The airhadcooled.
Not by a lot, but enough that people noticed as nervous gazes bounced over us and then darted back.
“They feel me,” Nyktos explained under his breath. “They don’t know what they feel, but they knowsomethingis among them.”
I frowned. “Does this happen every time you visit the mortal realm?”
“No, but I normally avoid large crowds for this reason,” he said. “A handful of mortals has little impact. But this many? It gets the essence pumping, and it becomes almost like a tangible entity—not seen but felt. And what they feel unsettles them.”
Because what they felt was death.
I glanced up at Nyktos as we entered the hall, but his features were hidden beneath the hood. “Does it bother you?” I asked quietly. “Their reaction?”
“What they feel is natural,” he replied. “It does not bother me.”
I stepped to the side to make way for a maid hurrying into the kitchens, her arms full of dishes. Her face blanched as she crossed before us, but she didn’t look at us as she disappeared into the castle. “Honestly?”
“Honestly.” Nyktos’s fingers brushed mine, creating a faint zap of energy. “What they’re feeling is instinct, and that instinct is telling them not to loiter near me. And they shouldn’t.”
Because all Primals impacted mortals simply by being in their company. The length of time before a mortal felt a Primal’s effect varied. Some mortals would be more susceptible to violence or lust, and some Primals would likelyensuretheir presence was felt, but Nyktos was a Primal of Death. His presence could kill if he wasn’t careful.
“How can I be bothered by their sense of self-perseveration?” Nyktos finished.
But Kolis had been.
It was part of what had driven his jealousy toward his brother—the fear that even I could sense in those who passed as we walked the hall mostly used by servants.
I nibbled on my lip as my steps slowed. Unease grew, having much to do with the fact that no one had stopped to question us. It caused my fear regarding some sort of uprising to grow, but it was also because the last time I’d walked this hall was the last day I’d spent in the mortal realm.
My instinct guided me to the one place I did not want to revisit.
The Great Hall.
Nyktos’s hand brushed mine once more. “You okay?”
Stomach churning like the fans overhead, I nodded. “Yeah. Yes.” I cleared my throat. “I’m just concerned about Ezra.”
I could feel Nyktos’s gaze on me as I forced myself through the marble pillars carved with golden scrollwork.Breathe in, I reminded myself as my chest tightened.
The Great Hall was as I remembered. Mostly.
Mauve banners hung from the dome-shaped glass ceiling, bearing the golden Royal Crest, that of a crown of leaves with a sword striking through the center. It still reminded me of someone being stabbed in the head.Hold.Far fewer people milled about the Hall. My gaze traveled down the marble and limestone and over the gold veining. The crack in the floor was new, caused by Nyktos’s arrival when he saw what Tavius had been doing to me.Breathe out.I started to look at the statue of Kolis—
Nyktos’s hand curled around mine, sending a jolt of surprise through me. My gaze flew to him.
His head was tilted forward. “I believe I’ve found your stepsister.” He then gently squeezed my hand before releasing it.
Swallowing, I made myself look past the statue I’d been forced on my knees before as my stepbrother split my back open with a whip.
Two diamond and citrine thrones sat on the raised dais at the end of the Hall. Neither was draped in white or scattered with black roses to mourn their lost King.
The King I’d ultimately killed.
I winced, reminding myself that how I felt about that had more to do with the embers than with me.
The thrones were empty, but I saw Ezra. Suddenly, it was easier to breathe.
Ezra sat in a much less elaborate chair at the foot of the dais, her light brown hair swept up in a neat bun. There was no crown upon her head as she listened to a man across the table from her speak, one who leaned over a stack of parchment. The man’s clothing and posture screamednoble, and the angry flush to his olive skin warned that he was unhappy. Guards stood behind Ezra, two to her left and two to her right. They were dressed as those on the wall were: tunics, breeches, armor.