I needed to become that blank canvas. The empty vessel. No emotion. No personal needs or wants. Only skin-deep. It was the only way.

My chest clenched, and my head fell back. I stared at the gold bars above me.

Resolve sank in, entrenching itself as I opened my eyes. Slowing my breath once more, I stopped again. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to myself and Sotoria.

There was no answer.

Not from her or my annoying inner voice. I looked down where my toes peeked past the edge of the gown.

Wait.

My gaze lifted to the bed. The key. Gods, I’d nearly forgotten all about it.

Crossing the short distance, I lowered myself to the floor and peered under the bed. Relief swelled as I spied it. They hadn’t seen it yet.

I wasn’t sure how useful it would be now, but I couldn’t leave it there.

Glancing at the closed doors of the outer chamber, I went down on my belly and scooted as far as I could. I stretched out my arm, trying not to think about the dreams I’d had as a child of monsters beneath my bed. My fingers brushed the cool metal. I grabbed it and quickly rose, looking around the cage. Where could I hide it?

The chests couldn’t be that secure. Nothing in this cage was secure, except…

I thought of the one place very few men traversed.

Smirking, I hurried into the bathing area and knelt at the shelf. There were baskets on the bottom. I opened one lid, finding the feminine cloths used to protect the clothing during menstruation.

Speaking of menstruation, when was my last? Gods, I was always terrible at keeping track of them. I knew I’d had one…last month? Though I wasn’t quite sure how long I’d been here. The sky beyond the windows near the ceiling was light, but that told me nothing since I knew the sun could shine much longer in Dalos than elsewhere. I could’ve been out for a day, but based on the finally Kolis had tacked on when I woke, it could’ve been longer. So, who knew?

It didn’t matter.

It wasn’t like I was having sex with anyone that could get me pregnant. Or sex at all.

I unwound the slim bundle of cloth and slipped the key inside. Once I was sure it was hidden, I rose and caught my reflection in the mirror.

“Gods.” I winced.

Blood spotted my cheeks and forehead. The bruise on my swollen jaw was a lovely shade of purple edged in red. The split in my lower lip was raw. I could see the bruises, the imprint of fingers on my throat, even from where I stood. I looked over my shoulder at the arms of the white chair and felt sick.

It could’ve been worse, I reminded myself. Most didn’t walk away from taking a hit from a Primal. I did. It wasn’t anything to be proud of. It was just something to remember.

This had been nothing compared to the lashes Tavius had delivered. I was sure it was nothing compared to what Sotoria faced.

I thought of what Kolis had shared, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Sotoria meant something like his name did.

Our soul.

Damn. I bet his parents would be so very proud. I snorted as I stared at my reflection.

Hers would translate into my…something. That was if toria actually meant anything.

So’lis .

My soul.

A shudder went through me. Gods, he’d called her his soul? No wonder that enraged her—

The doors to the chamber opened without warning, and my stomach plummeted.

I was no longer alone.

CHAPTER NINE

Warm, sweet-but-stale air seeped into the cage as I darted out from behind the privacy screen.

Callum stood before the throne, having entered the chamber so silently it was nearly as eerie as the fact that I’d seen him die at least four times now and last saw him with his head hanging on by only a few tendons.

The damn painted mask was in place, stretching from his forehead to the edges of his jaw. One quick look showed what I already knew. There was no evidence of the injuries I’d inflicted upon him, not even a faint red mark on his throat.

“Hello again.” Callum spoke with a smile that would’ve been friendly on anyone else, but combined with the pale, lifeless blue eyes, and his inability to fucking stay dead, it gave me the creeps. “I didn’t get a chance to ask before, but I’m not sure how I should address you. Should I call you Seraphena or Sotoria?”

Was he seriously going to stand there and talk to me as if I hadn’t nearly severed his head and turned his heart and cock into mush?

“I believe Seraphena is more…fitting.” His cold, dispassionate gaze flickered over me. I knew damn well he could see nearly everything beneath my gown, but he looked at me as if I wore a potato sack from head to toe. “But I suppose His Majesty will determine what you will be called.”

My jaw tightened with irritation, causing pain to flare as I quickly looked past him to where the double doors remained open, revealing the breezeway beyond, flooded with sunlight.

“Either way, I’m going to attempt to complete what I intended when I entered the chamber yesterday,” he continued. “You were in need of a bath then. That is now an understatement.”

He spoke in a tone that matched his smile as he gestured to the privacy screen. Friendly. Conversational. He’d spoken like that when I first arrived in the cage, and it was just as unnerving now as it had been then. But I was more focused on what he’d inadvertently shared.

A day had passed.

And that meant Ash had been imprisoned for at least two days.

“Where is—?” I caught myself as my panic overrode intelligence. I’d almost said, “Ash.” Using that name would seem too intimate. Too affectionate. “Where is Nyktos?” I demanded, knowing better than to ask Kolis. It probably wasn’t much smarter to ask Callum, but I needed to know. “Is he still imprisoned?”

“Once you finish bathing, you will change into clean clothing.” He went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “If you’d like, I can choose something for you to wear.”

Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

Callum’s head tipped to the side. A strand of blond hair that had slipped free of the knot at the nape of his neck fell against the gold paint down his cheek. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

My fingers curled inward, pressing into my palms. “Where is Nyktos?”

A faint smile appeared as if he sensed my rising frustration. “Once you’re clean and dressed, you may eat if you’d like. If you’re not hungry, you can rest. It’s possible there will be time for both before His Majesty returns for you.”

Anger boiled inside me as I clenched my hands tighter. I may eat. I could rest. It reminded me too much of my youth, where every minute and hour of my days was summed up by what I could and could not do.

He quietly moved closer, stopping to stand in front of the cage. “But what you will not do is stand there,” Callum went on in the patient voice of a parent speaking to a young child. “In your filth, soiling your quarters.”

“My quarters?” I let out a sharp, brittle laugh that caused the side of my face to ache. “You’re calling a cage that?”

“I’ve been in your world many times. What you call a cage is better than what most have there.”

Immediately, I thought of the cramped tenements in Croft’s Cross. Unfortunately, he spoke the truth. Somewhat. “Yes, but most have their freedom.”

His smile took on a patronizing edge. “Do they? One would think they were prisoners to their poverty and the rulers who care little for them.” He paused. “Like your mother, my dear friend Calliphe.”

I stiffened at the reminder of his past contact with my mother. After all, Callum had shared with her how a Primal could be killed, which, admittedly, made little sense. Because that kind of knowledge endangered every Primal, including Kolis. Still, neither had known about Sotoria’s soul. They’d never considered me a threat.