Chapter 16 Breakfast and death

Chapter 16 Breakfast and death
NYX

I’m in a good mood today.

No. I’m in a great mood. Can’t even hide my smile. My grin spills too wide for an omega who was almost assaulted last night.

But that horrible experience proved one thing. The mate bond works, and it’s the key to killing Alpha Kane. 

With everything in me, I swear on my father’s blood, on the unfortunate Nightbanes who died by his sword, and on Zephyr’s untimely death, I shall ruin Kane Blackheart with the same bond, even if it’s the last thing I do.

Everything depends on it.

Yesterday’s tears bought me this moment. I saw it in his eyes when he carried me here, when he killed for me without hesitation. The mate bond is a leash, and I just slipped it around his throat.

Alpha Kane is no man, just a monster under the influence of some superficial bond.

I will never let it control me, but for him, it’s the noose around his neck.

Sunlight filters through the high arched windows of Alpha Kane’s chamber in pale gold ribbons, catching on the dust motes that dance like tiny ghosts above the bearskin rug. 

My hands don’t shake as I carry the tray.

Not anymore. 

I spent an hour in the kitchens before dawn to prepare this feast. The stupid guards don’t ask questions after they hear the infamous two phrases—Alpha’s orders. They let me be. 

The bread is still warm from the ovens, and the crust still crackles under my fingers. 

The eggs are soft-boiled, with yolks runny and golden, just as the maids say he likes. The fruit is arranged in perfect spirals. Strawberries bleeding red, peaches sliced thin, and a small cluster of glistening dark grapes.

The wine is last.

I had uncorked the decanter with my teeth, tipped in the vial from my sleeve. One dose won’t kill him. It’ll just make him sick, only slowly and more unnoticeably.

It’ll make him gradually weak. The first crack in the wall.

I set the tray on the low table beside his bed with a soft clink of silver on wood. 

He’s already awake, propped against the headboard, with the sheet riding low on his hips. His hair falls to his face, ruffled yet perfect in a way that makes my stomach tight.

I don’t like how it feels down there. Perhaps, I do like it, and that’s the damn problem.

His brown eyes lock onto me, filled with nothing but displeasure as though he just remembered I shouldn’t be in here.

“And whose funeral are you celebrating, slave?” He asks, irritation painting his tone. 

“Breakfast,” I say, faking excitement.  “I made you breakfast, Alpha Kane.”

He arches a brow. “You? Were the other maids banned from the kitchen?”

I bite the inside of my lips. I wish he’ll just shut up and eat. “I wanted to thank you. For last night. You saved my life.”

His gaze narrows. Suspicion flickers, but something else too. Curiosity.

He swings his legs over the edge of the bed, brushing his bare feet against the rug, and gestures to the chair beside him. “Sit. Eat with me.”

My stomach flips, but I obey. I plate a small portion. One corner of bread, a single egg, one strawberry, and one peach slice. I skip the grapes.

He watches every move like he’s counting heartbeats. Like a hawk.

I eat. Nothing happens for five minutes and I have a feeling it isn’t what he expected.

My throat doesn’t close. My skin doesn’t burn. I’m clean. Alpha Kane leans back, eyeing the grapes and patiently waiting.

I hesitantly reach for a grape. “I can’t,” I say, softly. “Allergic.”

His eyes glint. “Eat it.”

Bastard. I do.

The reaction is immediate. My lips tingle, then swell. A hot and itchy flush crawls up my neck. Hives bloom across my collarbone in angry red welts.

I scratch at them absently, letting my eyes water. Alpha Kane’s mouth curves into a smirk as he watches. He lifts the goblet of poisoned wine, sniffs it once, and gulps it down.

I watch his throat work, watch the liquid disappear. Step one complete.

I push to my feet. “I should go before Lady Daciana sends the hounds.”

He doesn’t stop me. I’m already at the door, reaching for the latch, when it swings inward.

Lady Sable stands there with fist raised to knock. What?  My jaw drops.

Her gorgeous red hair is braided in a crown. She’s even more striking in daylight. We blankly stare at each other for a moment.

What’s she doing here—with this asshole?

Alpha Kane’s voice cuts through the silence, through my reverie. “You two know each other?”

Lady Sable recovers first. “No,” she says smoothly, stepping aside to let me pass. She flashes me a secret, knowing smile before he sees it, and I bow in response before slipping out. 

The corridor smells like wax and old stone. My hives itch, but I’m too busy wondering if Lady Sable is one of the numerous women who warm his bed. 

My stomach unsettles at the thought of him with anyone. The thought tastes like rust. 

I have no idea why it does. 

—

Daciana hasn’t come for me. That bitch.

Was she scared?

Afternoon finds me with raw knuckles, scrubbing pots in the scullery when Greta storms in with all her misery. The old woman pisses me off.

“Someone’s asking for you,” she snaps. “East garden. Get moving.”

Just one punch across her scaly face will fill me up for days. “Who?”

“Questions get people killed. Go, insolent child!” She orders.

My jaw ticks. I dry my hands on my apron and head there. From the looks of things, it’s most likely Daciana. Perhaps she’s misplaced her underwear in a den of lions this time and needs my help fetching it.

I walk past guards discussing things, keywords like hearts and dead fly around. I can offer the entire story if they’d like to know, but no one asks me.

The east garden lies pretty ahead. I am the sight tainting the beauty of the flowers. Glancing around, no one is in sight.

Is this a stupid prank? I turn on my heels and come face-to-face with Lady Sable who seems to have been watching me for a while without saying a thing.

“Hey, Nyx,” she says gayly. “Got any chores?”

I squint. What does she want? “Not right now, my lady,” I reply. Before I can ask why, she interrupts.

“Come to the market with me. It’ll be fun.”

“I am a slave,” I enunciate, feeling insulted. “Wouldn’t be much of a slave if I can just walk out the gate.”

Lady Sable doesn’t take offense at my tone. Instead, she smiles widely and takes my hand, leaning closer till she reaches my ear.

She smells like vanilla and jasmine. A shiver runs down my spine.

“Fear not,” she whispers. “Because we… will be going in disguise.”

I jerk away. IS. SHE. INSANE?!