“Which it occurs to me, we’ve done, and it wasn’t anything like the end,” he said. He kissed her softly. “This isn’t a story.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “But I’m not finished, Eithan. I’m not even close to finished.”
“All right,” he said.
“I don’t see how being married would change anything between us.”
“If that’s true, then I don’t see why you don’t want to do it.” But he kissed her again, because he didn’t care. He had been taken from his human life over a hundred years ago, and things like marriage were part of that old life. He had long ago given up any thought of such things. He wanted her. Whatever way she would let him be with her was absolutely fine with him.
She sighed against his lips.
“So,” he murmured, kissing her chin. “Tomorrow, I’ll go find him, and I’ll apologize and grovel.” He kissed his way down her jawline. “And tell him what he wants to hear.” He kissed her earlobe. She gasped. “And we’ll buy ourselves some time to find enough jewels to end the jackhole.” He traced his lips around the shell of her ear.
She shivered against him. “We’ll do that tomorrow?”
“Mmm hmm.” His tongue darted out, tracing the same path his lips had taken.
She moaned.
“Right now, we’re busy,” he breathed against her skin.
She shuddered, pressing close. “Is that… smart? If he finds out we’re still…” She trailed off.
“He probably shouldn’t find out.” Eithan was unlacing the top of her tunic and he could see a hint of the roundness of her warm breasts, her cleavage, and he was suddenly very aroused. He kissed her again, harder.
She made a sound in her throat, pressing her soft heat against him.
He couldn’t think. He was nothing but cold, firm desire. He brushed her hair away from her neck and fitted his teeth against her. He bit her.
She gasped.
He put his hand inside her tunic. “You locked the door?” His mouth was full of her blood. She tasted like the sunrise.
“I… uh huh,” she breathed.
His palm was full of her breast. He sucked at her neck. The world was Nicce, and Nicce was the world. He was undone.
CHAPTER THREE
Eithan woke, blinking hard, and he extricated himself from Nicce. They were entwined, wrapped in each other, and her skin was warm, and his skin was warm from touching her and drinking her, and he wanted to stay close to her, but he shouldn’t.
He climbed out of bed and rolled one of the floating lights out from beneath the bed where they’d stored them while they were sleeping. He held it and used it to look around on the floor for his clothes.
“Eithan?” Nicce’s voice was sleep ravaged.
He turned to look at her. She was sitting up in bed, her hair in disarray, the blankets of the bed at her waist, her body casually on display for him, and his core tightened and his mouth felt dry. He wanted to kiss her again. “I need to go,” he choked.
“This is your room,” she said.
“Your room was destroyed when half the palace fell down,” he said. “So, you stay here, and I’ll go elsewhere.”
“Your things are here,” she said, stretching, which made her breasts elongate in the loveliest of ways.
He swallowed, and he couldn’t help it. He went to her and put his hand on her.
She smiled up at him, a languid smile that he’d only seen on her face when she wasn’t wearing clothes.
He groaned. “This isn’t fair. We killed a godstaken goddess. We deserve some time.”
“We deserve to not get dressed for a week,” she agreed. “We deserve to spend days in bed and to do nothing but touch each other.” She kissed him. “I’ll go. It’s your room.”
His lips lingered near hers. “I don’t want you to go at all.”
“If Sullo catches you wandering the halls, he might stab you again,” she said. “He probably won’t stab me.”
“If he does, you can heal yourself,” said Eithan, who was still cupping her breast with one hand. He squeezed it gently.
“Stop that,” she whispered. “You’re making this more difficult.”
“Sorry,” he said, the bottom having gone out of his voice.
They kissed again. She opened her mouth to him, and the kiss grew deep and prolonged. Somehow he was touching both of her breasts. Somehow, she had pulled the rest of the covers away and she was wriggling against him, and neither of them were wearing any clothes.
Suddenly, they were in danger of doing much more than kissing.
