Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)(35)

It was blood.

Then a woman screamed, “His eyes! His eyes are bleeding!”

“It is witchcraft! We have been cursed!”

Panic ensued as those gathered rushed to put distance between themselves and Dracul while Adrian took a step forward, attempting to shield me as the vampire stopped before us.

“Dracul,” Adrian said, but whatever he had intended to say was useless, because the noblesse was already dead. He tipped forward and landed hard on the marble floor, a pool of blood blossoming around his head.

A second passed and then Adrian lifted his gaze to Solaris.

“You have my attention,” he said.





Ten





Isolde

I had gone horribly numb.

It took everything in my power to remain standing when all I wanted to do was collapse, my legs suddenly too weak to hold me up.

“Silence!” Adrian commanded.

“Allow me,” said Solaris. He pulled one glove off, revealing a mummified hand, and turned toward the crowd, palm out.

Everything went quiet and everyone was motionless.

He had frozen all the villagers in the room.

Razan snickered. “What was it you said, Queen Isolde? Only women can possess magic?”

I glared at the noblesse.

“It is not magic exactly,” said Solaris. “It is an ability granted to me by the goddess Dis.”

“What did you say?” Adrian asked.

“I am no different from you,” he said. “You were made to drain the blood of mortals, and I was made to kill witches.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Dis is the mother of witches. Why would she create you to hunt them?”

“Some mothers turn on their children,” he said. “Especially when they misbehave.”

“How do you know you were made by Dis?” I asked.

I hated to ask any question of Solaris, hated to draw his attention, but I wanted to know.

“The same way Lord Adrian knows he was made by Dis.”

“I begged to taste the blood of my enemies after they murdered my lover,” Adrian said. “Did you?”

“I held the bodies of my wife and child in my arms after Ravena’s mist took their lives. I begged Asha to give them life once more. She never answered. Dis did.” Solaris paused, his voice trembling. “You took your revenge,” he said. “Would you deny mine?”

“I have no desire to form an alliance with a witch-hunter,” Adrian said, and as the tension released from my body, I grew light-headed.

“Then make me a noblesse,” Solaris said.

Adrian went very still. “Why would I make you a noblesse? You claim no allegiance to any kingdom, least of all mine.”

“I will make a vow to you,” he said. “And I will help you find Ravena. You cannot deny that I am useful.”

Adrian took a step toward Solaris. “If I cut your hand off,” he said, the words slipping between his teeth, “what would you have to offer?”

Solaris did not speak, but in the next second, the great hall was awakened once more, a low murmur returning to life. Solaris’s voice rose above it.

“You would deny my aid when I could save your people from this wicked witch?”

Adrian went still, and those gathered in the hall jeered with outrage.

“Our blood will be on your hands!”

“The Blood King will see us all killed!”

“Kneel,” Adrian hissed, and the entire court hit their knees. He stepped from the dais, his boots echoing in the hall as he approached Solaris. “Prove yourself, then,” Adrian said. “Find the witch. You have five days.”

Adrian’s words were like a blow to my stomach, and for one horrifying moment, I could not breathe. It was as if my lungs were full of smoke and my throat clogged with ash. I felt the fire against my skin; I could smell my burning flesh and hair.

I could not fathom that he would allow such a man to remain within our kingdom, so near to me—me, his lover, his wife, the one who had died at the hand of Dragos, the first witch-hunter.

I fled, leaving him on the dais alone.

I could hardly open the door, I was so frantic to escape. The air in this room was suffocating, too thick with the hate I could already feel brewing beneath the surface.

It will end us again, I thought.

A hand shot out, and I flinched, only to realize it was Miha. She turned the knob for me, and once the door was open, I bolted.

“My queen!” she called after me, but I did not stop, having no issue getting through the second door.

I was only halfway down the hall when Adrian called my name.

“Isolde!” His boots thudded against the floor in pursuit. “Isolde!”

He caught up with me and yanked my arm, forcing me to face him.

I slapped him, hard.

“How dare you,” I seethed.

“What would you have me do?” he hissed furiously. He held my shoulders, bending over me. “Did you not see what was happening in that room?”

“You wax poetic about how excruciating it was to watch me burn alive. You begged to be a monster so that you could avenge me. You say you will not live another lifetime without me by your side, and yet you welcomed a witch-hunter into these halls.”

I did not even recognize my voice as I spoke, and there was a part of me that knew he had no choice, but I could not handle his reasoning in this moment.