Mask of Poison (Fall of Under Book 1) by Kathryn Kingsley (great novels to read txt) 📕

“What happened? I mean…the world didn’t end.”

“It did, for a time. Or at least, it was rewritten to a time long since past, when Aon ruled this world alone. All of us were taken from Earth, but he was made here by them. He is their only true son. It was not until Lydia agreed to sacrifice herself out of her own love for Aon that the Ancients deemed her truly worthy. Aon chose to be as he is now, our equal, instead of ruling on an empty throne. Now, they willingly slumber in their cage, though it remains unlocked.”

“So why do you hate him? It sounds like he just…made some really bad decisions.”

Dtu tried very hard not to explain to the mortal how the murderous King of Shadows had done far, far more than simply make some “really bad decisions.” He bit back his growl and kept his mouth shut for a long pause.

Then he said it. “Qta and I were lovers.” Why am I confiding in a mortal?

Jakob didn’t respond. For a moment, Dtu wondered if the man had left. But the young man was loud in his steps and particular in his scent, that Dtu would have noticed. When Jakob got up, he was convinced the man was going to walk away.

Dtu knew that on Earth, for many years, sexual preferences like his were shunned and scorned. Things were very different on Under, but he did not know what those of Gioll might think of a man who preferred the affections of another man.

He jolted in surprise as Jakob sat down on the ground next to him and leaned against his front leg. He blinked his eyes open and lifted his head from his paws.

Jakob petted the fur on Dtu’s leg. “I’m so sorry…”

There was no judgement in the man’s face, only sorrow.

“It has been a very long time.” Dtu didn’t have the heart to stop the man from gently petting him. It felt good, regardless. He laid his head back down on his paws.

“I’m not as old as you—not nearly.” Jakob chuckled for a moment, before his voice was overcome with sadness once more. “But I lost someone I cared about, too. His name was Uthin. Must have been eight years ago now. We were both just kids. But I loved him as much as I think anybody can love another person. I…I was traveling with a band of other merchants, and he was our bodyguard. He looked meaner than he was. One day on the road, the drengil found us. Easily a hundred of them. I escaped, but…sometimes, late at night, when I’m dreaming, I can still hear his screams as they tore him apart.”

“I can still hear Qta laugh. Now and then I expect to see him again. But he is gone. Sometimes I wish that he would return.” Dtu shut his eyes again, curling his tail around himself and Jakob. “But from what I hear of what has become of Rxa, perhaps I shouldn’t wish anything of the sort.”

“Making wishes of the gods is a dangerous game. Sometimes I think they grant them in the cruelest way for fun.”

“That is amazingly accurate.”

Without a word, Jakob rested his head against Dtu’s arm, and…snuggled into him. Once more, Dtu didn’t have the heart to move him. Nor did he find he had the desire to. He curled himself around the young man and, with a long, heavy breath, let himself enjoy the company.

When Jakob’s breathing began to slow and smooth, Dtu realized the mortal had fallen asleep. The young man must have been exhausted. If so, he hid it well. But the rigors of the long and fast march had taken their toll.

Dtu should move him. He should get up. He should shoo the young man away and send him inside with the other mortals.

He really should.

He didn’t.

Ember sat back in her chair. The firelight was flickering across the surface of Aon’s metal mask, somehow making the man look even more frightening. The King of Shadows sat there silently, barely even moving. It felt as though she had been speaking to an illusion or a specter as she relayed to him every detail she could possibly think was useful to him.

How she was raised as a hunter and chosen to be a graedari. The effects of the serum that they used to make her immune to the disease carried by the drengil. She told him about Ash and his death—although she skipped the details of how exactly he had died. That much was deeply personal, and she knew it wasn’t useful information.

And then there were the run-ins with Rxa. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she explained how the strange, broken man had tried to bite her twice. She touched her neck absentmindedly, feeling the ghost of how Rxa had kissed her there.

When she finished talking, the silence in the room felt oppressive. The only noise was the soft crackle of the fireplace.

Maybe he fell asleep? I did talk for a really long time.

Hard to tell, since he’s got that mask on.

“Rxa did not harm you.”

She jolted as he spoke and swore at herself silently. It was bad enough that he already thought she was skittish. She didn’t need to make it worse. “No. Neither time. He almost did, though. But both times, Lyon stopped him from killing me.”

“He would not have killed you. Indeed, I do not think he would have hurt you.”

“He tried to bite me. How is that not hurting me?” She arched an eyebrow at the man.

“You are clearly unaware of how a vampire’s bite functions. Perhaps Lyon might give you a demonstration later.” Aon stood from his chair and moved closer to the fireplace, leaning his black gloved hand on the mantel. “You say that he wished you to join him?”

“Yeah. He wanted me to stick with him instead of going with Lyon when he found me on the street in Yej.”

“And that he