“No—” the man’s cry was strangled by a chorus of whispers that began to rise from the shadows. His body convulsed against the cuffs, but there was no escape from the dark.
Talon raised his hand, and the shadows in the room answered with a ravenous surge.
I turned my head away, my chest heaving, as the chamber filled with a crescendo of overlapping voices—a thousand ghosts screaming at once.
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could scrub the sound from my mind, wishing I could forget the way the man’s spirit felt as it was picked apart.
When the silence finally returned, it was far worse than the noise. The man’s body slumped, empty and hollowed out, a mere husk bound in cold shadow.
The shadows withdrew, curling back into the corners like satiated beasts.
Talon turned from the corpse to face the gathered Veythar. His expression was a mask of crystalline ice, his eyes burning with a light that promised ruin.
“The High Court has chosen war,” he declared, his voice ringing through the chamber. “So war they shall have.”
38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Isat on the edge of the moss-covered dais, my fingers trembling as I smoothed the tunic over my knees, watching him.
Talon stood by the far obsidian wall, the faint bioluminescence of the room tracing the harsh, beautiful ridges of his jaw.
I cleared my throat. “Are you feeling well?”
He eyed me for a heartbeat, his gaze unreadable before he offered a single, curt nod.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” I whispered, my eyes dropping from his steely gaze to my interlocked hands.
He strode forward, his hand resting atop my head, before his fingers trailed down to grip the nape of my neck. “You will always have a home here. With or without me.”
I straightened with a flare of annoyance, batting his hand away. “That is not what I was afraid of, Talon. Do not twist my words into a matter of shelter.”
“I know.” He let out a deep breath, his hand dropping to his side. “I am sorry.”
I sniffed, turning my face toward the wall to stare blankly at the violet fissures in the stone. I could not maintain eye contact without bursting into tears.
“I am sorry,” I blubbered, nervously picking at a loose strand sticking out from the furs. “This whole situation… it has brought nothing but ruin to both cities.”
Talon scoffed. “This is not a burden for your shoulders alone, Kaelia. Do not flatter yourself by thinking you are the sole cause of centuries of hatred.”
“But people are dying, Talon,” I said, shaking my head. “Bodies are falling in every corridor, and it is only a matter of time before the pile outgrows the spires of this city.”
His breathing ceased. The silence was so sudden that I spun around to ensure he was still alive. He was leaning against the uneven wall, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes pinned on me.
I released a shaky breath of relief before crossing my legs to face him fully.
“You are speaking of the soldiers,” he grunted, his eyes searching mine.
“They were not soldiers. They were pawns sent by the High Court to die in a game they did not understand. You could have sent them back with a message, but you chose to leave them as husks.”
Talon stepped forward, his eyes burning with a cold light. “There is no salvation for those who cross into my city with murder in their hearts. We did what was required to ensure no others would follow.”
I clenched my jaw, my words dying in my throat as my eyes traced the length of him. They latched briefly onto the cotton-covered wound on his chest before skipping down to the power held in his legs.
“You think of me to be cruel because you have lived in the light,” he said. “But you did not grow up with a kingdom hunting your kin. You did not bury brothers gutted in the name of a High Court order. They will take until nothing of us remains, Kaelia. I will not apologize for being the monster they made me.”
“I do not think you are cruel,” I replied, my hand reaching out to grasp his. “I believe you are a master driven by fear. And I am terrified of what that fear will make you do to my people.”