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I saw only Kolis.

The corners of my lips rose as I struck, my arm whipping out. I thrust the shadowstone blade deep into his chest, into his heart.

Surprise widened his cornflower blue eyes. The aura of eather behind his pupils pulsed intensely at the same moment the embers in my chest did. Jerking the dagger free, I let go of his head as my hands started to warm. I stepped back as he slumped to the side.

Then the screaming began.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Heart lurching, I spun toward the sound. The high-pitched, agonized shrieks came from Jacinta. Her fingertips were pressed into her painted cheeks, clawing into them.

I stepped toward her, lifting my empty hand to comfort her. “You’re okay. You’re—”

She darted past me, her gauzy gown fluttering around her legs. Worried that she was in shock, I turned to stop her as she sprang forward toward the god.

“No, no, no,” she cried, stopping me in my tracks as she dropped to her knees before the chair. She grasped the god’s bloodless cheeks. “Evan, please open your eyes.”

Evan?

“Please!” she begged—screamed—over and over.

A heavy thumping sound whipped my head to the side, and I felt the breath I took lodge in my throat.

Naberius’s tail slid across the tile. Muscles along the draken’s face clenched, then one vibrant red eye with slanted pupils opened. His head lifted as the scaled skin below his nostrils vibrated and pulled back. A row of thick, sharp teeth appeared, and a low snarl hit the air.

A buzzing sound started in my ears as I turned back to Jacinta, the hum increasing with each staggered heartbeat. I took a step back as she pressed her shaking hands to the god’s chest, over the wound. I wanted to tell her that it was too late for that, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I couldn’t process what I was seeing. He’d been hurting her. Kolis had said…

A wave of chills swept down the back of my head and neck. Shimmering blood dripped from the shadowstone blade I held as I kept backing up, looking around, my gaze now as wild as Jacinta’s had been. I saw Attes first. The scar running from his hairline and across the bridge of his nose and left cheek stood out starkly. His jaw was clenched, eyes sheltered. Keella had her hand pressed over her heart, her normally warm brown skin ashen. Pressure settled on my chest as my gaze skipped over the hard lines of Kyn’s features before moving to the dais.

Kolis smiled, then lifted his chalice. Even from where I stood, I saw that this smile was different. It was like the one he’d worn when he ordered me to kill Thad. It was the same cruel lift of lips.

“Will someone please assist with dear Jacinta before Naberius does it himself?” Kolis instructed, lowering his chalice to the arm of the throne as my gaze darted to the draken. He’d risen slightly on his forelegs and peered into the alcove. “And remove Evander from our presence.”

Every muscle in my body tensed as I stood there. Guards came forward. Naberius’s head swiveled back around, growling at those who neared him. I closed my eyes, feeling my chest become tighter. Breathe in. Each breath I took felt too short, too shallow. Hold. A loud thump came again, followed by a curse. Breathe out. Jacinta…her cries grew more distant, muffled—

A sudden gust of hot air blew strands of hair back from my face—hot air that smelled like…meat.

My eyes popped open.

Two nostrils I might be able to fit my hand inside were only a few feet from my face.

“Naberius,” Kolis shouted.

Thin lips vibrated, peeling back farther from those wicked teeth as the draken leaned in, close enough that I saw the strands of saliva clinging to his fangs.

Kolis yelled his name again. “Stand down. Now.”

It didn’t look like Naberius was about to do that as his breath ruffled the strands of my hair. A low rumble came from his throat once more.

Naberius looked like he was about to eat me.

I thought I should feel fear. Of all the ways to die, I imagined draken teeth tearing into flesh and crunching bone was likely a painful one. Regardless, I felt nothing but lingering confusion and disbelief. I didn’t even feel the embers.

As Diaval crept into the edges of my vision, Naberius…sniffed me.

The draken huffed out a breath that sent the top of my gown blowing back. Then he retreated, drawing his tail toward him.

“Come on,” Diaval growled in exasperation, jumping out of the way of the draken’s thick tail.