Chapter 66
Iaoth’s grip loosened, and I dragged in a deep breath, ribs aching. “How do I know this isn’t some sort of Illusion?”
“Touch her, then,” I shot back.
My sister drifted forward, and Kiira thrashed among the ropes of white binding her. Her burgundy eyes widened as the Korona traced a nail down the side of her face. Lifted her long hair. Tugged on the black dress hugging her frame.
“It’s really her…” she murmured, almost to herself.
Her regard fell over Maariya next. “And who is this?”
“That is the High Priestess’s companion. Leverage, should she not comply with our wishes,” Maelsar explained, angling himself closer to her and hiding Lyriasthe behind him.
Iaoth grinned—a wild, wicked one that spoke of her cruel, calculating thoughts. Because now, Kiira and Maariya were assets to her. People she could control, just like the captive Seers. Like me.
“Tell me what happened to Ishim,” she demanded, whirling on me again.
“Not until you release us,” I argued. Because I’d given her the information to stay our execution. I wasn’t going to hand over anything else until I ensured our safety.
“Do you think I’m stupid, brother?”
I lifted a brow. “Do you think I am? During our last interaction, you had members of my former crew hold me down while bronze was sewn into my skin. You can’t blame me for doubting that you won’t do the same again.”
A furious scowl tugged down the corners of her mouth. “Fine.” She tugged us forward with her magic, fingers curling into claws.
The door to her chambers slammed shut behind us.
And then we were locked in the belly of the beast.
She surrendered her hold, and Maelsar grabbed the two Demons before they could bolt again. I shoved my Command to the back of my mind, maintaining the magic despite the wispy gray coiling in my chest. Even with the lock firmly in place, the sentinels could still barge in if I released them.
The information I withheld was the only reason the Korona hadn’t imprisoned us and claimed the Demons for herself yet.
Iaoth glided forward, her long dress swishing across the floor, but she still had to look up at me when she stopped a foot away. “The moment you move, I’ll snatch your mate and erase all her memories of you.”
I exhaled slowly through my nostrils, fighting to maintain my composure—only because I already had my sister hooked. “Understood.”
Still, I sent a pulse of reassurance down the bond to Sylaira. Her own answering ring of support bolstered my energy.
“My mate had a vision of the High Priestess. The Goddess told her Kiira would be essential to our victory. So I hunted her. It is unfortunate that Ishim was too lost in his own grief to remember he gave us permission to do so. As we returned to his position, we found the army in harried retreat. So we rode here as fast as we could to ensure our prisoners remained in our custody and to inform you that the army is crumbling and needs reinforcements.” The best lies were threaded with truth.
I waited with bated breath to see if my sister would believe the entire tale.
“What do you mean, Ishim’s grief?” Iaoth pressed.
“Oh, I thought you were aware,” I said, feigning disinterest. Maelsar’s eyes bored into me, but I ignored him. I was playing a dangerous game, and any waver in my focus now would show the Korona how she was being manipulated.
“Of what?” she hissed.
“His new intended.” I cocked my head to the side. “Or did he not tell you?”
“What happened to her?” Iaoth bit out, her frame vibrating with fury.
“The Halálhívó captured her and forced us into a meeting. He cut out her tongue and gave her back to us, poisoned. Ishim went mad,” I explained.
A silent scream rose and died in Iaoth’s throat. “Idiot.”
She ran her tongue over her teeth, flicking her focus between me and the High Priestess. Like she was calculating her next move. Because in her mind, information was power. She’d kept Seers as pets to keep Stadiel in her bed.
Would she wield Kiira the same way?
The moment it clicked in her head, the tension holding my chest hostage eased. “Come. The Koron needs to meet our prize and hear how we’re going to win the war now.”
White snapped out of her again, engulfing us. Without waiting for our consent, she yanked us back into the halls. I tightened my grip over the sentinels, keeping them locked in place as we approached.
Iaoth halted, scoffing at the sight. “Pathetic.”
But she didn’t ask me to release them, merely stomped forward and tugged us along behind her.
We wound our way toward the council chamber and offices in the adjacent feather.
Only when we were some distance away did I let go of my magic.
I didn’t know the next time we’d be able to sleep to restore my well, and I might need more of my power in the moments to come.
Yet as we approached, soft moans slipped over the walls. Iaoth froze, spine snapping straight.
“Is Stadiel…” Sylaira trailed off in my mind.
