathless on the throne room tile.

Tethys stepped to the window, watching the violence and bloodshed transpire in the courtyards below. The walls dripped with scarlet death. The clank of blade against blade was deafening, and the roar of wounded men echoed through the keep’s interior walls.

“Vikar, it seems your loyal army has sent reinforcements to you,” she said, clenching her fists at her side.

“Please, Goddess, please let me go,” he cried, struggling against the binds. With each frantic flail, they pressed into him more. Wheezing and gasping for air, my nephew struggled to breathe as they tightened around his chest.

“Vikar, stay still! They’ll strangle you if you keep moving like that,” I cried, watching as he gulped for breath.

“How sweet it is, how much you care for your nephew.” With her hands laced behind her back, she stepped in close to Vikar. He shrugged away from her as she stroked a long, vicious finger down his cheek.

“Don’t touch him,” I growled, attempting to stand. My back protested, sending agonizing springs up my spinal column.

“It’s only fair, Elpis. You took the life of someone I hold dear, now it’s my turn.” She snapped her fingers, and the vines pressed further into his skin.

Vikar coughed and groaned, his complexion turning blue from lack of oxygen. The vines continued to close around his abdomen, squeezing the muscle until it shredded beneath his skin.

“No!” I wailed, watching my nephew crumple into a heap of broken, bloody bone.

My heart stopped as I entered a world where Vikar ceased to exist. The taste of desperate grief was like iron on my tongue. Tethys smirked, watching me drown.

They say vengeance is never the answer. Retribution was more harmful than healing. In this moment, I didn’t give a fuck. I needed to feel Tethys’s life slip away between my hands. I needed to watch her body sink into the ground beneath my feet.

For Aryx.

For Vikar.

For all of my men that lay still on the battlefield outside.

For all the innocent mortals slaughtered on the streets of Aquilae.

For my sister, whose death was my prison sentence.

For the woman I could have been.

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