Page 43 of Lady of the Drowned Empire
She raised her eyebrows, twirling a brown curl between her fingers. The color was exactly like Tristan’s, and seeing it made my heart ache for some reason. Her lips curved into a mischievous grin. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
I narrowed my eyes, about to refuse, when I realized I wasn’t looking at Leander but Rhyan sinking into a stretch, his back bare. He wore only a half-tunic, his belt tightened around his waist, his muscles flexing and tensing, causing the ink of his gryphon tattoo to appear as if it were coming to life.
Haleika giggled again. “Careful. That can kill you.”
“What?” I asked.
Her eyes glowed red, her fingers elongating into claws as she snarled and revealed sharpened teeth. Akadim.
She reached for me, and I jumped back.
“You can’t,” I said. “I’m Asherah.”
She laughed. “You were.” Her claws wrapped around my throat. I stared down. My armor was gone. “But you’re human now.”
“I won’t be for long.”
“That’s what you think, you powerless, false heir.” She squeezed my neck until I coughed.
“Haleika, don’t do this,” I croaked, my toes lifting off the ground.
Rhyan began moving through the 108 poses of the Valya, sweat dripping down his back as he sank to his knees. I kept expecting him to turn, to notice me, to sense I was in danger, but he only flowed, moving from pose to pose.
“Haleika!” I gasped, barely able to breathe. “Don’t.”
“Why not?” She threw me against the wall. I rolled onto my back as she stalked toward me, her body elongating and stretching into the full size of an akadim. “Why shouldn’t I kill you? You killed me.”
The entire arena shook with a bang.
I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I clutched my chest, the sound still reverberating in my ears, the noise amplified as if by magic.
But then it sounded again and was followed by a male grunt of pain.
“Naughty, naughty, my not-lord. You didn’t say please.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I was going to be sick. My room was pitch black with not a single torch lit, but when I opened my eyes, I could see a golden glow emanating from my chest.
The events from earlier resurfaced as I cleared my mind of the dream. My heart had heated again after losing my diadem. I’d grown too hot. Rhyan had ushered me into the temple, had been holding me in his arms, and I’d fainted from the pain.
I felt my heart, the skin between my breasts. It was not warm now, but my stomach felt wrong, full and heavy and twisting. I was sore everywhere, my legs feeling like they’d gone for a run without stretching before or after, even though I’d barely walked all day. Even my back was sore.
I clutched at my belly, my insides rolling and tightening, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes, to get my bearings.
The curtains were dark against the windows. Hardly any light came through, save some distant torchlight. It was night. I must have been out for hours.
Then I noticed the position of the window and the bed and the scent of pine and musk. I wasn’t in Cresthaven or my apartment. I was in Rhyan’s bed.
His bedroom door slammed open, and Mercurial stood there, his skin blue and glowing. Black whorls with diamond centers glittered across his nearly naked body. His black hair was flowing in a wind that didn’t exist, and his lips curled into a sneer.
I sat up in the bed and gasped. My stomach now felt like it was splitting in two. I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t move.
“What have you done to me?” I asked.
“Ah, my lady—for that is your mortal title now, is it not?”
I tried to sit up but could only manage to lean forward. “What have you done?”
“Exactly as you asked. I’ve kept my mouth quiet about you and your little tryst with the not-Lord.”
