"I have no time to dilly-dally, Jerome," I said smoothly, completely ignoring the tremor in his voice.
I sat up, the new power humming behind my ribs like a roaring furnace, burning away every lingering trace of the wine's laziness.
With a graceful movement, I slid off the stone altar, my bare feet hitting the cold obsidian floor without a single shudder. I reached down and gathered the pieces of my pomegranate gown, fixing the silk around my body with a slow, deliberate indifference, completely unbothered by the semen still clinging to my skin.
"We need to call a meeting," I commanded, my voice carrying a sharp, needle-like intensity that made the violet torches around us dip and bow. "Gather your father, the high lords, and that delightful sister of yours. Immediately."
