Page 35 of Rotanev
“I think it’s best you view it through her mind.”
Which meant he didn’t want to be the messenger of bad news. “I see.”
We stared at each other for another beat, then I led the way back to the bedroom. Kailiani remained asleep, her full lips parted on a sigh, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Doesn’t seem to be a bad memory.”
“Because she’s currently dreaming of the last few days,” he said. “Not the past.”
I nodded, taking the chair beside the bed. As much as I hated to disturb her happiness, I needed to understand what had happened to her in order to help fix her. “Then let’s revisit history, shall we?”
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment and leaned casually against the door frame.
“Try not to disturb the memory,” he advised in a soft whisper meant for sleep. “And don’t fight me.”
I closed my eyes in response, opening my mind to allow him access. There were very few beings in existence that I would drop my guard around, Morpheus being among them.
It left me vulnerable to his power, a potential victim to his ability to manipulate dreams and call upon the past.
But that was entirely the point.
“Let her lead,” he added, his words a hum of electricity against my thoughts. “Let her dream…”
10
Liani
“He’s going to destroy her,”a feminine voice cautioned.
“You don’t know that.” The hissed response came from just outside the door, sending a tremor down my spine.
“On the contrary, I do. You forget that I’ve served him for over a century. I’ve had to clean up the bloody messes staining his walls. I know exactly what he’s going to do to that poor girl.”
I swallowed, knowing the woman in the hallway was talking about me and what Nero planned to do to me. This arrangement was written into my destiny long before my creation, leaving me with no choice but to accept my fate.
However, he seemed fair. Kind, even. Yet, the stories that kept reaching my ears spiked fear in my blood.
What if the rumors were true?
Would he ruin me?
Cast me to the waves?
Drown me over and over again?
He possessed the power of the seas, owned all of Aquaine Kingdom, and managed his creatures with an iron fist. If anyone could torment and hurt me, it would be him.
I shivered, listening intently for more, but the conversation had moved too far away. The knock that sounded seconds later told me why.
Sliding from my perch on the silky blue sheets, I landed on my bare feet and padded to the door. A man with golden ringlets as bright as the sun beamed down at me, his expression boasting a sincerity I felt to my very soul.
Dolos of Erebus Realm. One of the deities invited to tomorrow’s ceremonial vows.
“Kailiani,” he greeted me softly, brushing the back of his knuckles on my cheek in a gesture of respect.
“Dolos,” I replied, curtsying low to demonstrate my subservience to his underlying power.
I’d immediately taken to the god after our introduction last week. His charisma and genuineness sang to me in a way unlike any other, and I found myself trusting him without really knowing him.
Unlike Nero.
