Page 74 of The Sunbound Princess
He was wrong. The moment Viraxes no longer had a use for him, the sorcerer wouldn’t hesitate to snap Corvus’s neck. Somehow, I had to warn him. If he thought helping us would save his skin, he could be the key to getting out of Viraxes’s tower alive. If I could plant even a sliver of fear in him, we might have a chance.
Guards flanked me as we left the bathing chamber, their armor clanking. Oil glistened on my skin. My bare feet slipped against chilly obsidian as they marched me through winding corridors lit by flickering torches. The tunic molded to my chest and groin. I clenched my teeth and let the promise of revenge pump hot through my veins.
After several minutes of twisting passageways, we passed through a set of golden doors and into a vast chamber dripping with wealth. Golden braziers cast dancing shadows across silk hangings and polished black marble veined with gold. Plattersof fruit and pitchers of wine slick with condensation sat on low tables.
Viraxes reclined on a cushioned lounger, a wine goblet dangling from his fingers and his black hair spilling over one shoulder. Corvus sat in a lounger next to him. A crown studded with amber-colored gemstones rested on his brow. Golden suns marched around the base. A stone was missing in the center, its dark hollow about the size of my palm.
Corvus waited for the sunstone. He should have known Viraxes would never let him near it.
The guards shoved me toward a cushioned platform in the center of the room. Shallow steps ran around the perimeter. Broad and flat, the surface was raised just enough to give Viraxes and Corvus an unimpeded view.
Icy resolve pumped through my veins. I glared at Corvus, who sipped wine from a goblet etched with glyphs. My plan swirled in my mind. Warnings trembled on my tongue. But what if I made everything worse?
The thump of boots drew my attention to the doors, and my heart sank as more guards marched Nikolas inside wearing the same flimsy tunic. Oil sheened his skin, and a bruise bloomed on his jaw. His nostrils flared as his gaze fell on Viraxes. Fury burned in his eyes, but there was something else, too—a flash of vulnerability that made my fingers twitch with the need to tear Viraxes to pieces.
Then more guards brought Ezabell, and white-hot rage blistered my skin.
Her sleeveless gown was so sheer it might as well have been mist. Every curve of her flawless body showed beneath the gossamer fabric, her pink nipples and the seam of her pussy clearly visible. Her hair was loose, and oil gleamed on her sleek arms and in the hollow of her throat. Her face was a mask oficy disdain, but her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird under her skin as the guards led her to the platform.
Nikolas faced Viraxes. “Whatever you’re planning, we won’t do it.”
Viraxes set his wine on the table, then settled back on his cushions with a bored expression. “Your options are quite limited, Taniakes. And you’ll perform. Although, I admit I don’t understand your reluctance. You’ve done it before, and under much less respectable circumstances.”
It was the perfect twist of the knife. Nikolas paled, and it tore my heart out. I wanted to reach for him—to pick him up and carry him from the tower—but I didn’t dare move. Not with armed guards surrounding us and Viraxes’s twisted magic soaking the air. But Ihadto make a move. I just didn’t know when.
Corvus was rigid on his lounger, his gaze fixed on Ezabell with an expression I couldn’t decipher. Lust? Jealousy? Regret? Whatever it was, it turned his knuckles white as he gripped his goblet.
“You deprived me of the Pyrikion,” Viraxes said, his pale gaze sliding between Nikolas and me before resting on Ezabell. “You’ll make up for it now.” He leaned forward, curiosity sharpening his features. “There’s a unique connection between the three of you. I want to know what it is.”
As if responding to some unspoken signal, the guards turned as one and marched to the doors. Their boots echoed as they filed from the chamber. The golden doors closed slowly behind them, theboomvibrating the air.
Viraxes turned to us and smiled. “Strip and get on the platform.”
Chapter
Twenty-One
EZABELL
The Dokimasi hummed in my chest. Not the forceful tugging I’d grown accustomed to, but something deeper and richer. It warmed me, blazing hot but not burning.
And it filled me, its light scattering every shadow I’d carried since my father died. Doubt fled, leaving only a sense ofrightnessthat flowed in thick rivers through my veins.
Dain and Nikolas flanked me, both ready to give their lives for mine. They would fight Viraxes and lose, and they would do it to stop him from hurting me.
But they didn’t have to.
I met the sorcerer’s stare, the magic in my chest humming with the power of the sun. Viraxes expected me to cower. He thought I would weep and beg him not to force me to debase myself.
He’d miscalculated. But he could wait.
I looked at Corvus and found him watching me with an unsettled expression. He was stiff on his lounger, his wine goblet pinched between tight fingers. My father’s crown sat too low on his brow, as if he’d smashed it down to make sure it didn’t slip. The hollow where the sunstone should have nestled gaped like a dark wound.
“You’re weak,” I said, my voice carrying across the chamber.
Corvus sat up straighter, and his wine sloshed in his goblet. Malice twisted his features as he raked his eyes down my body. “I’m not the one who’s nearly naked inhumanlands.”
“But youarein human lands,” I said. “Worse, you’re here of your own will, which proves you’re not simply weak. You’re also afraid.”
