“Those who do not likely won’t live long enough to wallow in their insult,” Nyktos responded before I could.
“Because you’ll make sure they’re dead before they can?”
Nyktos laughed darkly. “Because my Consort will likelyplunge a dagger into their hearts before I’m even aware of what has occurred.”
His words shocked me and sent my heart thumping. He’d made it clear that I was no damsel to be protected, and I liked that—maybe too much.
“So, I should take the earlier threat to feed my eyes to me more seriously?”
I smiled at the Primal.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Attes refocused on Nyktos. “You going to tell me how in the holy fuck a god Ascended here in the Shadowlands?”
My heart stuttered at the blatant callout, but Nyktos didn’t react. Nothing except for the swipe of his finger coming shockingly close to my thin undergarment once more. I bit the inside of my lip as a rush of slick heat answered the indecent touch. Attes’s gaze lowered again, and I knew from where he sat and from how Nyktos held me, he could see precisely what Nyktos’s hand was up to. With the Primals’ increased senses, it was also likely he could tell how much it affected me. Heat scalded my skin, but not from shame. It should’ve been. Or, at the very least, anger. And there was a little bit of that—just enough to clear some of the languid warmth invading my senses. Nyktos was putting on a show. Not for me, but for Attes.
“It had to be Kolis.”
Attes snorted. “Come the fuck on, Nyktos.”
“I don’t know who else it could’ve been.”
“If it was Kolis, why would he have finally chosen to Ascend a god? Here, in the Shadowlands.”
“You’d have to ask him that.”
“I guess I will have to.”
I didn’t think Attes planned to do that, because it didn’t seem like he believed Kolis was capable of such a thing.
“I know it was a god from Hanan’s Court,” Attes said after a moment. “The only one I know who is often found in the Shadowlands is Bele.”
“She is often here,” Nyktos confirmed while I willed my heart to calm.
“Well, Hanan is having a godsdamn fit right nowatDalos, convinced that you, the Primal of Death, have somehow managed to Ascend a god. The other Primals areworried. That ifone god can Ascend to challenge their position, then so can another.”
“You don’t look all that worried,” Nyktos pointed out, and he didn’t.
“That’s because I don’t fear someone taking my place.” He sat back, dropping his hand to his knee. “None of us has forgotten who your father was.” Attes held Nyktos’s stare, and my stomach dipped at the insinuation. “Or who you were meant to be.”
“You think there are embers of life in me?” Nyktos laughed, stirring the hair along the back of my neck. “That it was not Kolis but me who did it?”
Oh, gods, what if they did? What if Kolis believed that? Pressure clamped down on my chest, and I held my breath as my heart started to race. Nyktos gently squeezed my thigh.
“If it wasn’t Kolis, then there would have to be embers of life here,” Attes replied. “And you haven’t denied that.”
“Nor have I confirmed anything,” Nyktos countered, and I heard the smoky smile in his words. “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re here because of your curiosity or if you came on Kolis’s behalf.”
Attes went still once more. “Both would be true.”
My insides went cold as Nyktos leaned into my back. That dark energy rose again. “Is that so?”
“It is. I am curious about what has been occurring here.” The aura in Attes’s eyes brightened. “And Kolis has tasked me with delivering a message to you.”
“I didn’t know that he was now using you for such things.”
“I believe he chose me because I’m the closest.” Attes paused. “And one of the few you’d be less likely to toss into the Abyss once you hear the message.”
“I wouldn’t put a lot of confidence behind that belief.” Nyktos’s voice had dropped. “What is the message?”