Chapter 4
Her head felt groggy. Her mind felt a little fractured, and there was the strangest sensation that someone had taken a fork to her brain and swirled it around a bit. But she was alive, and that was all Jessamine could count on as she finally woke.
It was like one second she was in the sunken amphitheater, and the next, she had been transported somewhere else. As she blinked her eyes open, she was unnerved to realize that a good amount of time had passed.
The sun was low on the horizon. She wasn’t certain how long it had been that low, or if it was the next day already, but she knew she needed to get out of this place. Wherever Leon had brought her, it wasn’t going to be safe. Not for her, at least.
She sat up slowly and took in her surroundings.
She was in a bed. A familiar bed. The pale yellow linens had surprised her the first time she’d been brought here.
Her mother had walked into the room and commented on the splendor of it.
The floor had been hand tiled by master artists to depict a scene from the sea.
Lapis lazuli mixed with abalone to make the entire room seem as though it was set upon waves.
The white wood of the furniture blended into the pale colors, along with the white fabric that framed the four-poster bed and waved in the wind from the open window.
This room was designed to feel like she was out to sea. But Jessamine just felt like she was drowning.
Ajax had taken her. Not Leon. And she’d known the moment those golden eyes had locked with hers that she wouldn’t like his plan. She didn’t know this god or what he wanted from her, but she knew that there was going to be a reckoning.
Sliding from the bed, she landed in a crouch on the other side.
Someone had changed her clothing. She stared down at the gossamer nightgown clinging to her skin.
It was sheer, clearly intended to show the highlights of her body without giving too much of her form away. It was an outfit meant to seduce.
And someone had taken her clothing off to put it on her.
The girl she had once been would have blushed bright scarlet. Jessamine still had the urge to wrap her arms around her breasts like someone could see her even now. But there was another part of her that was just angry, and that part was so much louder.
Staying low, she made her way to the window.
Maybe, if she was lucky, she could jump.
But looking down, she could see she was in a familiar room at the highest part of his castle.
Not nearly as tall as her own, but still a good five stories up.
She wouldn’t die, but she wasn’t sure if Elric could fix her body from wherever he was.
No jumping out the window, then.
Turning, she surveyed the room. There was only a single door.
That’s right. She’d forgotten there hadn’t been a private bathroom, and she’d made a comment to her mother about it.
At the time, it had been the greatest inconvenience because she’d had to walk down the hall at night.
Leon’s father had given her a private guard to ensure that she was safe during those midnight trips, but she had still been furious that she’d needed someone to walk her to pee.
Now, she was just angry that there wasn’t an easier way to get out of the room. How dare he put her here. Memories filled the space, and all she wanted to do was bat them away.
“Focus,” she whispered as she headed toward the wardrobe in the corner. Maybe she would find a weapon.
She quietly opened the door, remembering the right one squeaked. Again, that was something she had noticed in another life. Royals shouldn’t have squeaky wardrobe doors.
Unfortunately, it still made a loud noise as she revealed more sheer dresses. No real clothing, no undergarments, nothing but thin fabric that was meant to inspire the mind toward passion and nights of pleasure.
Slamming it shut, Jessamine decided she didn’t care if someone knew she was awake. She spun and angrily stomped over to the nightstand beside her table. The lamp would have to do.
Because it didn’t take long for someone to alert Leon, or whoever he was now, that she was awake. She held the lamp by the heavy base and swung it the moment someone walked into the room.
But she wasn’t dealing with Leon right now. She’d never seen him move so fast. His hand whipped out to grab the base of the lamp and twist it out of her grip. Slowly, his head tilted, like a dog that was confused by what she was doing.
“Is that how you greet every god you meet?” he asked, and then his lips quirked in a cruel smile. “Perhaps it is, if your only experience is with Elric.”
She ground her teeth in anger. “He’s far better than you. I’ve never felt the need to hit him with a lamp.”
“A lucky man, then.” He threw the lamp onto the floor with a resounding crash. “Now, you’re going to be a good girl and sit on that bed. I’ve been gracious enough to share this body with Leon Bishop, and he has much he wishes to say to you.”
“Absolutely not.” Jessamine gathered her hands together, ready to whip a spell in his smug face. If she could distract him for even a few moments, she could dart down the hall.
This god might not know that she’d been in this castle before.
Maybe she didn’t remember all the ins and outs of it, but she’d been here for a week, and she had always been a curious woman.
Wandering the halls during the day had been her way to get her bearings in a new place that was eventually going to be tied to her kingdom.
Now, she would use that knowledge to escape.
Then her hands cramped and curled in on themselves. She hissed out an angry sound, but that was all she could do through the blinding-hot pain as her hands were forced to her chest, immovable.
The God King wrapped his hand around her throat and lifted her by it. Her neck and back screamed as her spine was stretched. She would have screamed if she could, but her entire body felt like it had become a prison of his making.
He deposited her onto the side of the bed and arranged her body for her. He pulled her arms down to her lap, made sure her fingers were gracefully resting against her knees. He moved her around like she was a doll and he was the only person allowed to play with her.
Finally, he leaned back and surveyed his work. “There. Now you look like the princess I thought you were. With a little training, you could be perfect.”
Perfect? For who?
Her jaw ached from trying to open her mouth so hard. She wanted to spit in his face again, just because it would make her feel a little better to see his eyes widen like they had before.
Then he blinked, and all that yellow disappeared from his eyes. They faded to green, then the blue that she was used to. Leon looked back at her, and the magic that had trapped her fell away. Instantly, she lifted her hand and slapped him.
