She didn’t like the sound of that and frowned deeply.
“The pleasure in that will be all mine, but I can’t deal with himandDelphine at once. If I’m too badly injured—not that I expect to be, butif—she might end up controlling my noxscuraas well. I need her distracted, which is where you come in.”
Amma blinked, remembering Damien’s warning that Delphine would destroy her. “How exactly?”
“I don’t know, pull her hair, scratch her, make fun of her outfit? Delphine’s strength is in her puppetry, but you don’t have the kind of noxscura the rest of us do living inside you. Even with that talisman, you’re still entirely you somehow. If you get in close to her, there’s not a lot she can do. I mean, she could stab you, I guess, but as long as she’s distracted plunging in the knife, that’s all I need to get Bloodthorne free.”
She didn’t intend to acknowledge that dig. “Are the Sentries coming too?”
“What’s left of them.” Amma waited then, and Xander clicked his tongue. “Look, I gave all of them the power to do more—that mage is the one who went and blew himself up with it. Those big, bell sleeves look fancy but they’re quite flammable.”
Amma wasn’t sad to know the elven mage was dead, but she would have liked the additional assistance. “You know I have to ask—I thought you wanted Damien dead, so why do you want to do this at all?”
“I want Bloodthorne dead bymyhand, and I mean actually dead, not just dead inside because his girlfriend is killing his will to live. But before any of that, I want him—and consequently you—to get my mother out of her prison in Eirengaard. You remember that? The supposed A-plot, as it were? The whole reason, presumably, the two of you ended up stuck together to begin with?”
Amma bit her lip. “Right, that whole thing.” That, at least, answered the question she was too nervous to ask: what guaranteed her own safety in all this from Xander himself? Killing off Amma too early wouldn’t help him free any demons Archibald had locked away, but if he made it look like someoneelse’s doing, Damien might still be willing to help him. Well, she would just have to look out for herself then.
Xander grinned, and a yawn caught him. “But I do need sleep first if I’m going to get us all the way to that witch’s lair and then be useful once we’re there.” He stood with a stretch then closed the short distance between them to loom over Amma. “Now, kitten, why don’t you come and spend the night in my quarters, hmm?”
Amma smacked his hand away as it grazed her chin. “Ew, no!”
Xander’s grin fell sharply off, and he scoffed, still trapping her there in the chair, a hand on each armrest. “But I thought we were getting on so well.”
Quaz hissed, jumping onto the back of the chair.
“Not that well—neverthatwell.” Amma leaned back and lifted a foot, kicking him squarely in the chest.
Xander coughed, stumbling backward, but then he actually laughed. “Gods, if the two of you weren’t just made for one another.” He rubbed at the imprint her boot had left on his robe. “Do youreallylike Bloodthorne that much?”
Amma got to her feet, taking Quaz with her. “Yes, of course I do.”
“Even though he’s off with Delphine right now, probably doing unspeakable, earth-shattering things to her? This is the best revenge on Bloodthorne you could possibly ever get, you know, letting his rival fuck you silly.”
“Gods, you’re revolting,” she spat. “I don’t want to getrevengeon Damien, I want to rescue him. I promised that I would protect him, and I…” Amma squeezed Quaz tighter, heart hitching. “I didn’t.”
The quiet of the parlor pressed in on Amma, the distant ticking of the room’s clock echoing into the emptiness. She had failed, but she would make it right.
“You are nice, but you’re also very stupid, kitten.” Xander’s disappointment had no bearing, his voice like a fly buzzing around her head. “The fondness you have for him is sort of cute, but when he shows you who he really is—”
“He has.” Amma set her jaw hard and glared at him. “All this talk of being evil and vengeance and who gets to kill who, it’s ridiculous. You can do this for whatever reason you want, Xander, but I’m here because I love Damien.” Tears pricked at her eyes, the truth slamming into her as the words burst out.
She’d known this truth, of course, for some time, so it was not the suddenness that drove fear into her heart with its admittance. Amma had resisted saying that she loved Damien for fear of the much more painful truth that blood mages could not return those feelings. She’d sliced through the thin veil of protection she’d hidden behind with the word, and then discovered something wonderful if shocking. Amma didn’t want protection from whatever would come of loving Damien. It was simply true, and that was enough.
As Xander opened his mouth again to spit out something undoubtedly pithy and cold, she cut him off. “If you want to keep being caught in this miserable, heartless spiral, go ahead, but don’t try to tell me I’m stupid or confused. Pretend not to understand all you want, but I’ve never been more sure of a thing in my life.”
Xander’s mouth hung open, eyes boring into her, but they were seeing the truth, and she didn’t care. He looked, for a moment, like he might bite back, and then the blood mage just let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine! But it’s your cage, kitten, and I hope the two of you are very happy in it.”
CHAPTER 22
THERAPEUTIC PHLEBOTOMY
There was a gentle tapping at the side of Damien’s face. Feather soft, the touch slowly roused him from a deep if not restorative sleep, but his eyes wouldn’t fully open. He heard his name being called from far off, a hush of a voice eerily familiar, but he couldn’t go to it. Not yet. Still sleepy. Just a few minutes more.
Then there was a sharp crack across his cheek, and Damien was thrust into the waking world. “Fuck.”
“Darling, you’re awake!” Delphine had a hot hand under his chin, pulling his bleary gaze to hers. “Oh, I’m so glad. It’s been ages.”
She was crouched before him, and she wassmiling. That was always a bad sign as it meant she’d managed to get what it was she wanted. And usually what Delphine wanted was to cause Damien excruciating pain and misery.
