“Poppies,” Delano whispered.
Lips parting, I looked over at Casteel. He shook his head in slight disbelief. The flowers we walked through could’ve just been a coincidence, but…
My steps slowed as we realized we were coming to the crest of a gently sloping hill and were finally able to see what the stone women and those skeleton soldiers had been guarding.
A sweeping Temple sat in the valley. Pillars constructed of shadowstone lined the wide, crescent-shaped steps and the colonnade. The structure was massive, nearly double the size of the palace in Evaemon, even without the additional wings. It rose against the blue sky in soaring towers and spires as if the fingers of night were reaching up from the land to touch daylight. Smaller shapes were situated around the temple, possibly mounds or statues. I couldn’t make out what they were from this distance, but it wasn’t the only thing that had been protected. It was what rested in the hills and valleys miles beyond the Temple.
It was Dalos, the City of the Gods.
Warm beams of sunlight reflected off the diamond-bright sides of buildings sprawled across the hills. Crystalline towers rose into the sky in graceful arcs, parting the wispy, white clouds sprinkled over the city and extending beyond them, glittering as if a thousand stars had kissed them. An awed silence fell over us as we gazed upon the city.
Several long moments of silence passed before Emil spoke, his voice thick. “I have to believe that this is what the Vale looks like.”
It really could be. Nothing could be more beautiful.
“Do you think anyone in the city is awake?” Vonetta asked quietly.
My heart skipped a beat. “Could there be?”
Casteel shook his head. “It’s possible, but we…we won’t find out.” His gaze touched mine. “Remember Willa’s warning.”
I swallowed, nodding. “We can’t go into the city,” I reminded everyone. “Maybe gods are awake there, and that’s why we can’t.” I looked at Emil. “Or maybe Dalos is a part of the Vale.”
Clearing his throat, Emil nodded. “Yeah.”
If gods were awake in the city, I had to wonder if they were unaware of what was happening past the Mountains of Nyktos. Or if they simply didn’t care.
“You think that’s the Temple where Nyktos may sleep?” Delano asked.
Kieran inhaled deeply. “We might as well find out.”
We started down the hill, the grass reaching our knees. The air smelled of fresh lilacs and…something I couldn’t place. It was a woodsy scent but a sweet one. A more-than-pleasant smell. I tried to figure it out but couldn’t by the time we reached the bottom of the hill.
The grass became white soil that reminded me of sand, but there was no beach that I could see, and it was brighter than sand. It sparkled in the sun and crunched under our—
“Are we walking on diamonds?” Vonetta stared at the ground, disbelief echoing from her. “I think we’re actually walking on diamonds.”
“I have no words for this,” Casteel commented as Delano bent and picked up a piece. “But diamonds are birthed from the joyous tears of the gods—of gods in love.”
My gaze shifted to the Temple, and I thought of Nyktos and the Consort that he was so protective of. No one even knew her name.
“You all are staring at diamonds,” Kieran stated, his wariness pressing against my skin. “Meanwhile, I’m just waiting for you all to realize what this giant-ass statue is.”
I looked at what Kieran stared at, and my stomach dropped. The mounds I’d seen from the top of the hill weren’t several small statues but one very large one of…of what appeared to be a slumbering dragon at the steps of the Temple, just off to the right. It looked like the sketches I’d seen in books containing fables, except its neck wasn’t nearly as long, and even with the wings carved to be tucked against the body, it was so much bigger.
“Whoa,” Vonetta murmured as we neared the statue and the steps of the Temple.
“Let’s take slow steps,” Casteel advised. “If this is Nyktos’s resting place, his guards may be nearby—and not stone ones.”
Draken.
“If this thing comes to life, I am out of here,” Emil grumbled. “You will never see an Atlantian run faster.”
A wry grin tugged at my lips as I slowly approached the statue, marveling at the sculpture. From the nostrils to the frill of spikes around the beast’s head, to the claws and the horns on the tips of its wings, every intricate detail had been captured. How long would it have taken someone to carve something this large? I reached out, running my fingers over the side of the face. The stone was rough and bumpy, surprisingly—
“Poppy.” Casteel snagged my wrist. “The whole proceed-with-caution thing also included not randomly touching things.” Lifting my hand to his mouth, he pressed a kiss to my fingers. “Okay?”
