“He didn’t say much, to be honest,” I said, even as I told myself to be quiet. To not needle this Primal. To not taunt her with her own words. That voice went largely ignored. “It was my turn to be confused. You see, I saw you when you were here last. I saw how beautiful you are. But all he has said about you is that you’re the worst sort.”
“Did he say that?” Gravel replaced the velvet in her voice.
“He did.” And he had at one time, so it wasn’t a lie.
Her lips thinned. “Nyktos does have a poetic way of speaking of the women in his life, doesn’t he?”
A short, dry laugh escaped me. “That he does.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“Does it botheryou?” I asked in return.
Golden ringlets slid over her chest as she tipped her head. “I’m not the one who will become his Consort.”
“So, is that what bothers you? That it’s me, freckled and fat, who will? And not you?”
“Come now.” She rose with fluid grace. “I am a Primal. I can be no Consort.”
“But you could still be hiswife. You want him,” I said. “Obviously.”
“Want him?” Veses moved closer, stirring Reaver. I reached behind me, grasping his hand. His talons pressed lightly into my skin. “My dear, I already have him.”
The sharp twist in my stomach and chest sickened me. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
She shrugged. “Well, since your future with Nyktos includes me, I figured we could get to know each other better.”
Acid pooled in the back of my throat. “My future with Nyktos has nothing to do with you.”
“Is that what you think?” Veses’ laugh was as brittle as dry bones this time.
“That’s what I know.”
“Then what you think you know is a joke.”
“The only joke I know is the one standing before me,” I spat, my restraint snapping. “And it’s a pathetic one.”
A soft huffing sound came from Reaver. It sounded anawful lot like a laugh.
Veses drew back, her brows rising. “What did you just say?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
Shock rippled across her face. “How dare you speak to me with such disrespect—?”
“It’s kind of hard to speak to you with respect when you have earned no such thing, Your Highness.”
Two pink splotches appeared on her cheeks as she stepped toward me—
Reaver shot out from behind my legs, wings spread, growling. Real fear exploded in my gut. I grabbed a slender, scaled arm. He fought me. And the little cuss was strong, pulling away as he stretched his neck and opened his mouth, emitting sparks. They hit the skirt of Veses’ lilac gown, charring the gossamer fabric.
Veses reacted as fast as a Primal could. Reaver yelped as she kicked him, knocking him free of my grip. He flew back, hitting the wall next to the fireplace. Falling to the floor, he crumpled into a ball several feet from where he had stood.
“Stupid draken,” Veses sneered. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you.”
A veil of red slipped over me. There was no time to think. It was just like when I spied the gods in the Luxe, and they’d tossed that poor babe to the ground as if it were nothing more than trash to be discarded. I reacted out of pure, vengeful fury.
And this time, Nyktos wasn’t around to stop me.