Page 108 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
They nodded. “You owe me a favor. Sometime, at some place I will come to collect, and youcan’tsay no.”
“I don’t do open favors.”
Sabious raised an eyebrow. “I know something about you, Your Majesty. And this meeting has confirmed it.”
Zarathos’s hands balled. What was happening? Sabious had never acted this cagey around him before. “Confirmed what?”
The dealer leaned forward. “I know your name.”
Zarathos stilled, nausea twisting inside him.
“The name you were given at birth, of course, not this name you are going by currently. In fact, I’ve said it three times in this meeting and you haven’t reacted once.” Their grin grew malicious. “It’s becauseyoucan’t hear it. Can you,Zarathos?”
“You know nothing,” he snarled, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
Shit. They knew everything. But how? What did it mean?
“Oh, I don’t? Well, if that is true, tell me. What is your given name? Say it.”
“My. Name. Is. Zarathos.”
“Ah, there is the reaction I am looking for.” Sabious continued to tap on the table, growing faster and more triumphant. Tap. Tap. Tap. “Even though you can’t hear your own name, others aren’t under the same spell. I wonder what the demons of your court, from other kingdoms, those on the trial council, would think if they learned your real name. It’s not common after all, used byonespecies of demon, normally.”
They knew too much. Zarathos would have to kill them.
Damn it. But he couldn’t. “After all these years, why are you doing this now?”
“Information is best served at the right moment. It is a rare occasion when you can hold knowledge over the arch king’s head and live to tell the tale. But you seem quite desperate to get the—what was it? Neutrolisis? And a little incentive to providemewith whatIwant is worth the possible danger.”
He frowned. “A favor?”
“Yes, and no killing me before it is fulfilled. We should slip that into the conditions.”
Zarathos’s heart sank. What might Sabious demand he do as part of fulfilling the bargain? If it was too wild or outlandish, he risked losing the power of all his deals for refusing.
And yet, none of that mattered in the end. What mattered was getting Aryana through the trials. If he obtained his desired potion and his plans succeeded, Sabious’s bargain would mean little.
This served as payback for betraying a friend, exploiting others’ affection, and now the same fate befell Zarathos. And yet he had no other choice. “Done,” he growled, despite how his heart quivered at the blasted tapping. “As long as you don’t mention to anyone my real name.”
A satisfied smile came to Sabious’s lips. “I agree to keep your name secret until you fulfill my request.”
Zarathos bit into his palm, drawing out blood. “Then let us seal the bargain.” Sabious cut open their hand and reached out, meeting Zarathos’s with their own. Sabious’s grin grew wide and vicious.
“Pleasure doing business, Your Majesty. I’ll have that potion to you within two nights.”
Zarathos had become arch king simply to survive. It was never a position he truly desired. And now, with Aryana’s life hanging in the balance, he could no longer justify clinging to it. Regardless of who wore the crown, demons would still fight and kill. He was just another stop on the long, winding road of rulers, and, according to some, not even a particularly good one.
It was time that he answered for his evil deeds. And if it meant that Aryana escaped while Zarathos paid the price, then so be it.
The next evening, Zarathos moved along the blackened corridors of the castle to his bedchamber, the sun’s setting rays peeking through the curtained windows. Despite the trials, he remained arch king, and that necessitated meeting and ruling even while the chances of him keeping his position withered down to nothing.
Refusing sleep, Aryana had spent most of her time in his sanctuary tower, working feverishly on her tapestry. He didn’t yet know what it represented, but he found himself increasingly curious. When he asked, she’d merely shaken her head. She was going through something, and he didn’t know how to help her. But that didn’t stop him from checking on her, from wanting to be close to her. He had a near desperate urge to take her into his arms and kiss her until her pain melted away.
No. The potion that was coming would help her with everything that was necessary for her survival. It was all he could give her. His deal with Sabious proved to be less than ideal, but chances were that with the potion arriving soon, he’d succeed in getting the vampress out before the third trial occurred.
Perfect.
But damn it, how did Sabious discover what Zarathos’s father had done to him? How did he learn his name?
