Naughty and annoying. Sweet Night, no one talked as much as she did. And yet, she didn’t make a single sound when struck.
Interesting.
“Don’t fucking touch her! Don’t even look at her!”
Oh, how he adored the musical sound of chains rattling and creatures thinking they still had control.
“You know, Baldrir…” He sauntered over to his first Straelani prize, drawing the hairpin across the Demon’s chapped lips. “One would think you’d remember how little those sort of demands affect me. Shall I refresh your memory?”
“You’ve already done your worst to me. I survived once, I’ll do it again and again.”
He clicked his tongue. “You were rather fortunate, weren’t you? Lunara is an absolute wonder. Sadly, she’s also occupied at the moment, what with Brand missing and all. Bringing you back from the Veil a second time will not be on her list of priorities.Ifthey ever find you. Which they won’t.”
A gasp sounded from Nyriadne. “Brand is missing? Do you have him? Tell us where he is!”
Both he and Baldrir ignored her to stare each other down. A delightful battle of wills.
What fun.
“You don’t scare me.”
For all the bravery Baldrir’s words boasted, the tremble in his voice was like a heady wine—utterly intoxicating. He never should’ve neglected them for so long and denied himself the pleasure.
“No? Ah, but you’re not using that hard head of yours, my friend! You may not care about yourself anymore, but you care about them.”
He gestured to the silent contingent of Demons he’d stolen along with the siblings. Twelve pairs of eyes stared back at him from all sides, the rage suppressed within them shining through like starfire as they observed the exchange between captor and commander.
“And‘care’… Well, that’s far too tame a term for our Nyriadne, isn’t it?”
Baldrir blanched, a muscle twitching beneath one eye.
Oh, yes. The Demon was beginning to understand his circumstances.
“You see, nothing went to plan.” He perused the warriors as he spoke to Baldrir, arms crossed. “I still haven’t gotten what I need from the Montrealm, and I’m of a mind to place the blame at your feet. Remember what I told you would happen if you failed me, Baldrir?”
“I delivered your fucking message exactly as you asked.”
“Hmm. I suppose my definition of failure is a bit more fluid than that.”
Lantern light flickered on a female Demon’s face, highlighting the perfect curve of her jutting cheekbone. Fitting, for the fiery Frida.
“Your subpar history lesson and inattention to detail forced me to extract the necessary information myself. It would’ve been fine, except all that work amounted to nothing. Your lack has become my problem, ergo…”
Wait.
Scanning the Demons, he searched their haggard faces as the beat of his heart picked up speed. They were changed from their month spent wasting away, gaunt and filthy, but not so much he wouldn’t be able to find one in particular if he was here.
Ah!Yes.
“Oh, this gets better and better.”
He closed the distance, more pleased than ever he’d chosen to secure the group in a rounded offshoot from the main cavern. The tight circle would ensure they could all see.
“Fate’s favor shines upon me once again.” He grabbed Aldiat’s clenched jaw and jostled his head before slamming it onto the stone wall. “Your sisterandyour best friend, Baldrir!”
Taking the whole contingent mid-battle had been something of a panicked decision on his part. He’d been right in the middle of sending that meddlesome Fae to the Veilagainwhen the attack had started, and he’d had to scramble. Okthana told him he would know when her ‘surprise’ was in play, and she’d been right. He just hadn’t been ready for it. Whatsoever.
His fault, for underestimating her.
