as my cellular makeup altered, bringing the recessive gene forward.
“It’s alright, Joshua.” The familiar sound of my father’s voice helped ground me, and he clamped onto my shoulder as I straightened, keeping my eyes tightly shut. “You can control this, same as I can.” There was a hint of remorse there somewhere, like a speck of sugar in a sea of pepper. Showing me too much kindness would be frowned upon, seen as a weakness by the audience chatting beyond at a low din as they watched the show like it was their favorite daytime television drama.
“They took her blood,” I whispered, the sound no more than a hiss.
“Yes, shortly after she arrived, and they’ll take your life now if you show any hint of upset over that girl,” he warned, his hand tightening painfully on the crook of my neck. I nodded my understanding, and he finally let go.
“Open your eyes, Joshua,” my father ordered loudly, infusing his voice with the proud notes of a father praising his son for doing something good. Except instead of catching a ball, scoring a goal, or winning some epic video game, I had developed my father’s ability to execute with a single, pointed stare.
As Ryder would say... bloody-fucking-hell.
It took me a full minute to crack my eyes open. The crowd closest to the dais backed up with a gasp as though they were afraid I had laser vision and would blow them to smithereens. Like I’d suddenly become cyclops from X-Men.
Light seared my retinas when I finally peeled my eyelids apart, the pain stabbing through my frontal cortex like a knife through butter.
Stepanov motioned with his hand, and servants brought the prisoners forward, the crowd parting to allow them to pass until they stood before us, their eyes downcast as they awaited their punishment.
My Basilisk’s mouth yawned open wide as he writhed in my head, our increasing power almost too much to contain. I felt his scales just under my skin, the oppressive weight of my shift bearing down on me. My arms were nearly shaking with the bulk of my strength. Why the fuck was this affecting me so quickly and severely? The only reason I could determine was that Nix’s blood had been injected rather than ingested, a finding I knew Theo would be eager to learn about.
Stepanov launched into his tale of how we’d found these shifters this morning as they plotted against the Council. I ignored him, focusing on blinking past the rough, gritty sensation plaguing my corneas and swallowing the venom leaking from my gums. Nix’s blood was sending my body into hyperdrive. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the mental picture of my mate from the other night—her long hair, her beautiful golden skin, those dark chocolate eyes, that honeyed voice that was like music to my ears. My hard-won calm shattered, however, the moment my name left Stepanov’s lips.
“Step forward, Joshua,” he ordered, extending his arm as he waited for me to move to his side. The crowd murmured excitedly as the chandeliers glinted and the prisoners shifted uncomfortably on their feet. My father’s grim face was the only indication I had that I’d missed something important during my daydreaming, though it wasn’t hard to guess the direction of Stepanov’s plans.
My hands clenched into fists as I stiffly walked over to him, nodding at the crowd that began to cheer and clap.
“Which do you choose to end first?” Maldonado lounged in his throne like he owned the whole fucking world. He stroked his hand over his chin as he looked hungrily over the buffet of transgressors before him.
Kyle peered up, giving me the smallest semblance of a nod, letting me know it was alright.
But none of this was.
Anger as strong as steel roared with the force of a tempest inside me. I nodded toward Kyle, letting the Council know my choice as a plan formed. It was rough with a high chance of failure, but If nothing else, a death at my hands would be much more merciful than that of any of the other Council members. Or so I tried to tell myself.
Kyle’s posture was as straight as a board, his chin held high when I descended the dais. As I moved, the crowd slid farther away out of fear or the sheer unwillingness to stand so close to a living corpse.
I swallowed hard, my eyes stinging like I’d been pepper sprayed as magic thrummed through my body like a livewire. I placed