I nodded, letting him guide me away. “The stone was really warm, though. Isn’t that kind of—”
A crack of thunder sounded, reverberating through the valley. I looked down, half-expecting the ground to open up.
“Uh.” Kieran started to back up as he stared behind us. “Guys…”
I whipped around, my lips parting as a piece of the stone shattered over the side of the beast’s face and fell away, revealing a deeper shade of gray and—
An eye.
An actual open eye of vivid blue with an aura of luminous white behind a thin, vertical pupil.
“Oh, shit,” Emil whispered. “Shit. Shit. Run—”
A deep rumbling sound came from within the statue, causing icy fear to drench my skin. Fissures raced through the stone. Sections both large and small fell away, thumping off the ground.
I was frozen where I stood. No one ran. They too had locked up. Maybe it was out of disbelief or an intuitive knowledge that running wouldn’t save us. This wasn’t a stone dragon.
It was a draken in its true form, rising from where it had been resting against the ground, its large, muscular body shaking off the dust and tiny pieces of stone.
I might’ve stopped breathing.
The deep, rumbling sound continued as the draken swung its head toward us, its thick, spiked tail sweeping across the diamonds. Two vibrant blue eyes locked with mine.
“Stay completely still,” Casteel ordered quietly. “Please, Poppy. Do not move.”
Like I could do anything else?
A low snarled vibrated from the draken as its lips peeled back, revealing a row of large teeth sharper than any blade. The draken lowered its head toward me.
My heart might’ve stopped.
I was staring at a draken—a real, live draken, and it was magnificent and frightening and beautiful.
The draken’s nostril’s flared as it sniffed the air—sniffed me. The snarling eased as it continued staring with eyes so full of intelligence, it awed me. It tilted its head. A soft, whirring trill came from its throat, and I had no idea what that meant, but it had to be better than the snarling. A thin membrane fluttered across its eyes, and then its gaze shifted past me—past where Casteel and the others stood—to the Temple.
A wave of awareness shivered through me, raising the tiny hairs all over my body. Pressure pushed against the nape of my neck, boring into the center of my back. I turned around without really having made a conscious decision to do so. Casteel did the same. I didn’t know if any of the others followed because all I could now see was the man standing on the Temple steps between two pillars.
He was tall—taller than even Casteel. Mid-length brown hair fell to his shoulders, glinting a coppery red in the sunlight. The dusky wheatish skin of his features was all planes and angles, pieced together with the same beautiful mastery as the stone shell that had encased the draken. He would’ve been the most beautiful being I’d ever seen if it weren’t for the infinite coldness of his features and his luminous eyes the color of the brightest moon. I knew who he was even though his face had never been painted or carved.
It was Nyktos.
Chapter 41
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sp; The King of Gods stood before us, dressed in a white tunic that he wore over loose black pants.
He was also barefoot.
I didn’t know why I focused on that, but I did.
It was also why I was a little behind everyone else who had already lowered themselves to one knee, placing a hand over their hearts and their palms to the ground.
“Poppy,” Casteel whispered, his head bowed.
I dropped so fast I nearly face-planted. The sharp ridges of the diamonds dug into my knee, but I barely felt them as I placed my right hand over my heart and my left palm to the rocky surface. Hot breath stirred the wisps of hair at the back of my neck, sending a bolt of unease down my spine. A rough, chuffing sound followed, reminding me an awful lot of laughter.
“Interesting,” came a voice so laden with power and authority that it pressed upon my skull. “You’ve awakened Nektas and still breathe. That can only mean one thing. My blood kneels before me.”
Silence echoed around me as I lifted my head. There were several feet between the god and me, but his silver-eyed stare pierced straight through me. “It is I.”
“That I know,” he answered. “I saw you in my sleep, kneeling beside the one you kneel behind now.”