A bright red handprint glowed on his cheek, but Leon didn’t seem to mind. He just laughed and rubbed at the spot that must sting.
“I expected nothing less from you,” he muttered. “But be careful. Keep that up and I’ll let the god take control again.”
“Bring him back. Tell him to let me use my magic and we’ll see what happens,” she snarled.
Dealing with the God King was a little easier than dealing with Leon, if she was being honest. This man had killed her, and her anger made it hard to think.
She wanted to get back at him for everything he had done.
And there were a thousand spells that could fall from her tongue, dripping like poison.
“Oh, don’t give me that, Jessamine. You might think you are some witch who has everyone terrified, but I know who you really are. After all, I’ve known you since you were just a child.”
He tried to reach forward and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but she jerked back before he could. That made him frown.
So he didn’t like her having any sort of freedom. Unsurprising.
“You don’t know me,” she hissed. “You never did. All you saw was a young woman who was easily fooled. Was this your plan all along? Marry someone from a neighboring kingdom and put a god in yourself?”
“Yes, that was always my intent. Father thought it would be him, you see. He was the one to discover the spell, and he was the one who found the right god. He even made most of the priestesses’ sorcery, even though they have been largely unhelpful.
” Leon ducked his head and laughed. This was the boyish chuckle that had caught her attention in the first place.
He always ducked his head like that and then looked up at her through flopping blond hair.
How she’d ever been fooled by that, she would never understand.
“It’s a shame my father died before he could see all his dreams come to life. ”
“It’s more of a shame that he couldn’t see the monster his son became.” If she could have shot weapons out of her eyes, she would have. “There are a thousand things I want to say to you.”
“Go on, then. Say them.” He crouched in front of her before the bed, looking very much like the young man she had been so interested in all those months ago. It was nowhere near enough to waver her resolve.
Jessamine glared, trying to put all her hatred into that look.
“You are no better than a worm. But I am so glad you tried to kill me, because it shaped me into the woman who will get her revenge. I know you don’t believe it now.
But I don’t think I have to wax on about how much I hate you, and how small you have become to me.
Because someday, I’m going to run a blade across your throat, and I’m going to stand over you while you bleed out.
I’m going to make sure that you die in agony while I watch. ”
Throughout her entire speech, a soft smile remained on his face. Like he thought it was cute that she was threatening him. “And how are you going to do that? The God King won’t let you, Jessamine. You ran out of time.”
“You have underestimated me before, Leon. Now I see that you are foolish enough to do it again.”
Her muscles locked up. The seizing yanked at her fingers, forcing them to curl harder around her thighs as though the God King himself didn’t want her to be able to move. She ground her teeth as Leon trailed his fingers along her jaw.
“Ah, Jessamine. You truly are the perfect person for me. I always knew it was you. I shouldn’t have wasted so much time with your cousin.
That woman does not know how to be a queen.
You were the one who trained for years to guide a country, rule with an iron fist, and convince all those who saw you to love you.
You were the one I should have focused my attention on. ”
Where was any of this coming from? Jessamine had just threatened to kill him, and proven that she knew how to do so, and he was going on about… Fortuna?
“What are you prattling on about?” she asked.
Leon let his fingers linger on her lips.
“The God King has reminded me that a king is nothing without a queen and a court. I can make people fear me, but a queen inspires love. Even after I killed you, your people never stopped loving you. No matter how hard I tried to make them believe you were a nuisance.”
“You shouldn’t have killed me, then.”
“That was in the past.” He waved a hand in the air as though banishing her words.
This wasn’t something that could be waved away, though. He had murdered her. He’d thrown her off a cliff after slitting her throat, and now he’d kidnapped her. “Then you should have put more time and effort into the woman who was actually obsessed with you. Fortuna would have been a devout queen.”
“But Fortuna simply will not work for me. You are the one I want.” He stared at her with needy eyes, but she knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
The God King’s spell lessened enough for her hands to twitch on her thighs. “Are you sure this isn’t just because I disfigured her?”
Leon’s face turned bright red. He never had been good at hiding his anger, and in this moment, she could see the mere thought enraged him.
“Oh, there is that. But don’t worry. I will punish you for such a nefarious act.
But it’ll have to be later. I don’t need you compliant, Jessamine. I just need you physically here.”
He stood, and a pit formed in her stomach at his words. He didn’t need her to be compliant? If he wanted a queen, she would need to be so much more than that. He knew it. The God King knew it as well. Inspiring love, devotion, that took time and effort.
“Leon, what do you mean?” she asked, a tinge of fear in her words as he walked toward the door.
“Don’t worry about a thing, Jessamine. You’ve already survived death. How bad could this be in comparison?”
As his hand landed on the doorknob, she raised her voice. “Leon Bishop, you owe me an explanation. After everything you have done, and all that we have gone through, the very least you can do is tell me what you are planning.”
He looked over his shoulder at her, and his eyes flickered gold, then green again.
She didn’t know if she was talking to Leon or the God King right now.
But whoever it was, their voice deepened with purpose.
“For all that you look down on me for hosting a god, you are soon to have one yourself. A God King needs a goddess, Jessamine. And you are strong enough to contain one.”
And then he walked out the door. As though what he’d said didn’t matter in the slightest.
But she wheezed with anxiety at the words.
He was going to put a goddess in her. He was going to rip through everything she was, and he was going to leave her a hollow shell that he would fill with whoever he wanted.
As the God King’s influence faded once more, she sat on her hands so she wouldn’t feel them shaking.