Page 54 of The Wrath
“Oh, just a minor detail, nothing to concern your pretty head with,” the god added, his tone casual. “But in less than an hour, the warlords will breach your new defenses and steal Lore.”
15
Well. Talk about a mood ruiner. Neeka waited for Erebus to vanish before concentrating on Rathbone. Only seconds ago, her surprisingly nuanced king had displayed such heart-wrenching vulnerability, and yes, okay, he’d somehow cut her defenses like a hot knife through butter, reaching her ooey, gooey center. How she’d yearned to hug the boy he’d been and praise the man he’d become. Strong and determined. A warrior to his core.
Now? That warrior was not happy. Fury glittered in his irises. “You are my oracle,” he said, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “Did he speak true?”
“Unfortunately, my senses indicate he did.” Erebus lived to screw over the Astra. Allowing the nine to hijack Lore wasn’t an option for himorNeeka. “Let’s grab the goddess and hit the bricks.”
Rathbone balled his hands. “I cannot just grab her. She’s mystically bound to the throne, and the throne is mystically bound to the floor.”
“Then we’ll take the entire floor with us, buying me enough time to figure out a better solution.” Neeka would tap into every brain cell and premonition she possessed.
He hesitated before offering a clipped nod. “Come. I wish to check the barricades I have in place to understand how they’re going to do what they do so it never happens again.”
He took her hand without waiting for a response. Blink. Suddenly they stood before a starway atop a snowcapped mountain. He stepped through it, tugging her behind him. They entered a—huh. A duplicate of his kingdom? They stood in the exact same spot as before but...not.
Her gaze darted from one terror to another. From this vantage point, she could see the entire realm. A ring of eternal fire acted as a boundary fence. The first obstacle to overcome. If someone managed to survive the flames, they’d come to a circle of slithering, thorny branches and snapping vines. Many immortals had perished there, their remains dangling from limbs. And just beyond that was a bubbling mote of acid where a school of monstrous fish swam.
If anyone managed to survive all that, there was a seemingly bottomless chasm to cross, a maze with disfigured dragon-like creatures lying in wait. No, not dragons. Gargoyles. A horrifying species she’d considered extinct.
Neeka’s wings whirred as she recalled the occasion she and Taliyah had fought off an entire pack. They’d torn off two of her limbs and turned half of her organs into stone.
A cold rush of wind wrenched her from her thoughts. Locks of hair danced through the air. Hooking the strands behind her ears, she glided her gaze up Rathbone’s body to read his lips. Maybe he’d already given the answer to her question, maybe not.
Her heartbeat thumped when she noted the mátia staring at her. Others scanned their surroundings. “What is this place?”
“The spiritual heart of the Kingdom of Agonies. And me.”
His heart too? “One cannot exist without the other?”
“That’s how every immortal kingdom operate. The word itself means a king’s dominion, after all.”
“But this...how are these defenses here, like this?” Why hadn’t she seen them outside this otherworldly arena?
“As a man thinketh, so is he,” he muttered, tightening his grip on her hand, as if he feared she would attempt to pull free.
Did he, maybe, derive comfort from her nearness, the way she derived comfort from his? Neeka inched even closer to him, until they pressed side by side. His heat enveloped her, blocking the chill. His scent filled her nose, fogging her head, making her too intoxicated to resist the urge to rest her head on his shoulder.
“Are you telling me you brought all this to life with your imagination?” She waved her free hand to encompass the entire horrorscape, that was part of him, the male. Why didn’t the idea alarm her?
His chest puffed up the slightest bit. “I am, and I did. Anyone who attempts to enter physically must overcome every challenge, though they cannot see them. Those who flash are caught in a mystical trap.” He pointed to the flames. No, to a spot above the flames, where the air shimmered with a glittering, jellylike substance. “They are bound with chains when they pass through there.”
Wow. The power Rathbone wielded, to create and fuel such magnificent defenses. Now she knew why Erebus and Taliyah had arrived bound.
Wait. “Do you sense every entry?” she asked.
“I do.”
Well, well, well. Rathbone had absolutely, positively clocked Taliyah’s arrival. Which meant he had absolutely, positively spied on Neeka via the owl figurine.
Tricky king. Could he get any cuter? Better question: Did he realize he’d lowered his head to nuzzle her cheek?
Uh-oh. She was nuzzling him right back.Focus.How would the Astra come? Spiritually or physically? Maybe if she invented a brand-new obstacle?
Rathbone inhaled sharply and pointed. “They are here.”
Neeka followed the line of his finger and swallowed a curse. Sure enough, the Astra gathered outside the ring of fire. All nine, decked for war. Spread out in a straight line, they wore huge helmets that caged their faces in teeth and fangs. Leather straps crisscrossed over muscular chests. Weapons abounded.