Reign the Earth (The Elementae #1)(36)

But then a young man in front bowed to me, and they all followed suit.

I took a breath and stepped forward, skirting around the fire to walk up the staircase. I didn’t like having my back to the people, and at the top I turned, just as the small man struck the ground again.

“The king!” he bellowed.

Calix strode through the room as the people bowed, his flinty green eyes on me alone. He mounted the stairs, his back ramrod straight, stopping two steps down. He caught my hand, his fingers sliding up my palm to thread through my fingers. Flipping my hand over, he pressed his lips against my pulse, and I wondered if he could feel it pounding back against his mouth.

“Where have you been all day?” I asked softly.

He met my gaze but didn’t answer. He climbed the remaining stairs but kept my hand captive, drawing me around the table. Pulling back the chair, he led me into it by my hand. I sat, and he took the chair beside me.

“Calix?” I asked.

He didn’t look at me.

The man struck the floor once, and everyone slowly took their seats. Danae and Galen appeared, together, and the man struck the floor again to announce them. They climbed the stairs without hesitation, and Galen helped Danae into her chair beside me before going to sit beyond Calix.

I touched her hand. “Are you all right?” I asked. “I didn’t see you this afternoon.”

She glanced at me and away, like the flicker of fire. “Fine. I should be asking you.”

My shoulders lifted. “Between your two brothers, I was well looked after. Where were you?”

“Hidden. We all have our roles in the service of the Three-Faced God.” She sighed, moving her eyes carefully toward Calix. “And I’ve been searching the city since.”

“For those people?” I asked.

“The Resistance,” she said, and now her careful eyes were watching me. “Your brother’s cause.”

“You cannot believe my brother would be involved in something that would put me at risk,” I said. Despite speaking to Kata, I still couldn’t believe it.

“No,” she said. “But they are growing stronger. And both my brothers must take action to quell such insurgence.”

“And I support them,” I said, raising my chin. I would never stand against Rian, but I didn’t like thinking of him stirring up violence against innocent people, even if he believed it was for a greater good.

Then again, I didn’t want to have to make my loyalties clear to either my brother or my husband.

Her eyes met mine. “Good. I’m sorry I wasn’t standing with you today. You must have been frightened.”

I nodded. “But I’m safe.”

Danae nodded.

The lids of the pots were all lifted, and an army of servants climbed the stairs to our table, offering the food to us. I couldn’t recognize a single thing; it didn’t look like meat or vegetables at all. There were liquids and things floating in the liquid, and it smelled foreign and strange.

Calix pointed, and servants placed dishes in front of me. The smell hit me and turned my stomach.

“What is this?” I asked Danae in a whisper.

“Fish,” she said, using a spoon to lift a chunk of something white.

My stomach clenched.

She gave me a small smile and passed the bread in my direction.

Tearing some of it off, I gave her a grateful nod.


My guards followed us back to our rooms, staying outside my door as we entered. Calix drew a breath and let it out slowly, his hands on his hips. I turned to him, wondering if I was meant to touch him as he so often touched me, if that would break the icy silence he’d given me all through dinner.

Before I decided, I said, “You never told me where you’ve been today.” Too clearly, I remembered the feeling of reaching for his hand and never getting it.

He put his hands on my shoulders, but instead of pulling me closer, he pushed me aside. “Busy,” he said. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we came under attack today.”

His rejection burned through me. “Of course I noticed,” I said. “I could have died.”

His face turned to mine, angry and stormy. “That’s what I thought too, Shalia. That everything we are fighting for could have been undone in a moment. But I saw him. I’m sure of it.”

“Saw who?” I asked, but I knew already.

“Rian,” he snarled. “The brother who I assumed would never act out against his sweet little sister. So it remains that either he is disloyal and a sorry excuse for a man or you knew exactly what he planned. You agreed to risk yourself to tear my kingdom down.”

My dread was overtaken by anger. “You think I knew?” I demanded. “I have never been more frightened in my life, and when I tried to reach for you, to get to you, you did nothing. You were so concerned with your hate that you could not spare a thought for me. And it was your brother, not you, who defended me.”

“He’s my commander—that’s his thrice-damned job!” he shouted at me.

“And you are my husband,” I returned, my voice quiet but clear. “I was scared, and I wanted you.”

“Not your brother?” he growled, moving closer to me. “What do you know of his rebellion, Shalia? What haven’t you told me?”

“Nothing,” I insisted, backing away from him.