the edges of her mind. Invisible coy fingers, plucking and stirring. She shook her head as if to shake off drowsiness, and her vision shifted violently, a discordant sound scraping against her skull. Flashes of images appeared with each blink: a man in black sitting on a throne. A woman standing in a field of fire.
Eliana herself, ankle-deep in a shallow pool of black water, reaching for the star-dusted sky.
She touched one of the stars, and it burned her fingers. She tried to yank away her hand, but the star had fused with her skin and was bleeding down her arm, flooding her veins, bubbling up her throat to disintegrate her tongue.
The images abruptly disappeared, leaving her unbalanced. She watched the shadows gather as they floated down the stairs, joining to become a teeming black heart, and wondered wildly if a beast was coming for her, some feral, starved creature set loose from the city’s dungeons.
She shook herself, blinking hard. She could not trust her mind. Of course she couldn’t.
What nonsense, came a voice she recognized, sliding happily into her mind like a wriggling cat. Your mind is the only thing you can trust. It will show you what you must do to survive.
She looked up, eyes burning, and watched shapes emerge from the shadows, until at last there were boots and trousers, a fine white linen shirt, a long black coat, unbuttoned, knee length. A smiling face, pale and elegant. Eyes black and liquid. Soft dark hair curling against cheeks and nape.
The Emperor. Corien.
“And here you are at last,” he said. “The daughter of my great love. Time tried to separate us, Eliana, but we managed to find each other eventually, didn’t we?”
His voice was smooth and clear, so inarguably lovely that it sickened her. She could barely speak, her throat closing with fear. “Where is my brother?”
“I’ll tell you if you help me. I’ll bring him right here, and you’ll never be parted from him again.”
Stricken, she stared at him. “If I help you.”
He laughed softly. “I can’t tell you how delighted I am to finally have the opportunity to learn everything about you.” He paused, his smile widening. “Well, I could tell you, in fact. I could make you feel my delight as keenly as I do. I can make you feel whatever I want you to feel. I could make you want to kiss me. I could make you rub yourself against me like a groveling dog.”
Circling her, he fell silent, and when Simon stepped away, Eliana felt the absurd, mortifying urge to reach for him and keep him close, despite everything.
“Awful, isn’t it? To love someone so very deeply? To love them enough that you would lose yourself to them, lose everything to them, if it meant they might stay beside you a little while longer?” There was mockery in Corien’s voice, with sympathy close behind. “I loved like that once, as you know. I loved many times before that, but never again since. It’s lonely to be loveless for a thousand years. Lonelier still to build an empire from the ashes of a world destroyed by your own mistakes, and to do that not once but twice.”
Corien stopped before her, close now. He considered her face, and she fought desperately not to blanch under that terrible unblinking scrutiny.
“Tell me where Remy is,” she said, her jaw clenched tight.
“I won’t make such mistakes a third time,” he said, as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’m sure you’ve guessed that. I’ve had centuries to plan for this moment. My hatred has grown for centuries. My hate for you, Eliana, and for all of your kind. My hate for the deceitful woman I loved. My hate for a God that would condemn me to this endless fate of war and grief and torment.”
Corien’s gaze was thoughtful, his voice calm. “Can you comprehend how deeply I hate you? I’ll allow you to attempt imagining it for a time, until I decide to share the feelings with you directly. I hate you, and yet I love you, in a strange way. It’s an unsettling dichotomy I long to tear from my mind, but I can’t—it’s lodged there, it’s part of me. I love you because you are hers. I loathe you because you are his.”
With no warning, he seized her chin, turned her face left, then right, inspecting her, and she was too terrified, too baffled, to react.
A small smile curved his lips. “I see her there.” He waved with
<<Previous page Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 1 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 2 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 3 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 4 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 5 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 6 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 7 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 8 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 9 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 10 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 11 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 12 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 13 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 14 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 15 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 16 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 17 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 18 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 19 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 20 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 21 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 22 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 23 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 24 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 25 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 26 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 27 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 28 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 29 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 30 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 31 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 32 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 33 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 34 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 35 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 36 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 37 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 38 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 39 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 40 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 41 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 42 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 43 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 44 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 45 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 46 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 47 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 48 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 49 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 50 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 51 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 52 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 53 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 54 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 55 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 56 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 57 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 58 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 59 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 60 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 61 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 62 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 63 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 64 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 65 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 66 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 67 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 68 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 69 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 70 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 71 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 72 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 73 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 74 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 75 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 76 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 77 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 78 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 79 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 80 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 81 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 82 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 83 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 84 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 85 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 86 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 87 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 88 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 89 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 90 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 91 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 92 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 93 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 94 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 95 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 96 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 97 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 98 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 99 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 100 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 101 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 102 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 103 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 104 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 105 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 106 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 107 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 108 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 109 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 110 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 111 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 112 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 113 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 114 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 115 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 116 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 117 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 118 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 119 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 120 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 121 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 122 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 123 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 124 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 125 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 126 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 127 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 128 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 129 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 130 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 131 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 132 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 133 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 134 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 135 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 136 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 137 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 138 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 139 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 140 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 141 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 142 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 143 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 144 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 145 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 146 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 147 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 148 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 149 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 150 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 151 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 152 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 153 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 154 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 155 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 156 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 157 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 158 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 159 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 160 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 161 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 162 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 163 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 164 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 165 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 166 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 167 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 168 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 169 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 170 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 171 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 172 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 173 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 174 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 175 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 176 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 177 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 178 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 179 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 180 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 181 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 182 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 183 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 184 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 185 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 186 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 187 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 188 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 189 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 190 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 191 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 192 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 193 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 194 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 195 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 196 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 197 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 198 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 199 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 200 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 201 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 202 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 203 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 204 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 205 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 206 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 207 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 208 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 209 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 210 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 211 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 212 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 213 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 214 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 215 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 216 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 217 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 218 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 219 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 220 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 221 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 222 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 223 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 224 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 225 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 226 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 227 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 228 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 229 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 230 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 231 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 232 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 233 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 234 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 235 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 236 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 237 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 238 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 239 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 240 Lightbringer (Empirium #3) - Claire Legrand - Page 241
Next page>>