He tore his lips from hers, gasping. He removed his hands from her flesh. Panting, he crawled away from her, and he pointedly averted his gaze. “If you’re leaving, you’d better get dressed.”
She was out of breath too. “We should both be covered. It’ll make it easier.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
They were silent as they drew on their clothes.
He kissed her at the door. Kissed her for too long. Couldn’t seem to stop kissing her.
Finally, he opened the door a crack to look into the hallway.
It was empty.
Most of the Court of Nightmares was still residing in the palace, because no decisions had been made about what to do with them. The court was made up of men that Ciaska had changed to be her personal playthings and of the brides, the women who had been sacrificed once a year to keep Ciaska from sending her nightmares out over the Four Kingdoms.
After killing Ciaska and fighting off the nightmares who had gotten into the palace, they had given the members of the court Nicce’s blood, so that they would be able to walk in the sunlight. The members of the court were free, but many of them had been changed a generation ago. They had no family left alive, no one to return to.
So, they’d come back to the palace, and any of them could be out there, watching. He wouldn’t put it past the members of the court to tell stories to Sullo. They would have many reasons for wanting to curry favor with the god, not least the fact that gods were terrifying, as they all knew firsthand from their dealings with Ciaska.
And Sullo hadn’t come alone. He had brought with him men with spears and shields, men who wore long, orange robes. They were the acolytes of the sun god, part priest, part guard. If they were in the hallways, they’d be certain to report everything back to their master.
“Looks clear,” he whispered to her. He opened the door wider.
She brushed against him as she moved toward the door, and he wanted nothing so much as to kiss her one last time, but that was definitely not the thing to do, not with the door wide open. Anyone could appear in the hallway while they were distracted.
So, he let her go, and he didn’t touch her.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” she said.
He shut the door on her. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against it. He wished with every fiber in his being that Sullo hadn’t come.
But it did no good to wish.
Sullo was here, and that was the way of things. There was no point in wanting a different reality. He would work with the one they had.
Eithan paced in his room, worried about Nicce, stifling the urge to make sure she’d made it to another room all right. He was worried about meeting with Sullo, too. It was all well and good to tell Nicce that he was good at grovelling, but the truth was that he hadn’t always been good at it.
He didn’t enjoy thinking of the beginning with Ciaska. She’d broken him, one piece at a time, forcing him to do her bidding by hurting the people he cared about and dangling those threats in front of him. She had used his loyalty against him, and he’d become her puppet at first.
But eventually, he’d come to understand her, and he’d used that understanding to manipulate her.
If he wanted to be successful with Sullo, he would have to do the same thing.
What did Sullo want? What did Sullo fear? What could he give Sullo that the god wanted
?
He paced back and forth, shaking his head and muttering to himself as he tried to think it through.
It wasn’t the same as with Ciaska. Ciaska had been bored, and motivated almost entirely by novelty and entertainment. She had been intrigued by Eithan. She had wanted him sexually.
Sullo wasn’t that way.
He professed to want a relationship with his daughter, but Eithan didn’t believe it. If Sullo had cared about knowing Nicce, he would have appeared in her life before this. He was only interested in her because she’d killed Ciaska.
But why pretend to be a doting, protective father? For Nicce’s benefit?
That didn’t make sense. If he wanted to endear himself to Nicce, Sullo wouldn’t have been so aggressive against Eithan.
No, it wasn’t about any of that, Eithan didn’t think. It was about Sullo’s pride. Sullo thought of his children as extensions of himself. Doing something to Sullo’s property without Sullo’s say-so was an insult.
If Eithan wanted the god to stop stabbing him at every opportunity, he’d have to play up to the god’s ego. He’d have to agree that Nicce didn’t belong to herself, that Nicce was Sullo’s toy. He’d have to grovel and beg and prostrate himself.
And he might get stabbed anyway.
But it had to be done.
It would be much easier to strike against Sullo if the god wasn’t actively trying to harm Eithan.
