My heart turned over heavily as I cast a wary glance at Kieran. “Why are there…?” What had the thing that could be Isbeth said? That Kolis was busy. “You’re keeping Kolis out.”
“Right now, Iliseeum is a one-way realm. You can leave, but to enter, you must either be the Queen or born in Iliseeum. Which means, only he”—he jerked his chin toward Attes—“who I do not see, can return.”
“Is there a reason?” Kieran asked. “Did Kolis do something else?”
“He’s always doing something.” A moment passed. “He’s trying to…pay a visit that no one wants. If we drop the wards, he’ll get in, and that would be bad.”
“Okay.” I exhaled, my mind racing. “Then can you talk to Nyktos—?”
“No.”
“Why not?” I bit out.
“Because….it would be considered interference.”
My mouth dropped open.
Attes tipped his head back and sighed. “I fucking hate them.”
“How,” I began, “is raising a ward to protect Iliseeum against Kolis not considered interference?”
“Thatisa good question.” His head tilted slightly, and the mark along his jaw pulsed. “Except the ward wasn’t put up to protect Iliseeum.”
Kieran’s frown deepened. “Then why?”
The realization hit me like a spark against tinder, igniting a fiery rage. “It was raised to protectyourasses.”
“Correct.”
“Unbelievable,” I snarled as Casteel jerked me back again. “Actually, it’s completely believable. Was it Lirian’s dumbass idea?”
Thorne chuckled, the sound eerily familiar.
I took that as a yes. “So, I guess that also means you can’t tell me if Isbeth’s soul is in the Abyss?”
“You guess correctly.”
My nostrils flared. “Do you have any idea how utterly, unrepentantly irritating you are?”
“I do.”
“At least you’re self-aware.” I supposed I could add that attribute to cowardly and selfish.
“Mostly,” he replied. “By the way, the wards aren’t just because of how cowardly and selfish we are. The Queen is also in trouble.”
My breath stalled. I wasn’t sure I believed they couldn’t read minds. “What?”
“She did something she was not supposed to do.”
I stared at him for what felt like a small eternity. “And that was…”
“Shh,” he said, and my brows flew up. “Never mind, thought I heard Lirian’s…dumb ass.”
I pushed the eather down “Did you harm her?”
“I did nothing,” he replied. “And, no, she was not harmed. She’s simply in a…time-out.”
“A time-out?” Attes repeated under his breath and then laughed. “Bet that went over well.”