Chapter 32 Rhadamanthus
Rhadamanthus
Islammed my way into my suite and allowed the door to lock behind me. My conversation with the mage still played in my ears despite the hours that’d passed.
Useless. Anger rushed through me at how unfair my power truly was.
I could steal life with only a thought. Drain it from the veins of all those around me. Nothing in this world could stop me other than the Goddess herself, and even then, there would be a worthy battle.
But with all power like my own, there were consequences. Draining life from others altered my own. In some instances, their essences filled me. I could taste their deaths on my tongue. It would swell within me, a catalyst of untold power, and become a battery only I could tap into.
And in some cases, it could send me into a state of darkness none would be able to pull me out of.
Except for her, I thought, stopping at the bar in the corner of the sitting room.
I could almost scent her presence in here still.
Coffee and coconut tinged with the sweet smoke from the lust club.
Every day, I walked in here and I saw the ghost of her standing in the centre of the room, brimming with curiosity, anger, and frustration.
Every day, I left the suite wondering how long it would take to find and return her here so that I might find peace.
Her absence should not have had such a dire effect on me. Sao thought my mood had something to do with my soul being in another realm.
Truth was, I cared nothing for it when she was not present. Not when I couldn’t feel her any longer.
It was an agonising truth I wanted to run from, and yet I poured myself a tumbler of honey wine and brought it to my lips.
All I could think of was her. The little tilt to her lips when she tasted it for the first time.
The exasperation in her tone when she begged for my aid in taking her to the Old World.
How sweet she’d felt when I gave her my deal mark—both times.
My gaze dropped to the unfinished snake on my hand. It felt like a dark reminder of my failings. Not just as King of Elysian, but as her husband. I chose to tie myself to her. Unlike the others, who were bound to her by fate and the Goddess, I chose her.
I gave her my mark. I made her my Queen.
And I allowed some maniacal, greedy, power-driven male with an ego too large for his magic to take her.
He’d trapped me, and I hadn’t been strong enough to sense it.
And now, the one thing I should have been able to do, I could not.
I left the tumbler, taking the bottle and stalked to the leather love seat in the centre of the room. Dropping onto the cushion, I brought the bottle to my lips, inhaling the deadly liquor deeply.
In my mind, I wasn’t alone, wallowing.
In my mind, I could see her clear as day, dressed in the white gown I’d made for her. And I allowed that image to guide me into nothing as I drank.
Something pried my fingers open. Everything, from sound to sight, was a messy haze, the world around me blurring together. My limbs felt heavy, not quite like my own. Like I had no control over them.
I couldn’t remember anything other than wine. The taste of honey on my tongue was no longer sweet, but rather rotten and foul.
“My King,” a familiar voice drawled. No, not drawled. I had a feeling the owner of those words would be rather short with me now, each word punctuated with irritation. “My King, you must awaken.”
My eyes closed as the same voice tried to cut through the sweet, mind-numbing haze.
In the darkness, I saw her. Felt her touch. Heard her voice.
It’d felt unreal. And yet, I’d revelled in it.
I must have said—slurred, really—something in response, because suddenly I was on the ground.
Cold seeped into my hands and cheek from where I landed, the iciness of the stone a shock to the system.
I felt the shadows pull at me, though they didn’t appear to see whoever it was standing over me as a threat.
Useless things. What was the point in commanding an all-seeing creature like shadows if it did not protect me from annoyed threats?
“My King,” the creature deadpanned. “Please. Get up.”
No concern, just irritation.
It was Sao.
I grunted as I lifted myself off the floor, feeling the alcohol—and its comforting haze—wash away as I took in the much shorter demon. He had his arms crossed, features blank, the displeasure in his eyes as they raked over my dishevelled form not unfamiliar.
“What do you think you are doing?” I asked, dropping onto the leather seat once more. “Goddess above, Sao. Don’t wake someone like that.”
The demon rolled his eyes. “The generals have sent word from the tents.”
They barely tolerated coming to the palace, though that was their prerogative. They preferred being with their army and only made rare appearances now that war planning was underway.
Especially now that we knew the real truth of Dante’s plans. Or suspected it.
Of course, we could be wrong—again.
How he could have so much more power over me, I had no idea. My years as king—living and breathing the realms for thousands of years—should have counted for something. Anything. And yet, the false king rose, stole my wife, and proved just how mighty a foe he really was.