So, Eithan took a bath. He dressed in clean clothes and combed his hair back into a slick ponytail. He left his room and walked through the halls until he found one of the acolytes.
“I beg an audience from His Radiance,” he said. “Will you convey my humble desire to meet with him?”
The acolyte looked him over, seemingly surprised that he would ask such a thing, but he nodded and left.
Some time later, the acolyte returned and said that Eithan should follow him.
The acolyte led Eithan to Ciaska’s old chambers. Eithan was surprised that Sullo had gone there, but he did remember that Sullo and Ciaska had once been lovers, and he supposed Sullo knew his way around Ciaska’s bedchambers.
Sullo was in bed with three women and two men, all of whom were naked.
Inwardly, Eithan wondered what it was about godhood that meant gods always had to be in the center of an orgy. Did normal one-on-one sex get boring after several centuries? Could Sullo only get excited if there were numerous people?
But outwardly, Eithan did not even look around the room. Instead, he sank to the floor at the foot of the bed and pressed his forehead against the floor. He didn’t speak. He waited.
“Well?” said Sullo.
Still, Eithan did not speak.
“Lift your head,” said Sullo finally.
Eithan did. “As Your Radiance commands.”
Sullo smiled a little. He was getting it. “Yes, yes. You should only do as I command.”
“Precisely, Your Radiance,” said Eithan. “I have trespassed against your will and your benevolence with your daughter. I come before you to present myself to you as a wretched worm who does not deserve to be allowed to lick the soles of your shoes. An apology is too good for what I have done. I am not worthy to beg for forgiveness of one such as you.”
Sullo’s smile widened. “You defiled my daughter.”
Eithan hung his head. “I have no words to describe my regret, Your Radiance.”
“I should kill you. I thought I did kill you.”
“As would only have been right. I do not deserve to live after my offense against you.”
“So, you came here to me, to offer me your life?”
“I…” Eithan hesitated. “I do not deserve to ask for mercy, it is true.”
“But you hoped if you didn’t ask, I’d give it to you anyway.”
“I cannot hope for it, of course. But I have seen the error of my ways, and I will endeavor to serve you from now on.”
“The way you served Ciaska?”
Eithan raised his gaze to Sullo, blinking. “If that’s what you wish.”
Sullo chuckled. “I didn’t mean in that way.” He looked around at the naked people in his bed, all of whom were staying still and pretending to be asleep. “Sometimes when I get drunk, I end up taking men to bed, but I don’t… it’s not really my taste.”
“Whatever Your Radiance wishes, of course,” said Eithan.
“What if I wish to cut off your head? You’ll lay your neck down obligingly?”
“I will,” said Eithan. “I couldn’t fight you, could I? You’re a god.”
“Yes,” said Sullo. “Did you say the same things to Ciaska?”
“It wasn’t me who killed Ciaska,” said Eithan. “It was your daughter. I owe my allegiance to her, and since you are her father, it is you who I have been pledged to all this time.”
Sullo considered this, his smile growing even wider. “Yes, I see that. Now that you point it out, it all makes sense.”
Eithan bowed his head in deference.
Sullo climbed over the bodies in his bed to get up. One of his acolytes scurried forward with a robe to drape around the man’s shoulders, but Eithan got an eyeful anyway.
Maybe all gods were casual with nudity, too. Eithan couldn’t be sure. He had often thought that Ciaska was naked in front of him in order to make him uncomfortable, because she knew he hated it. Sullo just didn’t seem concerned.
Sullo yawned pointedly. “Well, listen, if you want to live, you have to keep your hands off Nicce.”
Eithan bobbed his head.
“From what I understand,” said Sullo, examining the edge of his sleeve, “she’s been neglected and badly used. Starved for love, the poor girl has spread her legs for anything that moved. She hasn’t been the least bit particular.” He sneered at Eithan.
Eithan didn’t react to the insult.
“You think you’re worthy of her?”
