Page 47 of Kiss of Death
It didn’t matter. I would just drink it myself.
“You said you crossed his path when you went to that island with your crew, right?”
My eyes had been focused on the wineglass before me, the dark color of the Bordeaux that sat in the bottom like a beautiful lake. It was my favorite wine from Barsetti vineyards, a local family in the Southern Isles that had supplied the wine for the royal family for generations. “Yes.”
“You said the island was strange, dead.”
My eyes lifted to his.
“The Realm of Caelum has an entryway in Riviana Star. What if that island is the entryway to the underworld?”
I felt my spirit float out of my body when I absorbed what he said, when I found a way forward.
“Maybe if you go back to that island?—”
“I’ll be able to call for him…”
“Yes.”
I stared at my brother for another moment, my heart giving a jolt as it came back to life. I got to my feet so fast that I knocked over the wineglass, and it smashed to pieces on the floor. A splash of wine stretched across the floor, but I left it there as I moved to my bedroom to gather my armor and my blade.
“You’re going now?” Hawk called after me.
“Yes.” I put on everything in a rush, my uniform first and then the pieces of armor, clipping each into place before I grabbed my blade and sheathed it in the scabbard across my back. When I came back into the room, Hawk was rooted to the same spot.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“I can manage on my own.”
“But you don’t know what else could be on that island.”
“You think anything will get in my way?” I turned on my brother, bathing him in flames of hostility that he didn’t deserve. “I will carve the heart out of the chest of any man who is foolish enough to cross me. Stay here and cover for me.”
“How do you expect me to do that? You don’t live in the castle.”
“Just figure it out, Hawk.” I pushed my mind to Zehemoth, finding him instantly because his presence was so entangled in mine.I need you now.
I’m coming,Sunieth.He didn’t question the authority in my voice. Didn’t waste a moment of time.
I left the villa and walked to the enormous courtyard outside the castle where Zehemoth could land.
Hawk caught up with me. “Be careful, Lily. I understand the angst in your heart, but don’t let it cloud your judgment.”
“I’ll be fine.” I looked into the sky, spotting the dark outline of a dragon in the distance from the wildlands.
“It could be a trap, so be aware.”
I turned to him. “Wrath would never try to trick me.”
“The trap could be laid by someone else. He hasn’t come to you for a reason—remember that.”
A warning spread through my heart and entered my veins like a poison.
Zehemoth streaked across the sky before he came in for a hard landing before me.What trouble befalls you, Lily?
“I need you to take me far to the west—to the dead island out to sea.”
Zehemoth dropped his snout close to our faces so he could look me in the eye.
