Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
What he was risking…? My gods, there were no words, even if I could speak.
“But now, today ends like this.” He breathed in deeply through his nose, releasing the sides of my face. “You…you are my soul, but I am your King. You need to learn that you cannot question me, and you cannot use those embers.”
A trickle of fear broke through my anger. Not for me, but for Ash. For Rhain. Kolis had told me what he’d do if I disobeyed, and I’d done it—without even thinking about the consequences.
Kolis stepped back. The compulsion lifted, unlocking my jaw as my shoulders slumped. “You will be punished.”
I lifted my head. Callum had stopped pacing. “And?”
“And then we will see.” His eyes…they shone. “We will see if further action needs to be taken.”
Before I could speak or process the tears I saw gathering in his eyes, chains rattled.
My head swung toward the sound. They unclasped from the bedposts and slithered across the floor like serpents. A knot lodged in my chest as I tensed.
It happened so quickly.
Shackles clamped around my wrists, yanking my arms up. The chains wrapped around the ceiling of the cage, near the cluster of diamonds. My arms were pulled tight, stretching the muscles. A shout of surprise left me as my body rose, lifting until only the tips of my toes touched the floor. Cool metal clamped down on my ankles, anchoring me into position with my arms and legs spread.
Kolis stared at me, his face pale. “I want to hate you for making me do this,” he rasped. “But I can only love you.”
“This is love?” I gasped, already beginning to feel the burn in my arms.
“You disobeyed me repeatedly, yet you live. No one else would. So, yes. This is love,” he said hoarsely as a thin line of crimson streaked down his cheek.
Kolis wept.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“I almost feel bad for you.”
Opening my eyes, I didn’t bother lifting my head or responding to the golden-haired Revenant. It would take too much energy and focus away from trying not to scream, which I’d been doing since Kolis left with crimson tears streaking his face.
I wasn’t sure what was more messed up: everything else about Kolis or the fact that he could choose to hurt someone and then cry about it.
“You have to be in so much pain,” Callum went on.
“I’ve never felt better.”
“That is such an obvious lie.”
What was evident was his unnecessary observation. The burn of my stretched muscles had disappeared. My arms were numb now. I couldn’t even feel my hands anymore, but the stress of being suspended with only the tips of my toes holding my weight had moved into my shoulders. They felt as if they were on fire.
I had no idea how long I’d been hanging here. Had to be hours at this point. Callum no longer remaining quiet made it feel so much longer. When it was silent, I’d contented myself with thinking about all the ways I would cause Kolis unimaginable pain.
I’d discovered I had a vast imagination.
“If you were actually my sister?”
Gods, not this again.
“I wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.”
“So, if you believed I was your sister, you would think this is wrong?” I asked.
Callum stood just a few feet from the cage. “Of course.”
A harsh laugh left me, causing the pain in my shoulders to flare. “The fact that you need to believe you’re related to someone to see the wrongness in this tells me that every poor thought I’ve had of you is more than justified.”
“You would think that because you do not know me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Because you are not my sister.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, too damn exhausted to attempt to convince him otherwise.
Callum was quiet for several blissful minutes. “You were right.” He paused. “About what was happening in the Council Hall.”
Wearily, I lifted my head. My neck muscles cramped as my gaze fixed on the Revenant.
His chin was lowered, gaze focused on the floor. “That particular type of punishment is wrong.” His shoulders tensed. “It’s below Kolis. He’s better than that.”
“Yeah? Like when?”
“Before Eythos died.”
Surprise shot through me. I hadn’t really expected any answer, let alone that.
Callum looked up with a smirk. “What? You thought I’d say it was when Sotoria died her second death? Yeah, that had an impact on him, but he…” He clamped his mouth shut, a lock of blond hair falling over his face as his gaze returned to the floor.
Wincing, I shifted slightly to straighten my toes. “But what?”
“He loved Eythos,” he said quietly. “Even then. Even after everything.”
I stared at him, somewhat dumbfounded. I knew that Kolis had loved his brother at one time, but Callum was speaking of after he’d taken Eythos’s embers and killed his wife. I didn’t believe that was possible, and I sure as hell didn’t think it was now.