“Eiluth amieleir…”
“Eiluth amieleir…”she repeats.
“Draga mortenadal…”
“Draga mortenadal…” She swallows hard but continues.
“Sala valimonte.”
“Sala valimonte.” Briar’s eyes roll into the back of her head and I smile.
That pulsating white light flashes and the walls of the tomb crack, breaking the enchantments. I step aside, watching her fall to the ground as the world begins to quake.
“What does that mean? What did I say?” she asks annoyingly.
How does Kane put up with her?
“Move quickly if you want to live,” I bark, moving forward through the rubble.
Willem carries my body to the boats on the beach and Briar climbs aboard. I follow suit, but make no move to grab the oars. Briar blinks down at the bottom of the boat, trembling like a newborn fawn at the start of spring.
I scuff in disgust at her weakness. “Do you see your own incompetence? I find it more and more difficult to imagine a life with you at my side.”
Her head ducks lower. There’s something satisfying in watching prey squirm before you go in for the kill. I can smell the tears that burn in her eyes and I chuckle. “Don’t cry. Really, don’t. I’m not sure I could stand the sounds of your whimpering all the way to the mainland.”
Briar's back stiffens. She rows with renewed vigor and it brings a smile to my face. “Perhaps you aren’t so useless after all. Every good wife is a servant first. You would do well to remember that while you tend to your wifely duties.”
She glares at me as though I am the one who brought her here.
“There’s that fire. I can’t wait to extinguish it, to watch your soul grow cold with time. Come on, Briar. Let us not pretend that we’re more than what our arrangement calls for. Given the choice, you know I wouldn’t have picked you.”
“Must you be so cruel?” she asks.
Willem grabs her arm and shakes his head. At least one of them know when to shut up. For a moment I suspect Briar wants to hurt me. And nothing is more victorious than turning a woman against the man in which she entrusts with her heart.
Chapter 19
Briar
“I should take you to see your mother,” Kane mentions suddenly.
The pain is all too real. “You can do as you wish.”
“I can still hear the bitterness in your voice, Briar. It’s not attractive on a woman who has nothing but her personality to offer.”
His laughter rings in my ears and I lean further over the railing. I desperately wish for him to break through whatever fog is clouding his mind, to see just a hint of the man I know him to be. Aiden and Willem don’t have to be right. I don’t want to kill Kane or think that he’s some sort of monster when I know the truth.
The Reaper shifts awkwardly beside me as we row.
Kane takes the silence as an invitation to speak his mind. “This world....the one that was fabricated after Drogaem died, it’s useless. Why live the way mortals do? I grow weary of useless meetings and treaties. It’s time we take a stand and show the realms why the underworld will rise.”
I scoff and shake my head, wrapping my arms over my chest. “Is that why you wanted the crown? To assert your dominance like some wild animal?”
Kane sneers. “This crown is worn by kings, conquerors of old, not leaders who see themselves as equal to their servants. We are superior and therefore we should rule. Don’t you agree, Willem?”
Willem scowls. “Why are you asking me?”
Kane narrows his eyes. “Because Reapers were once just as loyal to Drogaem as the Nephilim.”
“I’m loyal to you, Kane. That’s all.” Willem keep his eyes down.
I’m not sure what to make of Willem’s statement. At one point the Reaper seems as though he wants to walk away from his plan to kill Kane just as I had. And at other times he goes out of his way to convince me that I should land the killing blow. But all of this...it feels like history is repeating itself. Lux and Drogaem are responsible for one another's deaths. She was the one to stab him with the dagger and injure herself in the fight beforehand.
If I do the same with Kane, then I’m just continuing the vicious cycle of never-ending betrayal. It’s all so much to take in, all the while my body aches with the same intensity of my heart. Willem and I row until our arms hurt.
By the time we reach the ship, Archech is no more. The Island split in half and is swallowed by the sea. I all but expect Kane to reach out and pet the Leviathan, for cold blooded creatures might find comfort in one another. Though my betrothed was rude and sometimes cruel before, there was never a time when I thought of him as evil. A demon, yes. But never outright evil, not how he is now. This is not Kane. At least not the Kane that I know.
“There’s so much I want to change,” he says.
I shake my head. “You’ve already established peace. There hasn’t been a war for quite some time. Isn’t that enough for now? Maybe you should meet with your court when we return.”
Kane scoffs nonchalantly. “I have no interest in politics and democracy anymore. I am king, there is no discussion to be had. Either they bow or they die”
“And what about me?” I ask. “Does that rule apply to me?”
Kane doesn’t hesitate before he nods. This isn’t him. Not really.
Willem sees it too. He must. I catch glimpses of his watchful eyes wandering to Kane every now and again. It’s strange how Willem and I wear the marks of our journey while he appears to have regenerative abilities now that he is in possession of the crown. The object of immense power looks out of place on Kane.
I can feel the malicious energy coming off of it like a bad smell.
Kane moves toward the front of