“It was when we married,” Casteel spoke, his head still bowed.
“And I gave you two my blessing,” Nyktos added. “Yet, you dare to enter Iliseeum and wake me. What a way to show your gratitude. Should I kill all of you before I learn why, or do I even care enough to discover the reasons?”
It could’ve been everything I’d experienced in my life that’d led to this moment. It could’ve been the bitter fear that punched through Casteel—fear for me and not him. It could’ve been my fear for him and my friends. It was probably all those things that drove me to my feet and loosened my tongue. “How about you don’t kill any of us, considering you’ve been asleep for eons, and we came here seeking your aid?”
The King of Gods came down a step. “How about I just kill you?”
Casteel moved so fast, I barely saw him do so until he was standing in front of me, using his body as a shield. “She means no disrespect.”
“But she has disrespected me.”
My stomach twisted as Kieran’s fingers dug into the diamonds. I knew that not even the wolven would protect me in this situation. I may represent the deities to them, but Nyktos was the god that gave them mortal form. “I’m sorry,” I said, attempting to step to the side, but Casteel moved, too, keeping me behind him.
“Then should I kill him?” Nyktos suggested, and terror turned my blood to ice. “I have a feeling that would serve as a better lesson than your death. I’m sure you’d mind your manners then.”
Real fear for Casteel seized me, reaching deep inside and sinking its vicious claws into my chest. Nyktos could do it with a thought, and that knowledge severed whatever self-control I had. Heat rolled through me, turning the ice to slush in my blood. Anger flooded every part of my body, and it felt as potent as the power in the god’s voice. “No.”
Casteel stiffened.
“No?” the King of Gods repeated.
Fury and resolve mingled with the hum in my chest. Eather throbbed throughout my body, and this time, when I side-stepped Casteel, he wasn’t fast enough to block me.
I stood in front of him, hands at my sides and feet spread wide. Silvery-white light crackled over my skin, and I knew I couldn’t stop Nyktos. If he wanted us dead, we would die, but that didn’t mean I would stand by. I would die a thousand deaths before I allowed that. I would—
Without warning, an image flashed in my mind. The silver-haired woman standing before another as the stars fell from the sky, her hands balled into fists. Her words came from my lips, “I will not let you harm him or any of my friends.”
Nyktos’s head tilted to the side as his eyes widened slightly. “Interesting,” he murmured, his gaze flicking over me. “Now I understand why sleep has been so hard lately—why we dream so intensely.” A brief pause. “And you do not need anyone to stand before you in defense.”
His statement shook me enough that the eather fizzled out.
“Though,” he continued, his gaze sliding to where Casteel stood, “it’s admirable of you to do so. I see that my approval of the union was not a mistake.”
The breath that left me was one of ragged relief, but then Nyktos turned away. He started walking up the stairs. Where was he going? I stepped forward, and the god stopped, looking over his shoulder. “You wanted to speak. Come. But only you. No one else can enter, or they will die.”
Heart thundering, I twisted toward Casteel. His features were sharp as crystal-bright eyes locked with mine. A desperate sense of helplessness echoed throughout him. He didn’t want me to enter that Temple, but he knew I had to. “Do not get yourself killed,” he ordered. “I will be very angry if you do.”
“I won’t,” I promised. At least, I hoped I didn’t. The draken named Nektas made that gravelly chuckling sound again. “I love you.”
“Prove it to me later.”
Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodded and then turned, following the King of Gods. He stood before the open doors, extending a hand toward the shadowy interior. Hoping I walked back out, I entered.
“Make sure they behave, Nektas,” the god requested.
I turned to see Casteel and the others rise while the draken thumped its tail off the diamond-strewn ground. The doors closed without sound, and I was suddenly alone with the King of Gods. Whatever idiotic bravery had invaded me earlier quickly vanished as Nyktos said nothing and simply stared at me. I did what I hadn’t allowed since I first saw him. I opened my senses, letting them stretch—
“I wouldn’t do that.”
I sucked in a startled breath.
“It would be very unwise.” Nyktos dipped his chin. His eyes burned a bright silver. “And very impolite.”
