Immortal Reign(37)

The nursemaid met her halfway to the room that had been designated as Lyssa’s nursery.

“Have you left my daughter unattended?” Lucia asked, alarmed.

“She’s fine,” the nursemaid assured her. “She’s sleeping soundly. Nicolo stopped by and said he’d watch over her while I took my midday meal.”

Lucia froze. “Nicolo Cassian?”

She nodded. “It’s so good to see him again. I practically raised him and his sister as I did the princesses. Such a sweet boy.”

Lucia didn’t listen to another word. She shoved the old woman out of her way and ran to her chambers, flinging open the door.

He stood in front of the cradle with his back to Lucia, his red hair and the distinctive lankiness of his body silhouetted by the light from the balcony.

“Get away from her,” Lucia warned, desperately trying to summon magic, any magic, to her hand.

“She’s as lovely as her mother,” he murmured, turning to show that he cradled Lyssa in his arms. The baby’s gaze was fixed on his red hair as if fascinated by the bright color.

Lucia’s heart stuttered to a stop at the sight of her daughter in the grip of a monster. “Put her down, Kyan.”

Kyan turned and raised an eyebrow, his brown eyes finally fixing upon Lucia. For all he looked like Nic, right down to the freckles on his pale face, she could see the ancient fire god that now existed behind his gaze.

“So, you’ve heard that I’ve found a new home,” he said.

“I swear, I will end you, right here and now.” Lucia pulled the amber orb from her pocket, knowing she didn’t have the magic to live up to her threats—not today—but she prayed he didn’t realize that.

“I only came here to talk,” Kyan said. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant.”

“Put my daughter down.”

“I feel like an uncle to this little one. Lyssa is like family to me.” He gazed down at the baby’s face. “Aren’t you? You can call me Uncle Kyan. Oh, we’ll have great fun together if your mother ever forgives me for my horribly bad behavior.”

Lucia gaped at him for a moment before she began to laugh. It sounded more like a hiccup. “You want me to forgive you?”

“This young and healthy body has given me a fresh outlook on life.” He kissed Lyssa on her forehead before he gently placed her back into her cradle. “Your pregnancy was impossibly swift, wasn’t it? Magically so, I’d say.”

When he turned to face Lucia again, she struck him hard across his face.

So hard that her hand stung from the blow.

Kyan’s brown eyes flashed with blue light, and he wiped the trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he hissed.

Lucia fisted her hand, appalled at her own lack of control. But she’d needed to strike him, needed to try to hurt him.

And she’d made him bleed.

Kyan didn’t bleed. In his former body—that of a fellow immortal Melenia had chosen to be his original shell a small eternity ago—she’d watched as his hand was impaled by a dagger. It had been a bloodless injury that had healed in moments.

If he bled, that meant that he was vulnerable.

His gaze narrowed on the amber orb still in her grip.

“You know what I can do,” Lucia said as evenly as she could. “You know I have the magic to imprison you just like Timotheus can.”

It was the biggest bluff of her entire life, and she prayed that he couldn’t sense her dwindling elementia.

“I didn’t come here for a confrontation,” he said simply.

“Funny how seeing you holding my daughter after sneaking into the palace feels very much like a confrontation to me.”

Kyan shook his head. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve come to this, little sorceress. We got along very well for a time. You helped me and I helped you until our unfortunate disagreement.”

“You turned into a monster made of fire and tried to kill me.”

“Not a monster, little sorceress. A god. And you should know, your grandmother’s magic was a pale comparison to yours. She failed in doing what I needed her to do.”

Lucia took a breath, tried to remain in control of her erratic emotions. “I heard.”

Kyan’s gaze flicked to the orb again. “Olivia is close by. If anything happens to me, anything at all, she will summon an earthquake great enough to send this kingdom and everyone in it into the sea, like nothing more than a tiny pebble cast into a deep pond.”

She wondered if he too was bluffing. If he was weak and vulnerable, the earth Kindred could be the same, despite being within the shell of an immortal Watcher.

Finally, she pocketed the orb. “Say what you came here to say.”

He nodded, then ran a hand through his messy red hair. “I need to apologize for my treatment of you, little sorceress. And then I need to ask for your help.”

Lucia almost laughed out loud at this.

First Cleo, and now Kyan.

It had been quite a day so far.

“Go on,” she said.

Kyan frowned and turned toward the balcony. “All I wanted was to be reunited with my siblings—flesh and blood, unlike we’ve ever existed together before. Free from our prisons to experience what it means to truly exist. And yes, I still believe this world is flawed. And yes, I would still burn it to ash and begin again.” He spared a glance at her. “But I would be satisfied simply to rule over this imperfect world. And you could be my most trusted advisor.”