Page 19 of Wicked Thirst
Titus waved his hand, silencing Atlas. “I will decide what is to be done. You have your own matters to attend to, do you not? More pressing matters.”
“I will see to it,” he muttered under his breath, then gave a slight bow. Before anyone could say another word, he turned and headed toward the door.
I hurried to catch up and fell into step beside him. “Can you do this?”
“I caught you, didn’t I?” He didn’t look at me.
“I’m not your best friend or your Prince.” I grabbed his arm and dragged him to a stop. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Information is boundless, like the lost scrolls of Alexandria.” He ground his teeth together.
“So, you’re not telling me a fuck ton?”
“Precisely.” He turned away from me and marched through the doors.
“Atlas.” He didn’t stop. “Sav!”
He paused with his back toward me.
I sucked in a deep breath. “What are you going to do?”
“The same thing I always do . . . serve the crown.”
CHAPTER NINE
TITUS
The memory of bodies lying strewn about the castle were burned into my mind. Their lives were forfeit in a move I never saw coming. The lingering smell of blood tinged my nose along with the horrid stench of death. Not in a thousand years had the halls of The House of Shade been sullied in such a manner. The vileness of an attack on innocents sat like a twisted knife in my gut. Then, to lose my nephew to a curse just as awful . . . It nearly stole the breath from my body. My people trusted they were safe within the walls of my home, and I in turn should have protected them as such. Yet my people had been like lambs to the slaughter, dressed up for a night of horror. We gathered to celebrate the holidays, and now we would spend this night collecting our dead and mourning the loss of many, which I could only pray would not be the case for the nephew I felt was more like a son. I tried to push the thought away. I had to keep my hope that he would return to us and we would figure out a way to make him whole once more. Atlas was my most trusted warrior, and Piper, despite her lack of experience, was as stubborn as the day was long. She would bring him home. My only regret was that at a time like this I had to cast aside my personal desires to find Grayson myself and stay here to assure the safety of my people, to show them strength when I should have long before this.
Hubris and the belief we could all learn to get on was the downfall of this affair. Had I been guarded, had I taken heed of Grayson’s words, this might have been avoided. Had I curbed Marius’ ambitions, he would not have even dared to dream of such a thing. And now the regret was mine to live with.
“Don’t.” Moira drifted to my side and pressed her hand to my arm for the briefest of moments.
“Don’t what?”
“Blame yourself. I dare say I see it in your face, and I cannot bear it.” The effects of the poison still lingered within her veins. The pungent smell of it mixed with her subtle floral fragrance.Her already delicately pale skin held a bluish tint that was evidence of the crimes against her. A light sheen of sweat covered her body, yet she stood here by my side as she always had.
“No one could have known this, not the attack and certainly not . . .” Her words trailed off as pain covered her features. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to find her calm. “. . . Grayson.”
WRONG. Her sadness and her sickness all made my blood boil. My instincts bellowed at me that this was all wrong, yet I held back the relentless need for vengeance against any who’d hurt her or Grayson. Ours was a relationship of mutual respect. She was my most trusted advisor and the widowed mate to a most beloved brother. To say she was cherished among her people would be an understatement. To say I cherished her would also be an understatement.
“I’ll endeavor not to, but blood has been spilt tonight within my home. You have been harmed. These things cannot go unpunished.”
She folded her hands in front of her the way she always did when holding herself back. “The poison leaves my system even now. I will be well by tomorrow. And we need to save my son, Titus. I cannot bear to live in a world where he is not. I will wish for my own death daily. When I lost my own soulmate, he was the only thing to get me through.”
Just the thought of my brother’s death sent a deep sadness through me. I didn’t want to feel the same about Grayson. I refused to believe all was lost. Times had changed and he had gathered so many powerful allies. Hope was not lost yet. “I will do everything in my power to break this curse. We all will. No matter how long it takes.”
She nodded up at me but the sadness behind her deep, rich eyes nearly broke me. She held her chin up and gave me a forced smile. “I trust in you.”
I didn’t want to lose a fraction of that trust. “I will see to it all.”
“I have no doubts.” She closed her eyes, looking like she was trying to maintain her balance.
“You should be resting.” My concern for her ran just as deep as the love I felt for my brother. She’d honored him by staying by my side as an unwavering loyal presence.
She looked up at me with that knowing glint in her eyes. “As should you.”
I felt the lingering effects of the poison in my blood. Sickness turned my insides, and I too had a sheen of sweat over my body. My blood magic felt weak within my own veins. It was a feeling I’d never had in my long years of life. I’d come to rely on my own power as a way of being, and yet with the consumption of a bit of poison I was rendered powerless. The knowledge of that burned at the soul. A powerless king was a useless king. “I will rest when this is resolved.”