I shook my head of those thoughts and scrubbed a hand down my face. “What did they want?” I asked, voice still slurred. Slow. Tired.
Sao cleared his throat and clasped his hands in front of himself.
“Their scout has made it into the Luna Court and breached initial wards surrounding the Titania Mountain Range. Word has been sent back that he began his trek into the forest, and first contact has been made with the ruins of an old Fae village, as well as the remnants of what appear to be items that suggest Emris might have been there.”
I stiffened, remembering what the divination mage learned during his research. “Emris had been gifted land in Luna…” I looked away from Sao as I rose. “The Titania Mountain Range is where, exactly?”
“The range borders the Luna Court and Dream Court, my King. Cuts across the entirety of the Unseelie Court and appears in Aither as well. From the eastern coastline, all the way to the western. But that is entirely guesswork on our part, my King.”
I moved towards the bar, though rather than pouring another glass of wine, I pulled out a pitcher of water. My mouth tasted like literal death, though I shouldn’t have been surprised after how much I drank.
“So, first contact has been made,” I mused darkly. “But no sign of Dante or his army?”
As I turned, I noticed the disappointment on Sao’s face. “None so far, however—”
The door to my suite slammed open as the divination mage appeared, striding in without a care in the fucking world. In his hand was an old tome that smelled older than the Underworld with how dusty it appeared.
“I found something,” he said, stopping at the leather chairs, assessing me. “You look like shit.”
I rolled my eyes and brought the water to my lips. “What is it?”
“Something doesn’t sit right with me,” he started, opening the book with a grimace. “You know, he brought up the moon cycles in Luna—”
“To throw us off, force us to rally our army there and focus our efforts on him in Faery while he stole our Queen away to Avalon to take advantage of the lunar eclipse and blood moon.” I gulped down the rest of the water with a grunt. “Yes, I am aware.”
This time, the other male rolled his eyes. “The Luna Court must have some significance, though. Right? Obviously, somehow, this Emris is more involved than we ever realised. But he wasn’t a Luna Fae. He was born to Autumn, so why did he pick Luna?”
I dropped my glass and leaned back against the bar with a frown. “I do not have an answer to that.”
“The High Palace,” the mage stated. “When Titania died, it basically locked itself up. Closed the doors and wouldn’t let anyone in until a couple centuries after her death.
He wanted to stay in Luna because of its proximity.
Even if Seelie was close, Luna is the closest court to the High Palace.
There’s a record here about bridging the gap between them—literally. With a bridge.”
“And how exactly does that help us?” Apparently, it had not even crossed my desk during my initial years as Elysian King, because I could recall nothing about such a request. And it was silly, because from what I did know about the water between those lands, a bridge would never last. Between the Unseelie Court and High Fae Island was a river of sorts that was treacherous.
Once the island became inhabitable again, the palace was ruined, falling apart. None would dare cross to its shores out of respect for the High Fae bloodline.
Why would anyone want to build a bridge to an island none dared step foot on?
“It doesn’t—not really,” the mage admitted. “But it does confirm something to me.”
“And what is that?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“He’s there. In Luna. But most importantly, he’s going to be close to the High Palace if he’s using the fortress Emris built. This all comes back to him and what he tried to do to Pandora. It all comes back to the skull.”
A chill rolled down my spine. Nothing in the male’s expression told me he doubted those words. He truly believed there was a connection between the two.
I wanted to believe it, too.
But was it too easy?
Was Dante already several steps ahead of us and knew we would have eventually worked it out?
I released a breath and looked at Sao. “Where is the scout now?”
“Eastern side of the mountains closest to the High Palace, as Sir Rowan suspected. That is where the evidence of Emris’s time in Luna was found.” Sao bowed his head and took a step back.
“I don’t think I’m wrong about this,” the mage said, drawing my attention back to him. “We just need Elias and Cyrus to confirm it. The scout basically proves my point.”
“That’s only if Dante was reckless enough to take over Emris’s old fortress,” I replied evenly, pushing off the bar. “And that gives us nothing of use for that collar around her neck.”
The light disappeared from the male’s eyes. For a moment, I felt guilt over that reminder. But it was a harsh truth. One we all needed to hear.
If we found her, if we truly had her location, then that was only the beginning.
Dante still had her in a cage. Still put the collar around her throat.
None of this would matter if we didn’t have a way to get her out—and release her from his chains.