“I was mistaken,” said Eithan. No marriage, then, he supposed. Nicce would be pleased. At some point, he was going to have to get her to explain her view on marriage to him. For now, he wasn’t going to think about it, because he didn’t want to allow any niggling worries to distract him.
She says she loves me, he thought. And I’m devoted to her. She’s everything to me. Doesn’t she feel the same way about—
No.
Even now, Sullo was talking again. “…self-respect and find her an appropriate match. Assuming any man would want something soiled.” He glanced at Eithan. “You will no doubt wish to try to prove to me that you deserve her.”
“I would be honored to have the chance, Your Radiance.”
“Let’s have breakfast,” said Sullo. “I can’t think without anything in my stomach.” He turned to one of his acolytes. “Find my daughter. Tell her to join us for breakfast.” He snapped his fingers at Eithan. “Get up.”
Eithan got to his feet, working hard to keep his face blank, but he was really done with being snapped at like a dog.
* * *
Nicce had found herself a new room and some clothes, since all of hers had been destroyed when half of the palace fell down. She was in the middle of taking a bath when one of Sullo’s acolytes came and summoned her to breakfast with Sullo and Eithan.
She was cautiously hopeful. Whatever groveling Eithan had done must have worked, then.
When she got to the throne room, she was stunned to see food, a real breakfast spread with eggs, bacon, potatoes, cheese, rolls, and fruit. And not the strange dark orbs of fruit that grew outside the palace here in the Nightmare Realm either. Fruit from the human realm. Pears and grapes and melons.
Her mouth watered.
Sullo was seated at a table, a plate in front of him already loaded with an assortment of food.
Eithan was also in the room, but he wasn’t seated. Rather, he was kneeling on the floor at Sullo’s feet.
She winced. So, the groveling was still commencing, then. She didn’t like it. She hadn’t liked watching Eithan scrape for the goddess of nightmares,
and she didn’t want him to have to bow to Sullo either. But they were playing a game, and she knew that she had a part to play.
So, she approached and fell into a curtsy. She’d worn a dress, something she was loath to do. The dresses here at the Nightmare Court were more comfortable than dresses she’d worn back in the human realm. The fabric was thinner and stretchier and they didn’t come equipped with stays or corsets. Instead, they fell in flattering ripples around her body.
“Daughter,” said Sullo, with something that sounded like sincere affection. “You’re looking lovely this morning. Are you hungry?”
She rose from her curtsy. “Good morning, Father. I’ve never seen such a spread of food here. How did you do it?”
“Ah, I tend to travel with provisions,” said Sullo, gesturing at the food carelessly. “Help yourself. And after we have a bit of a conversation, perhaps Eithan can join us as well.”
She glanced at Eithan, but he gave no indication that he even noticed she was there. “Thank you, Father,” she said, remembering that she should grovel as well. Placate him, she told herself. She was so much worse at this than Eithan was.
She got herself a plate and served herself.
Sullo talked as she dipped food onto her plate. “Eithan understands his place now, and I’m hoping you will come to understand yours as well. You are my daughter, which is an honor for you. You have inherited my power, and you are strong. You have killed a goddess, and you can’t think that this is something that happens every day.”
“I suppose not,” she said, coming back to sit down at the table with him.
“Well, it’s not news that is met with pleasure by the other gods, you realize,” he said. “None of them had any real love for Ciaska, bratty, sullen bitch that she was. But it’s the principle of the thing, you see. You can’t go around killing gods willy nilly, sweatpea. Luckily, of course, your actions were of my design.”
Oh. Suddenly, Nicce understood. Sullo wasn’t coming out and saying it, but he’d come here to protect her, she realized. If he claimed responsibility for Nicce’s attack on Ciaska, then the other gods would blame Sullo, not her. She swallowed. “Thank you, Father,” she said, and she meant it. She had ambition, of course, and one day, she hoped to rid the world of the gods, but she wasn’t ready to do it yet, and she didn’t want to take on more than one god at once.
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