Page 76 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

My head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just a theory,” he said, waving his hand. He traced the marks down from my neck all the way to my fingertips, twisting our fingers together when he was finished. “Your marks look like mine, not like any other survivor I’ve seen. They act like mine.”

“Other survivors can’t do this?” My pulse hammered against my throat. I’d assumed as much, given Zaharya’s words about her own marks, but to hear it confirmed was so different.

“No, my wolf, they cannot.”

“Why can I?”

“I told you, I have a theory.”

“Then share it with me.”

He hesitated and I pulled my hand from his, standing from the bed and pacing.

“Tallon, no more secrets. Tell me,” I commanded. This was precisely what I had wanted to avoid, why I knew it was foolish to fall into bed with him, despite how much I had wanted to—still wanted to. “You do not see me as your equal, so how can whatever this is ever stand against that?”

“You are not my equal,” he said, sitting up. “You are far better than I could ever dream to be.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

A hand pushed through his hair roughly. His other hand joined it shortly after, resting on the back of his skull. He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment. “I do not know how much I can tell you.”

“Tell meall of it.”

“You misunderstand, Odyssa. I mean I do not know how much I can physically tell you without Kalyx punishing me for revealing secrets that aren’t mine to reveal.”

“Secrets?”

“The Beyond has many secrets, and not all are ones that just anyone can know. There’s magic in place to keep anyone from entering the Beyond, from sharing those things. If you even knew what you had seen there, if you’d seen something that was protected, you would not have been able to tell even me.”

My blood chilled at the mention of the Beyond. I’d forgotten we were here, in Tallon’s rooms inside the Beyond rather than back in Eadric’s castle. I stopped pacing and licked my lips. “The Beyond. Does your theory explain how I was able to transport us here?”

“It does.”

“It feels different this time, than in my nightmares. Why?” I felt no fear in this room, only comfort.

“It’s not abadplace, Odyssa. Every soul goes to the Beyond after they pass. It looks like how you will it.” Tension crawled up his shoulders, and for a moment, I wondered what the rest of the Beyond looked like to him. And why it looked so terrifying for me.

“I am certainly not willing it to look like every nightmare I’ve ever had rolled into one, I promise you that.”

He sighed, rubbing at his temple. “Perhaps you are different, then, but I cannot say. I’d need to spend time there, in our archives, to find out, time and access that I didn’t have before because of the bargain with Eadric. I would inquire for you now, though, if you wish.”

I bit my lip as I debated. “After we get the treatment. Then yes, please do.”

“As you wish.” He looked over at the tall clock in the corner and rose from the bed. “It’s time to get ready for tonight. Go bathe, and when you come back I’ll have something for you to wear.”

My eyebrows rose. “I’ll not be joining the other attendants?”

“No. I want you by my side tonight. I want everyone in that castle to see you and know exactly what you are capable of, my wolf.” He stepped up in front of me and his marks reached off his skin to caress against my own. “I want them all to know you are mine, and that you answer to no one. I want them to know you are their reckoning.”

I swallowed hard, electricity thrumming through my veins. “A tall order for a dress, I imagine.”

“The dress is merely for decorative purposes,” he said with a smirk. He nodded to the bathroom. “Go clean up now, before I take you back to my bed and convince you to forget about all of this and just stay there with me for the rest of your life.”

My knees were barely able to hold up long enough to get me into the bathroom. I leaned up against it with a sigh. I wanted that desperately, what Tallon offered, but it was not mine to have. Not yet.

ChapterThirty-Five

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