A shiver rippled along my spine. Okay, so if I survived this exchange, I owed Cheriour the biggestthank-yougift of all time. I needed to bake him a big-ass cake, or wash his underwear, orsomething.
“Quinn, yer being silly,” Belanna said.
“Release her,”Quinn snarled. “I want to see her eyes.”
“You've already seen them,” Cheriour said.
Myeyes?Sure, their funky color had garnered attention before. But usually, I’d get a few compliments from older women or flirty guys. No one had ever tried tomurderme.
Quinn took four steps. Paused. Took five more steps. Paused. “Iknewthis would happen.”
“It's not as you think, Quinn. She,” Cheriour’s fingers jerked against my skull, “is not from this world. I saw her arrive.”
“Aye, as did Kaelan,” Belanna added.
Quinn scoffed. “You seem to forget Ramiel knows your weakness, Cheriour. And he would not hesitate to exploit it.”
I winced when Cheriour's nails raked into my scalp. It seemed like a reflex. As though he wanted to make a fist but couldn’t because he was holding my head. “He hasn’t.” His voice was eerily quiet. He reminded me of Anthony Hopkins (“hellooo Clariccee”). “This woman may be insufferable—”
“Yo!” I gasped.
Cheriour’s hold tightened. “—but there was no guile in her eyes. She knew nothing of this world. Nor our war.”
“And you’ve never trusted the wrong person before.” The sarcasm in Quinn’s voice was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Cheriour didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve spent the last week studying her. She’s useless.”
“Ye should have seen her face when I gave her a knife,” Belanna chortled. “The lass was terrified of it.”
“She will likely not survive long in this world,” Cheriour said. “So, if you still wish to kill her, I’ll not stop you—”
“Excuse me?” I grumbled. So much for him being my big freaking hero. I definitely wouldn’t wash his underwear now.
“Hush,” Cheriour said to me before continuing, “but youwillspill innocent blood if you take her life.”
“I’d rather not take the chance.” A loudziiingpunctuated Quinn’s words.
Awcrap.That sounded like a sword being drawn!
Quinn moved closer. And I was a sitting duck.
I wriggled my head, grunting when Cheriour’s unyielding grip tore a few strands of my hair out. “Let me go!” I gasped. “At least give me a chance to run!”
“Quinn,” Cheriour said.
Quinn’s footsteps stilled. “You said you would not stop me…”
“I won’t.” Cheriour’s fingers spasmed. When he spoke, his drawl was even more pronounced. “But ask this of yourself: even if your suspicions are true, would she want this?”
“Whoshe?Me?” I grumbled. “No. I sure as fuck don’t want this!”
“Be still,” Cheriour hissed.
“Am I not allowed to defend myself?” I asked.
“No.”
“Okay, but I’m really freaking out here.” Understatement. My lungs were locking up. “And my neck's starting to hurt.” Also an understatement. Sharp needles of pain shot through my shoulders.