“Fucking someone else? Sounds like it.”
Lyriasthe rubbed her chin into her shoulder, hiding her amusement at the situation. Maelsar glared at the guards standing between us and the Koron while he tried to maintain his composure.
“Leave us,” Iaoth hissed at the sentries. They shared a nervous glance. White crackled around her. “Now!”
The captain stole one last suspicious look at the two Demon females before giving the order to back off. Though they lingered some distance away, out of earshot but not out of sight.
Iaoth rolled her shoulders back and stomped forward. She gave three sharp knocks on the door to Stadiel’s office.
A string of curses emanated from within. “What do you want?” Whimpered protest followed Stadiel’s words.
“Urgent news from the front,” Iaoth spat through gritted teeth.
“Can it wait?”
“No.” Her nails dug into the wood like she’d claw her way inside if her husband didn’t allow her entry.
Shuffling reached our ears next, and finally, the Koron appeared in the frame, his chest still bare. His eyes narrowed on his wife before flicking to the group of us in her clutches.
Red tinted his cheeks. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He flung the door back, the wood crashing against the wall. “Why are they not in cells?”
“Because Vaeron told me he has information important to the war.”
“And you let him say all of that without binding him first?”
“I–” she stammered, snatching for some sort of explanation that would appease him.
Stadiel didn’t let her find one. “We will discuss your treason later, Iaoth.” He stomped forward, knocking into her as he crowded my space. But not before I glimpsed his companion—Dasha—scurrying in the opposite direction.
“Looks like we can’t use her as blackmail again,” Sylaira commented.
If the Koron was so open with his affairs now, it was clear he didn’t fear the retaliation of Herr Elyriane discovering it. Or maybe in the months we’d been away, there had been other deals made behind closed doors.
Which meant our coup might be met with harsh resistance.
Iaoth’s grip over us fell away. But no one moved. We were pinned in on all sides, and fleeing was futile.
“How dare you show your face here again after deserting the army,” Stadiel snarled.
“The Angels are falling,” I stated, holding my posture pristine. I would not cower, would not show an ounce of weakness in front of this male. And for a very different reason than I had before.
Now, I wasn’t placating to preserve my position, my life. I was plotting his death.
His lips curled back from his teeth. “That’s not what your mate told us would happen. She said we’d be conquering Uzhhorod.”
“That’s before Ishim fell at the front for launching a rash, emotional attack because his lover died. It is by the grace of our Radiant Mother that we were able to outrun the retreat to inform you.”
The Koron pinched his brow. “Am I the only competent Angel in this Goddess-forsaken realm?”
Sick satisfaction curled through me. He was walking right into our trap.
“I told him not to form any more attachments. The last time he did…” Stadiel cursed his dead cousin under his breath.
Amusement trickled from Sylaira to me. At least she wasn’t terrified we were all about to die.
She cleared her throat and rolled her shoulders back.
“I believe based on what I have Seen in the past few days that because of our most holy Zahal’s carelessness, the charge must be led by someone else now.
With the High Priestess in our custody, we can force surrender along the way to reach the mountain city. ”
Stadiel looked past me to the two Demon females, going utterly still. “How…”
“I tried to tell you,” Iaoth interjected, sliding in beside him and running her fingers over his bare skin. He merely shrugged her off.
“We can use her as leverage against the Halálhívó,” I pointed out.
His attention returned to me. “You don’t think I know that?”
I said nothing. Neither did anyone else.
Stadiel scoffed. “Let me guess, you think the person to lead the army now should be you? That you are capable of negotiating with the most psychotic Demon to walk Keleti?”
“I am second-in-command to the Zahal, based on lineage and power.” I shrugged, playing the game I had for centuries, where my nonchalance and disinterest signaled that I truly wanted what I was asking.
“Unbelievable. Do you really think I’d let a traitor lead our army? It is your fault we are in this predicament in the first place,” Stadiel roared, his face turning a brilliant shade of red.
The same color that tinted the edges of my vision.
“I will take command of our forces, as I should have done rather than sending you to the front.” He straightened, his frame vibrating with barely contained fury.
His glare was hot enough to burn. But I’d spent months weathering the storm of Sylaira, and his ire was nothing compared to hers.
“I will find the fucking Halálhívó and inform him that his precious cousin is our prisoner.”
Kiira let out a choked sob and stumbled toward Maariya. The maroon-eyed female stood by her friend’s side, almost protectively despite their situation.