I rolled my eyes as Holmeth retorted in an amused tone, “And what do you think, Frederick? We seem to have a split vote here.”
If they actually made an attempt to touch me, my plan would be tossed to the wind in a second. I would risk my lifeandmy freedom before I ever let anyone sexually assault me. A small part of me still grasped tightly onto the idea that, in the past, Malakai had made it abundantly clear to all how he felt about me being touched by anyone in his kingdom.
Would these three try it now that they were across the Cursed Divide with Malakai nowhere in sight?
Keeping my eyes downcast wasn’t an option— I needed to be able read their body language as well as the tone of their voices. I strained to look into the last vampyre’s eyes as he towered above me, gaze raking across my form and lingering on my heaving chest. A low growl bubbled up my throat, pulling his eyes away from my body and to my own.
“Oh, my dear friends,” Frederick practically cooed, a grin taking up his dirty, bearded face as his eyes lit with malice. “Why choose one when you can have both? It’s obvious that she’s bowing to usandbegging to be fucked, and if she isn’t—” He paused as he looked at the other two before glancing back to me. “We canensureshe bows to us and begs for mercy. She has some bite to her, but it’s nothing the three of us can’t handle.”
They had no idea just how much bite I had to me.
For the life of me, though, I couldn’t decipher whether they were trying to scare me into submission or if they were actually going to go through with violating me. In a last ditch effort to call them on their bluff, I tried to steady my voice, conveying a false confidence I didn’t quite feel.
“There’snothingto stop me from telling Malakai about you touching me when we get back there. I have seen him kill more vampyres than I can count on both of my hands for evenattemptingto harm me.”
Vampyres in Malakai’s kingdom were known for having short-tempers and letting their base desires drive them, so I wasn’t sure my words would actually sway them. Until arriving in the Tridian Empire, I thought all vampyres behaved the same way. Now I knew that wasn’t the case. No, now I knew the vampyres in the Thaician Empire were a vile breed all to their own.
I needed to find a way to distract them from their hot-headed ideas, and I had to do it quickly. My words were true, despite the fact that I had no intention of going back to the Thaician Empire to test my claim. Once upon a time, there was no doubt that Malakai would protect me, even if only to serve his own twisted needs. I wasn’t so sure now.
Taking their silence as a moment to make a move, I jerked my head out of Holmeth’s grip and used my momentum to carry me back onto my knees before falling backward onto my ass, hard. Searing heat ran up my tailbone, making me wince despite trying not to show any emotion.
Pain from the harsh impact on my tailbone traveled through my spine, but it was more than worth it to finally have his hand off of me. None of the vampyres made a move toward me, so I used my heels and sore ass to quickly shuffle backward into a corner of the room, ensuring I had eyes on all of them. At least if they made a move toward me, my back would be to a corner for securityandI could track all of them at the same time.
They still weren’t stepping toward me, though. Had my threat made its intended impact on them? Why weren’t they moving or speaking?
Unease made the hair on my arms stand as Frederick and Gregory eyed me, licking their lips as their slacks tented with erections. My stomach churned with the knowledge that their bodies urged them to go through with their threats. Frederick and Gregory weren’t in charge here, though…But the question was whether they would listen to Holmeth. And what would his command even be?
Stay calm, Kyella. They haven’t hurt you yet, despite their bravado.
Flicking my eyes to Holmeth as he slowly stood back to his full height, I watched as he rubbed his jaw, as if in deep thought. “Do you think that after escaping the Emperor, despite his generous forgiveness of your first attempt, that he’d care what happens to you now?”
We had very different definitions of those two words. Because I wouldn’t consider chaining me at the foot of his throne and letting his vampyre lords feed off me any sort ofgenerous forgiveness.
Tilting my chin up, I infused as much steel into my gaze as I could and kept my tone matter-of-fact. “Yes, I know that he’d care.”
His head tilted back, and his dark curls shook with the laughter that bellowed out of him. Frederick and Gregory shared a knowing look that shook my confidence. They each pulled one of my daggers from behind their backs. Feral grins spread across their faces, and Holmeth’s laughter died down. He pinned me with a look that was full of…pity?
That couldn’t be right. And if it was, I was beyond screwed.
“Oh, Kyella,” he mused, folding his arms over his chest as he slowly crossed the space toward me. “Ialmostfeel bad that you think anyone gives a shit about your well-being. Do you want to know the only rule Malakai gave to us when it came to you?”
A lump suddenly formed, lodging itself in my throat. I all but croaked out in response, “What?”
His feet stopped a few inches from my own, and he towered over me menacingly, cocking his head. As he answered, he mocked Malakai’s haughty tone. “Don’t come back with her until you have useful information about the Tridian Empire—I don’t care what it takes to make her open that pretty little mouth and sing all their secrets. And if you have the opportunity to weaken them with the information she gives to you, do not hesitate to begin this war while you are there.”
Taking a shuddering breath, I refused to respond. I wanted him to talk more, to slip up and possibly give away whether or not he was lying.
“It’s time for you to give us the information we want. Nothing would please me more than to take a few more lives, in addition to that of your traitor guard, before we head home. This can be as easy or as hard as you make it.”
I clung to the feeling in my gut that they were lying about Tristan. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by the idea of them hurting my friend. As for the other aspect…If they wanted information on the Tridian Empire—they wouldn’t get it from me. I wouldnotbe the reason for anyone’s death.
I would rather go to my death with the knowledge I gave them nothing, but until that decision needed to be made, I would fight with everything I had to get back to my guys. I didn’t want them in harm's way for me, and I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t helpless anymore. I could do this on my own.
With those last words from Holmeth, it was clear there was nothing else that needed to be said. He raised his hands, flicking his fingers in my direction, and Gregory and Frederick advanced toward me.
It looked like them leaving me alone to allow me a chance to escape wouldn’t happen as I’d hoped. There was no further reason to hide what I was if that was the case.
It was time to show them exactly what a dhampyr could do.
