Page 72 of Ruby Red Sky

This Lukas was terrifying. It was as if every brutal day of his two-thousand-year-old life spent tearing people to pieces was encapsulated into this one, single moment. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was about to kill me himself. I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t happen anyway.

The energy in the room was heavy and menacing, pressing into my chest so deep it threatened to steal the air from my lungs. The urge to scream or cry was there, but it was lodged in my throat. I’d never experienced fear quite like this before.

And I couldn’t have screwed up harder if I’d slit my own wrists in front of them all.

When I finally turned my head, I saw Kalix standing to the left of Lukas, beside the throne. The thick hood of his cape was pooled around his neck, exposing a large, ornate onyx brooch at his collar. He watched me with such mild interest that he could have been bored or maybe reading a newspaper.

Zaynan stood on the other side, but he was halfway between me and Annalise. He was dressed differently than earlier, having put on some of the fancy clothes everyone preferred. Unlike Kalix, he appeared concerned, and he widened his eyes at me quickly and washed the expression from his face before anyone else could see.

The Queen whirled around with her arms outstretched. “Everyone who matters, and a couple who don’t, are present and accounted for,” she peered at the crowd, slowly scanning the rapt faces.

Annalise faced Lukas. “The judge of all is about to be judged,” she glanced at the crowd again, “with his defiance, this is how it should be. He hands out verdicts and we shall hand out his—in the same measure.”

Zaynan was looking between me and the Queen, and he pressed his hand to his chin, dragging his index finger over his lips. My arms were by my sides, and I drew up a hand to massage the top of my aching thigh. My wrist rubbed against the stiletto that was tucked beneath my sweater.

For once, the Queen had slightly more clothes on. That wasn’t to say you still couldn’t see everything. She had fabric on, lots of it, and the gauzy fabric floated over the floor while she approached me.

“This is Cassia, Lukas’s betrothed. You may have all remembered her from a few weeks ago, when he announced his intentions toward her.” With a flounce, she faced her audience. “She is a human. Not even a witch. Just a plain, ordinary little human. Food.”

Lukas leaned on one elbow, resting his chin on his knuckles. He didn’t blink once while he watched Annalise.

Without me noticing, Zaynan had moved closer. There were only about ten feet between the two of us now. My hand slowly slipped to the hem of my sweater while the Queen dramatically extolled my lack of desirable qualities as anything other than a tasty beverage with flair.

Zaynan’s eyes flicked to my hand and I held still. If he noticed, someone else probably did, too.

With her attention back on me, Annalise trailed a long nail down the side of my face. “Whatever shall we do with you my dear?” She’d crossed the space so fast my head jerked back.

A warmth coursed down my cheek, but I left it alone. She leaned in and dragged her tongue up the side of my face, smacking her lips together as she took a single step backward.

“Mm,” she trilled. “Such sweet blood. You’re clearly not a virgin,” she wrinkled her nose, “but perhaps a sacrifice is in order—as a gesture of Lukas’s good will and loyalty toward his mother.”

A look of utter disgust crossed Zaynan’s face, and then something else I couldn’t identify flashed in his eyes. He looked at me and then his gaze fell to where my weapon was hidden. Then he met my eyes again.

Putting my hand on my waist, I gripped the hilt of the stiletto. The hooded figures moved together as one, each group floating forward until they stopped and circled the space around me, partially blocking the view of the audience.

Beside me, a grinding sound started, and the floor opened. Slabs of marble lowered and slid back underneath, leaving a gaping hole. A block of deeply etched stone rose upward, shaped like a bed, and then the marble rearranged itself, closing the hole.

Excited voices raised in the crowd and anticipation filled the air. No matter how hard I stared, I couldn’t catch Lukas’s eye.

My hand was on the blade, but I couldn’t make a move until there was someone within reach that I could stab. At this point, I didn’t really care who it was, but whoever tried to place me on the altar was going to be my first victim.

My boyfriend’s name was on the tip of my tongue and Zaynan pressed his fingers to his lips. Glancing at Lukas again, his posture was still as firm and immoveable as my soon-to-be death bed. Finally, his gaze met mine.

It was as if he never knew me, and my heart squeezed in my chest. I could have been anyone. A stranger on the street, one of the maids scampering up and down the hallways with fresh linens. Gone was the man who stared at me like the sun and moon set on my ass.

That day he’d taken me to the river, and we’d seen the unicorn had been the best day of my life. I’d scared the shit out of him, when I’d walked up to it. The look on his face would remain forever engraved in my memory. He looked terrified to lose me. He’d never said the words, but I’d known then that he loved me.

Whoever that man had been, he wasn’t here now.

Lukas stood up and walked down the couple of steps and stopped at the base, his long coat trailing on the stairs. How cruel it was that someone so fiercely beautiful in every way could have shown me love and then so easily have thrown it aside.

Annalise walked over to one of the attendants who handed her a long, double-edged sword. She carried it on her palms and stopped in front of Lukas. “You know what must be done. Your Queen demands it.”

He bowed his head, and his long silvery hair fell over his shoulders. He accepted the weapon as she laid it across his outstretched hands.

Annalise raised her arms at her sides, slowly bringing them up into the air over her head and the hooded men started moving, coming closer and tightening the circle they’d formed. Three of them separated from the group and walked towards me.

The moment I pulled the stiletto from its holster, was the same moment Zaynan darted toward me, lifting me off my feet. The sound was like thunder, and it felt like I’d been ripped through a thick spiderweb. He slung me over his shoulder and my hair loosened from its ponytail, spilling around my face.