Page 105 of Kingdom of Today
A bold display of the very power he praised, and a blow to what little remained of my optimism.
Cyrus gripped the neckline of his shirt from behind and pulled the material over his head. One glimpse of his familiar torso usually sent my heart skittering into a wild rhythm. Today, I looked upon a stranger. Oh, I knew those rock-solid muscles cut by years of training and battle intimately. Knew the treetop tattoo, with its branches riding the length of his arms, displaying flower buds that appeared to bloom before my eyes.
He stripped completely, utterly unabashed, and walked into the spray. Winking at me, he all but purred, “Join me. I’ll make you glad you did.”
My nails cut into my palms. “Only yesterday, you preferred to wait until our marriage.”
“We can be married today, if you’ll agree to host Briar Rose. There’s no reason to wait.”
There was no reason to reiterate my refusal of Briar Rose either.
“You should clean up, if nothing else,” he said, undisturbed by my silence. “We have much to do.”
Remembering I was streaked with blood, I stalked to the sink, where the mirror hung. I flinched. Oh, yes. Scarlet smeared my cheeks.
Mouth dry, I swiped and wet a rag, then soaped my face. “Worth discussing or not, I’d like to hear the details of what happened inside the energy field.”
“Very well.” His indulgent tone suggested he did this solely to please me. He shut off the water and snatched a towel. Drying off, he grated, “As I grappled with Felix, I couldn’t bring myself to deliver the killing blow. My reluctance allowed him to gain the upper hand, andhe injured me. I was dying, we both knew it. He bragged that the first thing he would do as king is make you an example and take your head. That was when Astan showed me your future if I let myself die.”
My insides flash froze. Cyrus, dying. How close I’d come to losing him. “Go on,” I croaked.
He tossed the towel to the floor, withdrew clean clothing from a rack that suddenly replaced a wall, and dressed with stiff, forceful jerks. “He showed me you would escape death at Felix’s hand ... and marry Domino.”
In other words, the god had used another lie to bait him. I growled internally. “My relationship with Domino isn’t like that.” I’d given Cyrus my heart. My loyalty. Faithfulness wasn’t an option but a certainty.
“Your relationship with Domino willneverbe like that. You are mine.” Cyrus swooped in, cupping my cheeks again. The golden stars lit up his eyes and stayed put as he studied me. “I am yours. Say it. Say those words.”
I meant to pull away. To protest. I leaned closer, studying him in turn. Those stars. They spun, slowly at first, then faster and faster until becoming rings.Mesmerizing.Warmth cascaded through me, relaxing tense muscles.
“Say it.” The husky entreaty tickled my ears.
Yes. There was nothing I yearned to do more. I loved and adored this man. Our future was now and forever. “You are ... I ...” A buzzing sensation in the center of my chest seized my attention, halting my affirmation. What in the world?
In the ensuing pause, I saw past the spinning and into an endless pool of writhing shadows. My horror returned, a sudden revelation shocking me to the core. This. This was how he’d won Rose.She’s under his spell.
“Say it, Arden.” An unmistakable command this time, anger frothing within the words.
And what would come next, hmm? Giving Briar Rose permission to inhabit me? “No,” I stated. “I will never be Astan’s.”
His eyelids slitted. “You want the librarian.”
I opened and closed my mouth, saying nothing, thinking nothing.
“Perhaps you require a peek into Domino’s future.” Again, Cyrus waved a hand toward a wall. A hard jerk of his arm. In a mimic of the Rock, that wall became a screen that showcased something happening beyond it.
We peered into a dungeon cell, with windowless rocky walls stained with splatters of crimson. Gasping, I pressed my fingers over my mouth. Mr. Vyle perched on the velvet-covered cushion of an antique chair, drinking whiskey as the librarian hung upside down from a chain anchored to the ceiling. Blood poured from multiple wounds into a bucket.
Bile seared my throat. “Th-this isn’t the future. It’s a distortion.” It must be. Astan could only lie. “You’re trying to scare me into complying.”
“I wasn’t, but I can.” He waved to the wall, and the screen suddenly peered into our suite.
Holding my hand in a firm grip, he led me forward. In the span of a blink, we stood inside the bedroom we shared.
When next he faced me, he was almost gleeful. “Let me show you what happens when I’m without Astan.” His pupils pulsed, eclipsing his irises for a single beat. They retracted, those six glowing stars gone.
Dare I hope?
Cyrus frowned, his brows drawing together. His inhalations quickened, becoming labored. Sweat beaded over his upper lip, and the color drained from his cheeks. “Arden?” A second later, he issued an agonized grunt. Wounds broke out all over his body, blood leaking from each. The scar I’d seen on his abdomen? It gaped open.
