“She knows.” Bele rose, the crackling bow of eather still trained on Veses, another arrow of pure energy at the ready. “About Sera.”
Golden ringlets whipped around Veses’ head like snappingserpents as she lowered herself to the floor. “Nyktos—”
“Shut up,” he snarled, his gaze remaining fixed on me as he lifted his hand. A bolt of eather exploded from his palm and arced across the chamber like lightning. I flinched against the blinding light, gathering Reaver close to me out of instinct.
Veses wasn’t faster this time.
The blast of energy hit her in the chest, throwing her back. I gasped as her entire body lit up. For a moment, she was suspended in the air, her veins glowing as light flooded her mouth, nostrils, and eyes. Then she flew backward more, slamming into the wall, and I didn’t think I’d ever been more thrilled to hear the fleshy sound of a body smacking into an unyielding surface.
Veses slid down the stone, twitching and shaking as she came to a stop, slumped over. The crackling energy faded, leaving behind the scent of charred flesh. Blood dripped from her nose, mouth, and trickled from her ears. The skin above her elbows and wrists was dark and burnt.
Veses was out, but I didn’t know for how long.
“Take her,” Nyktos ordered as he crossed the chamber, the faint outline of his smoky wings briefly visible once more before they faded. “Lock her in one of the cells.”
I blinked as Orphine came forward, along with who I guessed was her brother, Ehthawn.
“I wish we could just toss her ass in the Abyss,” Ehthawn muttered, gripping the arm of the unconscious Primal and hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of lumpy grain. I thought I might be smiling.
“Sera.”
I jerked at the sound of my name.
Nyktos knelt in front of me, and I saw no one else. Blood smeared his left temple, and I didn’t know if it was his or someone else’s.
“Reaver was hurt,” I rasped, glancing down at him. “Shehurthim.”
He touched the young draken’s cheek as I felt his gaze on me. “But he’s not hurt any longer.”
“He’s just sleeping right now.” I trembled as I stared down at Reaver, his skin having returned to its usual dusty, golden hue. “I had to do something. He wasreallyhurt, and I couldn’t—”
“It’s okay.” Nyktos’s hand rose, and just his fingertips touchedmycheek. “You saved him. That’s all that matters.”
“But sheknows,” I warned him. “And she’s not like Attes. She won’t keep this secret. No matter what is going on—”
“She won’t get a chance to tell Kolis,” Nyktos interrupted, carefully dragging his fingers along the curve of my jaw where the skin ached. “She won’t be able to get out of the cell.”
“She didn’t want to tell Kolis. She wanted to kill me once she realized what I could do.” My back throbbed as I leaned forward. I winced. “That doesn’t make sense, right? But she…she was afraid once she realized what I could do.”
Eather flared in his eyes as his gaze swept over me. His jaw tightened. “Bele? You okay?”
“Yeah.” The goddess drew close. “Sera is right. Veses looked freaked the hell out.”
“She felt what happened earlier today,” I told him.
“What the hell happened earlier today?” Bele asked.
Nyktos held up a hand, silencing her.
I drew in a shallow, pained breath. “But she came here because she said she’d felt something different about me when I saw—when she was here last,” I said, not looking at him then. It was important that I tell him this. “And that’s why she came back. The Shades—”
“It was her,” Nyktos interrupted. “I didn’t realize that until Rhain found us. He would’ve gotten to me sooner, but there were a lot of Shades. So many they were overwhelming Orphine and Ehthawn.”
I winced, knowing that meant he’d had to kill the Shades, and I knew that would get to him. “I’m sorry.”
Nyktos jerked so forcibly that I looked up at him. His eyes were wide and fixed on me.
Figuring he was confused by what I was apologizing for, I said, “I know you don’t like to kill the Shades. I’m sorry you had to do that.”