“Bitch,” she gasped.

“And exactly why should I not kill her?” I asked Rhain.

Rhain still held on to my arm. “You know why.”

Fury dug its claws into me as I met his stare. “And you know why she deserves nothing less than death,” I hissed, my voice low.

“You’re right,” he said. “She deserves nothing but death.”

“Then don’t stop—”

You won’t do it.

My gaze flew back to Veses’. That voice… She hadn’t spoken out loud. It had been inside my head.

Not because you’re better than me or Kolis. Veses’ lips curved into a bloody smile. It’s because you’re weak. So godsdamn weak. That’s why you’re not any better. Claiming to be so is nothing more than an act.

I sucked in an unsteady breath as I was thrust back to when I was caged, and Veses had been on the outside. When she said we weren’t that different.

And she had been right.

We both reacted violently when it came to the ones we loved. It was the monstrous part of us both. And she was right about me not being a better person.

But she was wrong about why.

“I know what she’s doing. She’s in your head. Don’t listen to her.” Rhain’s grip on my arm firmed as he knelt beside me. “You don’t want war, Sera, but if you kill her, that’s exactly what you will start.”

It would absolutely start a war. What had I said to Ash? I didn’t want us to be the ones who started the war. But as the anger pumped hotly through me, I couldn’t give two shits about what I’d said. The hairs all over my body rose as a strange, shivery heat ran down my spine and arms, shocking my fingers.

Veses winced.

And I smiled, wanting to strip the flesh from her bones and then break every one. Slowly. I wanted to kill her over and over. My hold on her shattered wrist tightened as my fingers—my nails—cut into her skin, drawing blood.

Is vengeance worth the price?

I stiffened, feeling another draken’s echo or imprint. It was…earthy. Wild. In the back of my mind, I knew the sensation was unique to only one draken, but it was Rhain’s voice that intruded, mingling with my thoughts. I stared down at Veses, the rose-scented breeze tossing wisps of my hair across my face.

Was vengeance worth the price?

Yes.

Yes, it was.

“It’s more than vengeance,” I said. “It’s justice.”

“The difference between the two is a fine line.” Another voice, a deeper, gravelly one, reached me.

My gaze shot up as Nektas crossed onto the road, the ridges on his shoulders fading as loose pants manifested.

Wind whipped his hair as he knelt behind the Primal goddess’s head. “And no one walks it without stepping over that line.”

No one? Nektas was wrong. Ash would walk that fine line. He’d done so with Kyn. He always had. It was me who couldn’t.

The true Primal of Life.

The Queen.

“Ash sent me,” Nektas said, his voice gentling as Rhain released my arm. “He was worried.”

It took a moment for what he said to break through. Ash must’ve picked up on my emotions while at the Pillars. A shudder went through me.

“How sweet,” rasped Veses.

My lips peeled back, and a sound I didn’t recognize came from deep within me. Before I knew what I was doing, my head snapped down, fangs bared. I tore into Veses’ throat, and there was nothing clean or quick about the bite. I wanted to cause pain.

And I did.

Veses screamed, her back arching as thick blood poured into my mouth and down my throat. Her blood was sweet—too sweet—and tasted of roses.

Tearing through the delicate flesh of her throat, I reared back and then spat a mouthful of blood in Veses’ face.

Bele laughed.

Veses fell back against the stone, panting.

I forced myself to lift my fingers from her wrist, catching a glimpse of the deep, crescent-shaped slices in her skin that my nails had left behind. Then I made myself stand and back away from her as the strange tingling sensation faded from my skin.

I dragged the back of my hand across my mouth, wiping away the blood as Rhain and Nektas rose. “Get up and get the fuck out of here,” I bit out. “And do not ever come back looking for Nyktos. If you do, I will prove you right.”

Breathing heavily, she sat up. Bloodstained curls fell across her chest as she looked at me.

“That this is an act,” I said and felt Nektas’s questioning stare on me.

The Primal stood with far more grace than I would’ve thought capable, especially with her throat torn open and her right hand hanging askew from her broken wrist. Her damn nose had already healed, though.

Veses turned and then stopped.

“Whatever you’re thinking about saying or doing,” Nektas drawled as Ehthawn rose behind him, “I would strongly advise against doing so.”

Veses’ back stiffened, but she faced me, her blood-smeared lips pressed into a thin line. “Kolis offered you a deal,” she said, her voice hoarse. “That’s why I came here. To get Nyktos to convince you to take the deal offered to you.”

“And you thought you could accomplish that?” I stated, not having the mental capacity to wonder if what she said was true.

A subtle flicker of emotion skittered across her face, and a slight tremor hit her hands before she straightened the fingers on her uninjured side. “If you don’t accept the deal, you will regret not doing so.”

Rhain cursed.

A rush of heat traveled up my spine as my eyes locked with hers. “Is that a threat?”

“No,” Veses answered as mist rose, swirling around her legs. “It’s only the truth.”

“Can I talk to you?” Rhain asked as I stalked toward one of the side doors.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped and nodded. It was probably a blessing that Rhain was delaying my return to the younglings. With or without the notam, I didn’t need to be anywhere near them in my current mood…or with Veses’ blood smeared across my chin.

Yuck.

“Can you give us a moment?” Rhain asked Rhahar, who had been trailing behind us.

I stiffened, knowing what was coming as Rhahar gave a way-too-elaborate bow before backing off. “I know I didn’t control my temper out there. You don’t have to tell me.”

“That’s not what I was going to bring up,” he said, much to my surprise. “I…I just wanted to let you know that nothing has changed.” His gaze briefly met mine. “I haven’t told anyone what you did for me, and I won’t.”

I took a step back without realizing it. Denials rose to the tip of my tongue and spilled over. “There’s nothing you could really tell them. You were unconscious—”

“I know you made a deal with Kolis,” Rhain interrupted, his voice low. “I don’t need to know the specifics of what that deal entailed to understand.”

My skin flashed hot with prickly, stinging heat. Pressure clamped down on my chest.

Rhain stepped in closer. “Have you told Nyktos?”

The tightness moved to my throat.

Rhain took my silence as an answer. “That’s what I thought.” He looked across the courtyard, and then his gaze returned to mine. “I know you’re not asking for my advice, and I also know it isn’t my place to say shit, but those details won’t stay between you and Kolis.” His voice dropped even lower. “Kyn was still there, wasn’t he? He knows, and he clearly told Veses.”

The ground felt like it shifted beneath me. “It doesn’t matter. I know you don’t believe me, but nothing happened.”

“Sera—”

“It’s the truth.”

“Diaval knows.” Eather pulsed through his dark golden-brown eyes. “The damn draken overheard everything. I know what Kolis asked for in exchange for my freedom.”

Tonight, we’ll share the same bed.

I couldn’t feel my feet. “Nothing happened,” I insisted. “Kolis only wanted to sleep in the same bed. He didn’t try anything.” The essence sparked within me, and I had to count to five to quell it. “It was nothing, and that is the truth.”