Air tightened in my throat as I wrangled my senses back in. My gaze quickly flicked around, looking for another exit without turning my back to him. There was nothing but black walls and sconces. But who was I kidding? I knew running would do no good.
Nyktos moved then, striding forward. I tensed, and a smile appeared. “Minding your manners now?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
He chuckled, and the sound…it was like the wind on a warm day. “Bravery is a fleeting beast, isn’t it? Always there to get you into trouble, but quick to disappear once you’re where you want to be.”
No truer words had ever been spoken.
The scent of sandalwood brushed over me as he passed. I turned, finally seeing the rest of the chamber. Two large doors were closed. Winding shadowstone staircases rose on either side.
“Sit,” he offered, gesturing to the two white chairs in the center of the chamber. A round table sat between them—a table made of bone. On top sat a bottle and two glasses.
My brow furrowed as I tore my gaze from the table and the chairs to the god. “You were expecting us.”
“No.” He sat in the chair and reached for the bottle. “I was expecting you.”
I stood there. “Then we didn’t wake you.”
“Oh, you woke me quite some time ago,” he replied, pouring what looked like red wine into a delicate, stemmed glass. “I wasn’t sure exactly why, but I’m beginning to understand.”
My thoughts spun. “Then why did you threaten to kill us?”
“Let’s make one thing clear, Queen of Flesh and Fire,” he said, and a shudder worked its way through me as he looked over at me. “I do not threaten death. I make death happen. I was simply curious to see what you and your chosen were made of.” He smiled slightly, pouring wine into the other glass. “Sit.”
I forced my legs to move. My boots made no sound as I walked across the floor. I sat stiffly as I told myself not to ask any of the thousand questions brewing. It was best that I get to the point and then get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
That was not what happened.
“Are any other gods awake? Your Consort?” I blurted out.
An eyebrow rose as he placed the bottle back on the table. “You know the answer to that. You saw one yourself.”
My breath caught. Aios had appeared while we’d been in the Skotos Mountains, stopping me from what would’ve been a very messy death.
“Some have stirred enough to be aware of the realm outside of others. Others have remained in a semi-lucid state. A few are still in the deepest sleep,” he answered. “My Consort sleeps now, but she does so fitfully.”
“How long have you been awake? The others?”
“Hard to say.” He slid the glass toward me. “It’s been on and off for centuries, but more frequent in the last two decades.”
I didn’t touch the glass. “And you know what has happened in Atlantia? Solis?”
“I am the King of Gods.” He leaned back, crossing a leg over the other. The repose and everything about him was relaxed. It rattled me because there was a thread of intensity under the looseness. “What do you think?”
My lips parted in disbelief. “Then you know about the Ascended—what they’ve done to people. To mortals. Your children. How have you not intervened? Why haven’t any of the gods stepped in to do something to stop them?” The moment my demands left my mouth, my entire body seized with dread. He was most certainly going to kill me now, shared blood or not.
But he smiled. “You are so much like her.” He laughed. “She will be thrilled to learn this.”
My shoulders tightened. “Who?”
“Do you know that most of the gods who sleep now were not the first gods?” Nyktos asked instead of answering, sipping his wine. “There were others known as the Primal. They were the ones who created the air we breathe, the land we reap, the seas that surround us, the realms and all in between.”
“No, I didn’t know that,” I admitted, thinking of what Jansen had said about Nyktos once being the God of Death and the Primal God of Common Men and Endings.
“Most do not. They were once great rulers and protectors of man. That did not last. Much like with the children of those who sleep now, they became tainted and twisted, corrupt and uncontrollable,” he told me, his gaze moving to his drink. “If you knew what they had become, the kind of wrath and evil they spread upon the lands and man, you would be haunted till the end of your days. We had to stop them. We did.” That one eyebrow, his right one, rose again. “But not before we ended the mortal lands as those who survived remembered, sending them into the Dark Ages that it took centuries and centuries for them to claw out of. I bet you didn’t know that either.”
The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood And Ash Series Book 3) Page 54