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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.

“But she no longer rules, does she?” Callum tacked on, his smile growing until a hint of teeth was visible. “Queen Ezmeria, along with her Lady Consort, does.” Speaking of my stepsister, he snapped a finger. “You know what? I haven’t paid her a visit. I should so I can…congratulate her.”

Every part of my being locked up as I stared at the Revenant. There was no love lost between my mother and me, but Ezra was one of the few people who had treated me like a person. I cared about her. Loved her.

“And just so you know,”—Callum leaned forward and lowered his voice—“I’m well aware of the wards Nyktos placed around your mortal family. Nice of him to do so, but rather pointless. I’ve already been invited inside Wayfair. No wards will keep me out.”