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“I am displeased, so’lis,” he said, causing a shudder from within. “But I expected nothing less from you.”

“Is that so?” I murmured, not trusting his seemingly ambivalent response.

“You’ve tried to escape me many times before.” His stare sharpened on me. “That is, if you are who you claim to be.”

Unease blossomed as I swallowed dryly. Kolis believing that Sotoria and I were one and the same was the only thing keeping me alive. “I…I don’t remember any of that,” I admitted, knowing that telling the truth whenever possible made the lies more believable.

“Is that so?” he parroted what I’d said.

I nodded.

“Then you don’t remember what happens when you displease me,” he said.

The back of my neck tightened as I held his stare. “No, but I’m sure I can guess.”

Kolis laughed softly. “No, you cannot.”

Ice hit my chest, and I shivered.

“I hope you do not rediscover that knowledge,” he added, his stare moving over me.

“I don’t need to rediscover it to know,” I bit out. “I know what happens to those who fall out of favor with you. To others who’ve been your guests.”

I saw small twitches in his jaw muscles and above his eyes as he stared down at me. “You speak of others I not only provided for, lavishing them with the finest silks and the richest wines and foods, but also protected without ever expecting a single thing from them other than companionship?”

I choked on a rage-filled breath. Did he really think keeping someone in a cage could ever be considered anything but keeping them a prisoner? “Were you protecting them once you grew tired of them and tossed them aside, allowing anyone to do anything to them? To assault and abuse them. To kill—”

Kolis snapped forward, bringing his face to within inches of mine. It took everything in me not to react. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” His flesh began to thin as his chest rose with a deep breath. He slowly straightened. “But I know who has been talking to you. Aios.”

I said nothing as I held his stare.

“Did she tell you why I grew tired of them? Why they were tossed aside? I’m sure she didn’t. Each and every one of them was ungrateful. No matter what I gave them. No matter what I did. They were either morose or conniving, believing their lives were better without what I could provide.” His chin lifted. “All I did was allow them to discover how false that belief was.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—justification for not only kidnapping but also his role in their demise. And his tone told me he truly believed he’d done nothing wrong.

Kolis eyed me. “I can sense it.”

“What?” I asked, wondering if my rage was so palpable it had forced him to develop an ability similar to Ash’s.

“The essence in you.” Shimmery gold pressed against the flesh of his throat. “The embers. They are even more powerful than before.” His chin lowered. “That shouldn’t be possible. You are, after all, mortal. Yet you not only harnessed it to strike a draken, but you also invoked compulsion on not one but two Primals.”

“And?”

“And?” Kolis repeated with a soft laugh. “Only the Primal of Life can wield compulsion against another Primal.”

My heart tripped. “I’m not the Primal of Life. Obviously.”

“Yes, obviously,” Kolis repeated. “Callum will be returning soon. Do not displease me. I would hate for there to be a need to station a dakkai in this chamber,” he said, and my stomach hollowed at the thought. “Their temperament and stench don’t make them good companions, so’lis.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, feeling palpable rage that wasn’t mine erasing any concern regarding the dakkai. “So’lis?”

Kolis was motionless for several moments, then he smiled, and my body turned cold.

It was a beautiful smile.

He was beautiful.

But there was something wrong with that smile. It was…practiced, as if he’d studied many types to perfect one, but the emotion behind it wasn’t there.