“I remember.”

Ector eyed me as he slowly closed the library doors. The moment I heard them snick into place, I went to them and waited.

Who was she?

Better yet, who was she that Ash didn’t want me around? A sour sensation pooled in my stomach, one that couldn’t be jealousy. More like…indignant anger. For someone who claimed to think of how I tasted at the most inappropriate times, he sure hadn’t shown any interest over the last three days. Nor had he shown any interest in receiving pleasure, something males generally always wanted. Could it be because he’d been finding pleasure elsewhere despite the impression I’d gotten regarding his experience?

The last thing I needed was competition when it wasn’t like I could win his heart with my sparkling personality. My options were limited.

And not only that, I was to be his Consort. If he were going to be interested in others, he could at least do it elsewhere.

Cracking open the door, I peered out into the hall, half surprised not to find Ector standing there. I didn’t waste a second. I quietly closed the doors behind me and crept out into the hall. I only made it to the area of Ash’s office when I heard voices.

“You’ve been particularly difficult to obtain an audience with lately.” A velvet-wrapped voice filled the hall.

“Have I been?” came Ash’s response.

I cursed under my breath, quickly scanning the hall. I darted into an alcove and pressed my back against the cool stone wall.

“You have,” the woman replied. “I was beginning to take it personally.”

“Nothing personal, Veses. I’ve just been busy.”

Veses? The Primal of Rites and Prosperity? My throat dried as I leaned toward the thin slit of a gap between the thick pillar and the wall. She was heavily celebrated during the weeks leading up to the Rite, in rituals only known to the Chosen. Many prayed to her for good luck but doing so came with risks. Veses could be vengeful, dishing out misfortune to those she found unworthy of blessings.

“Too busy for me?” Veses asked, a sharpness edging into the softness of her tone. Was she one of the Primals that pushed Ash?

“Even you,” Ash said.

“Now, I’m a little offended.” That sharpness had become a blade, just as they entered my narrow line of sight. “I’m sure it’s unintentional.”

Ash moved into view first. He was unarmed, as he had been in the throne room. But considering what he was capable of, I didn’t know if that meant he didn’t view this Veses as a threat or not. “You should know by now that I never cause unintended offense.”

The Primal laughed, and I gritted my teeth at the honey-coated sound. A second later, she stepped into the narrow opening. If Ash was midnight personified, she was sunlight manifested.

Golden-blonde hair cascaded over slim shoulders in thick, perfectly coiled ringlets, reaching an impossibly narrow waist cinched by a gown a shade or so paler than her hair. The gossamer fabric clung to a lithe body. I glanced down at the breeches I wore, thinking that one of my legs was probably the size of both of hers.

I looked back up as she turned to Ash, and I wished I’d continued staring at my leg as none of the many paintings and renderings I’d seen of her had done her justice. Her creamy complexion was smooth and pink, clear of freckles. The line of her nose and the shape of her brow were delicate, as if she had been constructed of the same handblown glass as the figurines that had lined my stepfather’s office. And her mouth was full, a perfect pout the shade of apricots. She was incredibly beautiful.

I didn’t like this Primal.

I didn’t like her, knowing damn well my reasons were…well, quite petty.

“No,” Veses remarked, lifting a bare arm. She wore a similar silver band around her slender biceps. Her hand coasted up his arm. “You just offend intentionally.”

“You know me all too well.” Ash opened the door to his office.

Now, I really disliked her.

And him.

And everyone.

“Do I? If so, I wouldn’t have been so blindsided by the rumor I heard.” Her slender fingers reached the silver band around his upper arm.

For one of the incredibly rare moments in my life, I heeded caution and stayed where I was. She was a Primal. One that could bestow bad luck with a graze of her fingers. And the gods knew I already had enough of that in my life. Still, it took everything in me to remain hidden.

He looked at her. She was nearly his height, so they were almost eye to eye. “What is this rumor you heard?”

She toyed with the band while I wondered exactly how badly a shadowstone dagger to the chest would sting a Primal. “I heard that you have taken a Consort.”

My lips parted as I pressed against the pillar.

A half-smile appeared and curved Ash’s lips. “News does travel fast.”

Veses’ fingers stilled as she stared at him. A faint, silvery glow rippled over her skin. The delicate features hardened. “So, it’s true?” she asked, and I didn’t think she sounded happy at all.

“It is.”

She didn’t speak for a long moment. “That is…very intriguing.”

“Is it?” His blasé tone irked me.

“Yes.” Veses’ smile was tight-lipped. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who will find that intriguing, Nyktos.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw as she slid her hand from his arm and brushed it across him, stepping into the darkness of the office. Ash followed, hand still on one of the doors. He stopped in the doorway, turning…

He looked directly at the alcove.

Eyes widening, I jerked back against the wall. He knew I was here. What in the hell? Heart thumping, I waited until I heard the door close before I peeked between the pillar and the wall. The hall was empty.

A whole new wave of irritation surged through me as I stepped out from under the alcove. Ash had been so busy the last several days that I’d barely seen him, but he was making time for this Veses? Who was a Primal, but whatever.

I hurried past the library to the back stairs I’d discovered a few days ago and stalked out the side door near the kitchen, into the gray world of the Shadowlands. There was no breeze today. The air was stagnant, unchanging. I looked up, noting that there were no clouds. There were never clouds, but the stars were shining, blanketing the sky.

Crossing the courtyard, I looked up at the tall, imposing Rise. As I expected, there were no guards. I had never seen them on this side. Normally, they patrolled the western portion, the front, and the northern part of the Red Woods, which faced Lethe.

The gray grass crunched under my boots as I continued forward. I really had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that I couldn’t spend another moment in the dusty, sad library, my chambers, or in the bare, empty palace where I felt as unseen as I did in Wayfair.

And that was silly. I only needed to be seen by Ash, but I was still a ghost. Nothing.

I hadn’t realized how close I’d come to the Red Woods until I found myself mere feet from one of the blood leaves. My steps slowed as I took them in, curious. I’d never seen a leaf such a vibrant shade of red before. Nor iron-hued bark. What could have turned them this color? I walked forward, just a few feet into where I was forbidden to travel. I remembered Ash’s warning, but how dangerous could they be when no gate or wall separated the woods from Haides?

I looked over my shoulder, seeing no sign of Ector. With Saion and Rhain checking on the missing woman in Lethe, there was no one who would run back and tell on me.

And it wasn’t like I couldn’t take care of myself while Ash was busy with Veses, doing the gods’ only knew what.

A faint ache threatened to return to my temples as I reached up, touching a leaf on a low-hanging branch. The texture was smooth and soft, reminding me of velvet. I dragged my thumb over the supple leaf, my mind conjuring the image of Ash doing the same with a strand of my hair.