She examined the selection of food and grimaced, but dutifully forked a bite of rice. Which she pretended to eat while dumping the contents in a waiting napkin. Did she think he dosed her food with a sedative, to make her more pliable?
Roc rolled his eyes, reached out and stabbed something from her plate to prove she could eat without worry. “I will never poison you.”
“Yes,” she responded, her tone dry, “you prefer to tear your victims to pieces, don’t you?”
“When necessary.” Where had she stood during this morning’s battle? He’d looked for her.
“Ugh. Lame response.” She shook her free hand up and down, making a crude motion with her fist before pretending to take another bite of food. “How are you planning to spend the next thirty days while I’m busy killing you? Help me understand what’s on tap.”
The ability to predict her reactions and responses exceeded his skill set. “I’ll kill phantoms and build an altar.”
Roc’s chest clenched, and he rubbed the alevala-free spot above his heart. Almost alevala-free. More of the image now stained his skin. Not that Taliyah could see it beneath his shirt. A garment an Astra wore only in the presence of nonthreats. The warlords wanted their enemies to witness what they’d done. To know the being they fought.
“I’ve heard of phantoms, like I said, but I’ve never combat any,” she admitted with an odd inflection. “You mentioned the leader of them. Rumors claim Erebus Phantom is dead.”
Did she fear the only living son of Chaos? Roc...didn’t like that. His own bride shouldn’t fear Erebus and eschew Roc himself.
This was what he got—what he deserved—for refusing to make Taliyah come in front of everyone. Follow-through mattered.
“Erebus is their leader, yes. We did kill him, but he revived.” Next time, Roc intended to stone and ash him for good. The only way to truly end a god with his abilities and powers.
“You guys killed him?” She couldn’t hide a thrum of... What was that? “How?”
“Tell you so that you may use the information against me? No.”
She smiled so sweetly, a fox in the guise of a lamb. “So the information can be used against you. Good to know.”
He pfted a breath.
“Did you know Erebus terrorized Harpina before I was born?” she asked, shuffling her food around her plate. “His brother Asclepius helped doctor the survivors.”
“I doubt Asclepius helped your kind. In his quest to create new armies and ascend, he and Erebus worked together to terrorize many femalecentric species.” The brothers liked to dress those females in widow’s weeds to remind the Astra of the bride ceremony. Even after Asclepius’s death, Erebus continued the tradition.
Taliyah’s gaze flipped up, meeting his. “Did you ever slaughter an army of phantom-harpies?”
He didn’t hesitate to offer the truth. “My guess is yes, most likely, but I honestly don’t know. I fight, and I kill. With phantoms, you don’t consider any other origin, their old life dead and gone.”
She thought for a moment. “What do you mean by ascend? You can go higher?”
“Always. Among the gods, there are myriad ranks and levels of power. To reach a new height, we must toil and fight until it occurs.”
“Ah. Like the fight for harpy General. As we do all that toiling and fighting, our power grows. We prepare for leadership.”
“Exactly.”
She returned her attention to her food, mixing, mixing. Why didn’t she eat? “Will Erebus come to Harpina? Will Chaos?”
“Chaos will attend the final ceremony.” He made no effort to hide his affection for the male. “Erebus and his phantoms, too.” Or his hatred. “But you have nothing to fear from either. I will protect you.”
“Fear?” She lifted her gaze, and her head followed, only at a much slower pace. “You take that back right this instant. I fear nothing.”
“You should fear Erebus and his phantoms,” he told her, and yes, he contradicted his earlier assurance of protection. He was aware. “They want you dead before the day of sacrifice.”
Her icy irises glittered with malice, the waters beneath that frozen surface clearly churning. “Since you killed our current General, I’m merely a single star away from being the next harpy General. I can handle a god and his puppies. Now. Do. You. Understand?”
Magnificent female. She embodied rage.
He suspected he’d learn nothing else until he responded to her query. “Let this stand as an official proclamation by the Astra Commander. Taliyah Skyhawk fears nothing.”
Pride assuaged, she relaxed into her seat.
“I haven’t forgotten what you said in the throne room.” Words spilled from him, a question suddenly troubling him. “With whom have your hands and mouth...done things?”
She didn’t miss a beat. “I used a temporary boy toy whenever the occasion suited me. His name is Hades. Why?”
“Hades, a king of the underworld?” A master seducer, according to reports.
“You’ve heard of him?”
“The male has won major wars and slain countless enemies. Yes, I’ve heard of him.” Roc settled his fingers over and around the arms of his chair, slowly gripping the wood.
Taliyah and Hades.
Hades and Taliyah.
Hmm. “Do you miss him?” How could any male leave her a virgin, when the fate of his loved ones didn’t hang in the balance?
Her lips formed a wide O, and she sputtered again. He hated that he’d stooped low enough to ask. The answer mattered not at all. In no way would her emotional state affect Roc’s plans. But he didn’t like the thought of his bride pining for another male in his palace. The disrespect of it... Yes, the disrespect. The only reason this bothered him.
He would hear her response, and he would hear it now. “Answer me, harpy.”
“You really are jealous,” she gasped out. “You are! We’ve been married a hot minute, and you’re already foaming at the mouth with jealousy.” Mirth softened her features, highlighting her delicacy. “Astra are possessive, then? No, don’t try to deny it. Envy is practically seeping from your pores, darling.”
In that moment, Roc kind of hated her. “I’m merely curious as to why you risked your chance to become General to get off with a man like Hades.”
“Here’s the thing,” she said, and judging by the calculated gleam in her eyes, she planned to eviscerate Roc. “I didn’t just get off with him. I had my world blown. Repeatedly. No other has ever come so close to winning my V-card.”