He leaned forward and placed a fatherly kiss on my forehead. The words made me freeze.Son. I had never been called that byanyone but Mitera. It evoked a mixture of emotions within my chest, but overall I thought that maybe I liked it.
“Thank you,” I whispered, and it was my turn to brush tears from my eyes.
“So where is Stergiou, and how do we get him out of here before Aurelius gets here?” I asked, brusquely trying to get back to business. “And should we worry about this Nigelo fellow coming back?”
Kyris sat back on the edge of the bed.
“It will take him a bit. I brought our entire stock of willow bark tea with me, so I know for a fact he will need to go to the apothecary to get more. We should have a little bit of time yet.”
“I don’t know how we can get Jozel out of here before Aurelius arrives. If we did there would be an immediate hue and cry. We wouldn’t get two miles,” he said. “If we wait until afterward we might have a better chance. But that would mean one of you would need to entertain Aurelius. If we can kill him without anyone knowing…”
Luke looked at me from the other side of the room, his eyes dark and a shadow spreading across his face.
“I think I know how to do that,” he said. “You said he likes blonds. I think I’m the only option.”
“He would recognize you, too,” I said.
“We don’t have a choice,” Luke said. “If he discovered Hel, he would just kill him outright. Aurelius and Maalik—let’s just say, they had similar tastes. Even if Aurelius realized who I was, I believe he would take any chance he could get to fuck with me before he turned me over to my father.”
The door flew open, and Rhu stood in the doorway.
No!he signed.I don’t know what you are thinking, but I can feel your panic. No way in hell am I letting you do this.
I wasn’t as good at signing as my brother had become, but I was able to follow most of the argument that erupted between my brother and his Bonded. I looked away to try and give them some privacy.
Kyris raised an eyebrow at his son as their fingers flew fast and furious in their silent argument.
“PrinceLucien? Bonded?” he asked in awe.
“Yep,” Hel said. “He goes by Luke now, though.”
“And they know the Scribes tongue. This could be useful. Hestus keeps many spies within the walls of the House that carry tales to him. If you can communicate without words, it could give us a small advantage.”
I held up a small bag with the symbol of Prometheus on it and he smiled grimly at us.
“That gives me an idea.”
Chapter 33
Rhuyin
I lost the fight, but not the war.
Luke insisted that he was going to be the one to “entertain” Aurelius, even though I felt the bone deep terror in him at the mere thought of being in the same room with the monster. He struggled desperately to mask it in front of his brother, but I could feel it vibrating through our bond. I could also feel the steely determination in him to do it anyway.
You have to let me do this, he signed emphatically.Ineedto do this.
I looked at my lover and tried to wipe out the image I’d had of him when Kopanos had cornered him in that office, how pale he’d been, frozen beneath a terror that went bone deep. He’d told me he’d been raped, and it didn’t take any stretch of the imagination to guess who had done it.
I know how strong you are, I signed.You don’t have anything to prove.
I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone except myself,he responded.But you need to realize…I may need to—do things—in there. With him.
I shook my head and turned away in frustration. He was so goddess-be-damned stubborn!
I felt him come up behind me, the warmth of his body through our clothes as he pressed against my back and wrapped his arms around me, that unique smell of vanilla and cinnamon that just spoke of home to me. I grabbed his arms and held on to him with all my strength. Finally, I released him and turned around.
It should be me,I signed.This ismymission. You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me.
