Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)(86)

But it was a sacrifice that would forever go unacknowledged. The more I learned, the less I felt inclined to fight for my people rather than only for myself and my right to the throne of Lara.

We rode hard and stopped near the border of Jola, a sea of black tents already erected by the scouts. Tomorrow, we would be beyond the cover of the red sky. It was something I had not had time to think about since becoming a vampire, but as we halted at camp, I stared at the brightening horizon. My time beneath the sun was over.

“My queen?”

I looked down to find Gavriel beside my horse.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said quickly and swung my leg over, dismounting Reverie. I tensed, remembering how Gavriel had taken the liberty to touch me before and dreaded that he would attempt it again, but once my feet were on the ground, he took the reins.

“I shall water her for you,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said, and he nodded.

I watched him for a moment as he guided my horse away, uncertain how to feel about his helpfulness. Was this loyalty or something else?

I pulled off my gloves and entered Adrian’s tent—our tent. He was already inside, pacing.

That was not a good sign.

“What troubles you?” I asked.

“When were you going to tell me about the priestess?” he asked.

I hesitated. “I…did not think it important until now,” I said.

“How long have you known?”

“Since I sent Gavriel to Lara,” I said.

“Fuck,” Adrian muttered. He had yet to look at me, and I was growing frustrated.

“Why does this bother you?” I asked. “We do not know that there is any truth to it.”

“There is truth to it,” he said.

“How do you know?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “What haven’t you told me?”

He stopped pacing and finally looked at me. The white rings around his eyes had grown thicker, brighter.

“Adrian,” I whispered.

“Dis has started to speak to me because she knows my plans,” he said. “One of the things she said was that Asha had found her own path forward. I believe that means she’s created an incarnate. I am an incarnate. We are their hand upon this earth.”

“You have been here for two hundred years without an adversary equal to your power. Why send someone now?”

“If only I knew,” he said. “Fuck.”

He placed the palms of his hands against his forehead as if he were in pain.

“Adrian,” I said, taking a step closer, but his hand shot out, halting me.

“Don’t,” he snapped.

I waited, watching. His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched tightly, and his hands shook.

“It’s her, isn’t it?”

He let out a harsh breath and then fell to his knees.

“Adrian,” I whispered, taking a step closer. Then he looked at me, and the white had consumed his eyes and they glowed. “Adrian?”

“Run,” he gritted out, the veins in his neck bulging.

I turned just as he lunged, but I did not make it far before I hit the ground. I rolled and tried to kick him, but he was already on top of me, holding me down, his fingers biting into my wrists.

“Adrian, please!”

I struggled against him, but he held tighter.

“You have done this to him!” The voice sounded like Adrian’s, but I knew it was not him. Dis was in control. “He had no desire to be free of me until you returned—and to think I gave you to him as a gift.”

I twisted and kneed him in the stomach. He loosened his grip, and I smashed my elbow into his face. It was enough to draw blood but not enough to push him off.

His hand went to my neck, and he leaned down and spoke against my ear, his blood dripping onto my face.

“How does it feel to know you will die at the hands of the man you love most?”

He tightened his grasp and I ceased to take in air. My face felt hot and swollen, my tongue thick. I struggled, attempting to free my hands, which he had pinned between our chests, but I could not move to stab him. This was what he meant—why he had not been surprised that I had created a book to kill him.

If you do destroy me, it will be because of Dis. You’ll remember that, won’t you?

The light from his eyes blurred with my tears, and then a shadow fell over us, and I was suddenly free of Adrian’s attack as he went flying across the tent. I gasped for breath and was dragged to the other side.

“Isolde.” Daroc’s face hovered over mine, and all I could manage to do was cough and cry. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

He drew me into his arms and held me, crouched in the shadow of the tent. Across from us, Adrian’s eyes had gone dark. He seemed to have regained control of himself, but I could tell Dis had ensured he was aware of everything that had transpired. I could not describe the expression on his face. I could only say that he was devastated, and when he rose to his feet, he raged.





Twenty-Six





Isolde

I stared at the light and shadow dancing across the tent roof, unable to sleep. I turned my head to Adrian who sat in a chair, his back to me.

He had not spoken since Dis had taken control of him earlier.