Chapter 21 Lily #2
I turned to see what was worth the distraction, but a bigger man than all the others came for me, looking to be half orc and half human, some strange hybrid creature.
He was as tall as Callum and even bigger in size.
He grabbed me by the cape and tugged me back, putting a sharp blade to my neck and forcing me to go still.
The fight ended, and he pressed the blade deeper into my throat, drawing a line of blood.
King Ithaca regarded me with his hands behind his back. He seemed to stare at me to savor the sight of my capture. “A little girl in a man’s game. Put her in the dungeon…and have fun with her if you want.”
I tried to force my way free, but every time I moved, he pressed the blade deeper into my throat.
I couldn’t see Callum. If he was there, he was behind me.
I knew that he wouldn’t leave me like this, that he must have some kind of plan.
I looked at the dead commander on the floor and realized I could raise him and the other dead to fight for me.
It was only three men, but that might be enough for me to escape.
The orc-like creature pressed the blade farther into my neck. “Or maybe I’ll just kill her and eat her intestines right here.”
I gave a quiet scream when I felt the blade start to cut into me, and Callum appeared before me but his back was turned to me.
King Ithaca quickly took several steps back, his smug eyes now troubled.
That must mean I wasn’t the only one who could see him now.
“If you don’t want me to turn your dreams into nightmares and haunt your children and your children’s children, you’ll release Queen Lily Rothschild immediately.
” His voice was louder than it’d ever been with me, even during the moments when I angered him.
He was the version of himself I’d only met once before on the little island in the middle of the sea. “Now.”
I could barely see past him because he was so tall and wide, and King Ithaca had stepped out of my line of sight. I wished I could witness the abject terror on his face and relish it. It was the only time I wanted to abuse the power that Callum had granted me.
“Do—do it.”
The orc-like man withdrew his blade and let me go.
I stumbled forward, my fingers absent-mindedly wiping the blood that dripped down my neck and absorbed into my clothing.
Callum turned to me, his eyes briefly glancing down to my neck, and he grasped me by the wrist with an iron grip. The world turned, and my sight was taken from me for a brief moment before the world came into focus again.
I was in my royal bedchambers in the castle, standing in the sitting room, an open bottle of wine and a wineglass still on the coffee table where I’d left them.
Callum rushed me and cupped the back of my head as he looked down at my neck. “Are you alright, Xivin?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he examined the wound himself before he put his palm against it and applied pressure. “The cut is shallow.”
“I’m okay,” I said quietly. “I’m okay.”
He kept his hand there, applying pressure to stanch the blood flow.
I didn’t care about the cut, but having his hand grip me hard was somehow comforting. “I have a feeling you weren’t supposed to do that.” My eyes searched for an answer within his gaze.
He held my stare for a long time, his hand still cupped against the back of my head. “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Xivin.” He must have believed the bleeding had stopped because he withdrew his hand. “But I’m disappointed in you.”
“Why?”
“Because you didn’t see him coming.”
“How was I supposed to know a big orc-like man entered the room?”
“You would have known he was there if you weren’t taking pleasure in that fight. Using a god’s strength against mortal men and wiping that smirk off King Ithaca’s face.”
I swallowed when I felt the shame wash over me, because that was exactly what I’d done. Now I was embarrassed that it was so obvious.
“You became complacent and dropped your guard, and you know what would have happened if they took you prisoner.” He clearly couldn’t say the actual words out loud, because they were that unspeakable. “Don’t ever let that happen again, Lily Rothschild.”
“I won’t—”
“I mean it. You treat every battle like you’re a moment away from a mortal wound. Fight like I’m not there beside you, because a time may come when I’m no longer with you.”
“What—what do you mean?”
His hard stare shifted back and forth between my eyes. “Be prepared for anything—that’s what I mean.”
“Why would there be a time when you’re no longer with me?”
“I could be detained with another matter. I have my own responsibilities as the god of the underworld. Hypothetical scenarios don’t matter. I just want you to fight like there’s no one there to protect you—always.”
There was a warning in my heart from his words. Like he spoke only a half-truth or concealed something from me. “You promised me you would always come back to me.”
“Xivin.” It was the first time he’d raised his voice at me. “I’m trying to teach you something, and you’re focusing on other matters.”
For a split second, he reminded me of my father, saying words I was certain my own father had repeated to me, word for word, several times.
He continued in his angry tone. “You were arrogant and complacent, and that better not happen again. Do you understand me?”
I nodded.
“Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” I stepped back, not used to this side of him.
His eyes were still wild as he looked at me, like a father still disappointed in his daughter.
Despite my cooperation, he still looked livid, like he would need days before his rivers washed it away.
He stepped back like he was about to depart.
“I apologize for my tone. I just need you to take this seriously. My heart died a long time ago, but it came back to life. And now it beats inside your chest. If you die, then I die.”
“And if you die…so do I.”
He kept his distance a few feet away, and then he severed eye contact, looking in a whole different direction.
He took about a minute to calm himself before he spoke again.
“The Barbarians will execute King Ithaca and everyone loyal to him. They don’t believe in alliances.
If you launch your fleet and arrive there first, there’s a chance you can alter that narrative. ”
“I’m not entirely sure if I want to, to be honest.”
Judgment didn’t pass across his eyes. “What you said before was correct. King Ithaca deserves the edge of a blade, but the people he leads do not.”
“There’s not enough time to build armor for the dragons. I can’t risk them being shot down from the sky.”
“That’s probably their intention. Conquer the Empire Colonies and draw you from the Southern Isles and claim your dragons. Then your kingdom will be much easier to take. But if you move quickly, arrive before or precisely when they do, it could change the course of the battle.”
I nodded in agreement, the plan ironed out.
His eyes moved elsewhere again, his handsome expression hardening in thought.
“How do you know all this?”
His eyes paused before they flicked back to mine.
“About the Barbarians and their golden cannons.”
His eyes were still as they took in my face, emotions and thoughts beneath the surface impossible to gauge. “I see everything.”