I folded my bottom lip between my teeth, biting into the meat. The coppery tang of blood erupted on my tongue, and then, calmly, I advanced to the empty threshold. A burst of frigid air crashed into my face, rushing down my frame and aching against my heated flesh. I stepped from the room, wincing as the door banged closed behind me. A trickle of horror shot through my mind, making me tremble violently.
The dark clap of ominous laughter echoed around me. My fists unclenched and I pressed my back to the icy wall, closing my eyes against the vast void that stretched around me. Praying silently for strength, I shook off the fear and opened my eyes to survey my surroundings for threats. The scenery of the passage changed, contorting until the outside air swirled against my frame, ruffling my hair to whack against my cheek. The dress I wore faded, leaving me in a delicate, flimsy, sheer gown.
My heart thundered, threatening to burst loose from the cage I kept it within. Between one blink and the next, an armored male appeared before me. Enormous wings with a leathered texture and lethal-looking barbs spread behind him. A shadowy substance flowed from his helmet, drifting in soft, billowing patterns over his body to slither around his armor-clad form. The sole feature visible was the obsidian depths, flickering with glittery specks of bright stars that smoldered within his gaze.
I fought the instinct to run, to quit right on the spot my feet were rooted to. The bite of the air against my body forced my arms to wrap around my midriff, seeking a shield against the icy sting of the air within the dark space we stood in.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I pleaded quietly, recoiling when his hand rushed forward, gripping my hair roughly until my scalp stung.
He chuckled coldly, adding to the chill settling into my bones. The faint hint of rain, pine, and cedar teased my senses, flowing over me in a delicate wave that reminded me of the woodlands and home. It was earthy and caused me to feel safe in a place where almost everything wanted my death.
“You’re trembling, little girl.” He spoke in a rough tone, laced with gravel and a hoarseness that drifted over my skin and slid through my center. He sounded like what I’d assume whiskey to sound like if it had a voice. “Is it with fear, or do you anticipate what I’ve arranged for you tonight?”
“It’s freezing,” I returned icily, embodying the glacial air in my tone.
“Is it? I didn’t realize that something so frigidly cold and heartless could feel discomfort by things that matched her demeanor so closely. I care not if you freeze to death, girl. You’re a tool I intend to wield to take back what is rightfully mine. Your comfort’s not of my concern, nor my worry.”
“I’ll never allow you to manipulate me into betraying my people, monster. I’ll fight you with every breath until air no longer escapes from my lips. You assume you’re a god, but you’re nothing more than a homicidal sociopath who means to defeat a group of people who hold no culpability for what befell you and your people. You hide your face, camouflaging the beast you’ve become from the world, and still you expect to rule it? Everyone wants to control the world, asshole. Do you comprehend the difference between them and you?” I inquired gently, inhaling his dark, enticing scent deeply into my lungs.
“That I will rule the world, and they only crave to, right?” he countered, shocking me with his sincerity. He had some pretty lofty dreams and illusions of grandeur.
“They’re not the frail, pathetic bitch hiding beneath armor. The entities who covet it? They’re out there effectively devising strategies to get what they lust after. You? You’re here, brooding and grumbling about what they took from you because you were too fucking weak to hold on to it. They aren’t frightened of unmasking their true face, and I’m not frightened of you. You do not understand what you’re doing or who you’re considering dethroning. My family opposed the gods and won. They’ll devour you and your people and then consume your souls. If you really believe you’re enough to take them on, then I can’t wait for them to shove that hubris down your throat until you choke on it.”
“Those are pretty big words for a princess who weeps at night, pleading for me to let her free. I love the melody of your misery and the agonizing echo of it through my soul, Kahleena. I bet you’ll weep beautifully when I end your entire line and keep you as my fucking trophy. You make a gorgeous pet, held in a cage of my making. I wonder if you’d still be so brave and fierce with your tongue after an eternity spent within it.”
The coldness of his sharp and bitter tone formed a flutter deep in my body. As my eyelids fluttered closed, my eyelashes dusted my cheek and a shiver of anguish shot through me.
He felt the way my frame shivered, and he laughed huskily, snorting as he crowded his mouth tightly against my jaw, biting it softly.
“They may be brave words, but you are hesitant because of them. That you’ve not even provided me with a name to address you by, suggests fear, and fear invites defeat.”
“The only name you need to address me by is liege. The only emotions you will ever know again will be anguish and ruin. I aim to unleash both on you, Kahleena. Once I am finished ending your people and reclaiming what they stole from mine, it will be all that’s left of your kingdom.” The gauntlet that concealed his hand disappeared, and his warm palm gripped my chin. His fingers curved around my jaw, forcing my focus to rise until I peered into the dark, mercurial eyes that examined me. “I’ll be the one to raze everything you’ve ever wanted or desired within your perfect life, princess. I’m your god now, and you live because I grant you leave to do so. You’re at my fucking mercy, and I’m the one in control of everything happening to you from here on out.”
“You might be the whisper of fate, but I am the thunder raised by destiny and the realm. Fate is merely a whisper, but destiny roars to those who rise to embrace it, and it’s a deafeningly loud rumble I have within me, prick. Or did you forget that I’m the daughter of a god and goddess? I’m the spirit of their courage, their fortitude and strength, which fuel me with a fire you can’t, and won’t put out, asshole. Besides, my parents took on the gods, and they won. You’re here because you were too weak and pathetic to prevent them from locking you in this realm.”
“And what would that be?” he countered, loosening the hold on my chin so he can stroke his thumb along my jaw.
“I’m not old enough to be afraid of anything you whisper into the wind. Fear isn’t something I perceive or understand fully yet. I only know how to prevail and survive insurmountable odds. You assume the isolation you enforce on me affects me, but I grew up in the City of Gods. Nothing you do to me can hurt me or break me. You cannot wield me against my people because I’ve taken steps to ensure it. So, do your worst, and I’ll enjoy watching you fail.”
He stepped back, shaking his head. His hand remained uncovered, and I watched the power emanating from his flesh. Dark shadows floated around his skin, exposing intricate speckles that moved. The male lifted his hand, and swirling dark smoke jumped from his palm. It spun until it mirrored a cyclone, which revealed galaxies in their silken depths. The hand which created the image flung it toward me, forcing a strangled scream to rip from my throat, only for the sound to be violently thrown back by the shadows he’d unleashed.