Page 45 of Of Songs and Silence

“Our leadership here is not as weak as the human world. Only the strongest will inherit.”

A sudden, hollow feeling encompasses me. If his heirs are gone, and Danica can’t inherit…

This is why he has kept me alive. For now.

As much as I want to be grateful that I amusefulto him, there is no part of me that wants to inherit a savage throne, covered in the blood of his children. I don’t want to be considered worthy to take up that mantle, or to do whatever it is he thinks I’ll need to do to earn it.

More than that, I know now for certain that I will be a captive for the rest of my life.

He will never let me go.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

MELODI

The revelation that Cepheus intends for me to be queen someday haunts me for the rest of the day.

It follows me through my lessons with Danica. Through dinner. Through my introductions to several noblemen whose infuriating, leering stares aren’t even enough to pull me from the moroseness of my thoughts.

I swim to my room amongst the ghosts of all the children he’s murdered. Ari is silent as the grave beside me as he shuts the door, leaving me to the solitude of my room—this room I believed was my mother’s. It could have belonged to any of them.

I move my gaze to the door that connects my room to Ari’s. My swaying feet carry me across the room until I’m floating right in front of it, my fingers tracing the grooves of the smooth sandstone before coming to rest on the glimmering handle.

It has never been opened, and it’s taking everything in me not to burst through it right now. To fall into his arms, to cling to him and take whatever comfort I can wrangle from his touch.

A knock on the main door has me swimming away to float in the center of the room—as far from Ari’s door as I can manage. A heartbeat later, Moli enters with a bowed head. Her pale blue hair streams out around her as she moves forward, never once meeting my eyes.

We silently go through the motions as she helps me undress, bathe and redress in my short nightgown. She hesitates at the door, her golden eyes drifting up to meet mine.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Kala?” There is genuine concern in her tone.

My mood must worry her. Offering her a gentle smile, I shake my head.

“No, thank you, Moli.”

She dips her head, before leaving me alone once again.

It’s too silent in the room. Too loud in my head.

Hours pass as I swim the length of the room, back and forth, back and forth, slowly drowning in the oceans of my mind. I haven’t even registered my hand on the doorknob until I’m pushing it open.

Ari’s eyes lock onto mine from the center of the room. His jaw is clenched, his hands in fists at his sides, and it looks like he’s been pacing too. The relief is almost instantaneous. Without the walls between us, just having him in my line of sight…it feels like I can stop holding my breath.

But I want more. I need more. I needhim.

“Go back to your rooms, Kala,” he says gruffly, his muscles going rigid.

“I can’t sleep.”

“I know.” He runs a hand through the teal strands of his hair, his shoulders slumping as he echoes the words. “I know.”

I hesitantly shift closer, my toes grazing the seaweed rug next to his bed. The blankets are undisturbed and I wonder if he even tried to rest. Another shift forward and another, until I am barely a breath away.

The heat from his body melts into me, and my eyelids flutter in response. I can hear his heartbeat thundering against his chest, syncing with mine already. When I meet his emerald gaze, it hardens into something more resigned.

“But, you will sleep better alone than you would if the king found you in my room,” he adds.

Guilt and shame crash over me in waves. If the king found me in Ari’s room, perhaps I wouldn’t sleep that night, but Ari would likely be dead. The thought tears at my fragile control.

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