Page 44 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

“With our bargain!” I seethed. “You expect me to claim my power, and yet at every turn, your little contract is trying to kill me.”

Mercurial laughed. “It’s a standard Afeyan contract. Trust me. It’ll take far more than a little fire to kill you, Goddess.”

“Why is it doing this? Why does it keep heating up?”

Mercurial shrugged. “The meetings of light and souls…one can never be sure of the outcome of any such combinations.” He snaked his head from side to side. “Not my secrets to tell. And you don’t have enough in you to bargain for a second deal.”

“I’d never bargain for a second.”

He laughed, the sound musical and haunting. “You swore you wouldn’t bargain for a first. And yet, here you are.” He stalked toward the bed, his finger tracing the shape of the star shining brightly between my breasts.

“Fine,” I said. “Are you here to tell me what to do? How to claim my power? That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

His hands clamped down on the bed, fisting the blanket on either side of me, his face just inches from mine. He was hovering over me like a lover, but there was nothing loving in his eyes. He was a predator, and I was his trapped and helpless prey.

“Not yet. There are some…details I must put in order. Invitations I must send out. Guests we need to arrive. And only when the sun and moon are in alignment with the stars might you act. But not one second before.”

I shook my head. His words made no sense.

“What does that mean? My aunt has already been named acting Arkasva and High Lady. She’ll be consecrated in less than a month. When will the sun and moon be in alignment with the stars?”

He smirked, his face alight in the glow of my star. “When they accept their invitations to a party.” He stiffened and lifted one hand, making a fist.

There was another crash from the living room.

“Bastard!” Rhyan growled in pain from outside.

“Stop hurting him!” I yelled, realizing only now that he had Rhyan imprisoned somehow in order to speak to me. I tried to sit up, but my stomach left me frozen on the bed.

“But the not-Lord is always getting in my way.” Mercurial pouted.

“Leave him alone, or I will do everything in my power to make your end of the bargain miserable,” I bluffed.

“You can’t even stomach our contract, my lady,” he said, voice deep and rumbling. “Might I remind you that I am the one who holds power now. Not you.” He held his palm up to me, and with a turn of his wrist, my star was on actual fire.

I shrieked in terror at seeing the flames on my chest. But there was no pain, at least, not there. My stomach though—Gods. The cramps were getting so intense, tears were springing to my eyes.

“LYR!” Rhyan roared from the other room. “Don’t touch her!”

“I’m okay!” I called back, though I still felt panicked. It only looked like I was on fire. “Mercurial,” I said. “Mercurial, please, stop.”

The Afeya rolled his eyes, but the flames vanished.

I exhaled in relief, gripping my chest, pulling Rhyan’s blankets up to cover me.

“The not-Lord is oh so protective of you. But his blankets are no shield from me.” Mercurial stepped back and begun playing with his hair, which was long and silky and splayed across his shoulder. Small golden stars appeared, weaving their way through the strands, pulling and twisting the locks into intricate braids. “I told you. No harm would come to you by my hand. Not as long as you fulfill your end of the bargain. I didn’t come to you sooner because the stars were not yet aligned, my remembered Goddess. I only came now to warn you, to tell you. I have a plan. Wait.” The final word was like a knife, sharp and cutting.

“Wait for what?”

“For me, you simple girl. I am the one you bargained with. No one else. So do not get the idea in your little mortal mind that you can do this alone, without my help. Because you cannot.”

“Are you spying on me?” I seethed. This was exactly the conversation I’d had last night with Morgana and Rhyan.

“Such a mortal concept. You think after centuries bound to this Earth, I haven’t learned a thing or two of how minds work? Especially desperate ones? You think I can’t predict the pattern of thought of a Lumerian who is running scared? Or those with the right knowledge now seeking to take advantage?” He shook his head, the movement so inhuman, so ethereal, so threatening. “Try, and there will be consequences.”

“Like I’ll burn from the inside?” I sat forward, hands fisted in Rhyan’s blankets, my knuckles turning white.

Moonlight gleamed across Mercurial’s black hair, and his eyes sparkled. “Like you don’t want to know.” His head snapped to the side, his gaze narrowing, before he looked back to me, a feline grin spreading across his lips. Then the room darkened, and Mercurial’s anger burst, leaving me gasping. It felt like little flames, dancing, and pricking at my skin. “Some bastards never learn their lessons.” He snarled, almost animal-like in his rage. “I’ll be back soon. Looks like another wants to play with me—someone very naughty. Say goodbye to the not-Lord for me. Give him a kiss.” He winked. “Won’t you?”