Page 123

Flark, this was taking too long.

“Why do you seek this power?” my celestial guide asked, yet again. And again. And again.

Children and their infernal questions. Though I suspected the temple guardian was an ancient entity and not the youthful boy it pretended to be.

Still, I did not dare to ignore him. Earlier, when I hadn’t answered, he’d blasted me to the beginning of the winding mountain trail and made me start over.

“To take back what is mine,” I answered for the millionth time, refusing to expound.

“What is mine. What is mine,”Milton taunted in a sing-song voice. “Is that all you can say?”

“What do you want from me?”

“Honesty.”

“I haven’t lied.” Not exactly.

“Nor have you told the truth. Is Runayours? Do you do it for her?”

“Yes.”

“Now, you lie.” He folded his thin arms, glaring at the icy terrain.

“When my strength is restored, Iwillfree her.”

“But you don’t set out on this quest for power for her.”

“Runa is her own person. She understands what I must do.”

He snorted a scoffing inhalation. “Your mate understands that you intend to free and then abandoned her?”

I stiffened. “Runa is not my mate. Not officially. I never claimed her as my Bride.”

“Because you didn’t need to,” he informed me, his manner matter of fact. “There was no need to perform your blood-sucking vampire ceremony because you’re a child of the godsand Hathor’s chosen one. Instead of a predatory wound, you placed a divine brand upon Runa’s throat.”

Flark. It was as I feared then.

“Strange place if you ask me.” He screwed up his freckled face. “Awfully prominent. Idris placed his mark on his queen’s shoulder.”

My laboring heart skipped, then raced in my chest, my pulse pounding in my head. “Do you mean to tell me I’ve claimed Runa for all of eternity?”

“Do you honestly expect me, a child, to explain procreation and claiming to you?”

“Fa-fa-fates no,” I snapped, teeth chattering. “What does a freckle-faced kid know about mates anyway?”

“More than you, apparently,” Milton scoffed. “You didn’t even realize you had one.”

Deep down, I knew he was right. I’d claimed Runa. Flark, but that complicated things.

“What about Carcerem’s throne? Isn’t it yours as well?”

My frozen mind struggled to keep up with the child’s endless prattling.

I dared not lie. There was no telling what the brat would do. “I’ve no interest in Carcerem’s diseased throne.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve one of my own to reclaim once I return to my home. One that cost me centuries of blood, sweat, and tears to obtain. One I refuse to give up.”