Plague turns that intense gaze on me, and there's genuine bewilderment there now. Like he can't quite figure out what species I am.
"Did your father put you up to this?" he asks slowly. "I knew Arthur Maybrecht was a snake, but I'm surprised he's willing to stoop to using his own daughter for extortion."
I laugh. "Right, because using an omega you don't know for extortion wassonoble. Don't kid yourself, your majesty. You two have plenty in common."
"Is that what this is about?" he asks, his voice dry as bone. "Getting back at daddy dearest?"
My hand moves before I can consciously decide to react. The crack the butt of the gun makes against his face is satisfying in a way that probably doesn't say anything flattering about my mental state. His head snaps to the side, blood immediately welling from his split lip.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Geo groans behind me, throwing his hands up. "We're all gonna hang."
I ignore him, pressing the barrel of the gun underneath Plague's chin and forcing his head up so he has no choice but to look me in the eyes. "This isn't about my father," I say through gritted teeth. "It's aboutyourbrother. Azarel? Assuming that's even his fucking name. Actually, let's start there."
Plague gives another of those dry laughs. "I was surprised to learn Azarel had time for anything other than the 'mission' he thinks he was born for. But after meeting you, it makes perfect sense."
I tilt my head, studying him closely. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"
He smirks, but it doesn't touch the ice in his gaze. "Guess."
We stare each other down for a long moment. The train rocks beneath us, wheels clacking against the tracks in a rhythm that matches my pumping heartbeat. Holy shit, this kind of adrenaline feelsgood.
"By the gods, you're sexy when you're holding a man at gunpoint," Raven mutters wistfully, gazing at me like a lovesick puppy.
Geo fires him a death glare. "Don't fucking encourage her."
Finally, I remove the gun and step back, switching tactics.
Time for nice cop.
I paste on my sweetest smile, the one that used to make Monty's business associates nervous. "So his name really is Azarel, then. Good to know there's at least one thing he didn't lie about."
Plague watches me with those sharp eyes, and I can see him recalculating, trying to figure out my angle. "That'swhy you've done this? You're angry at my brother for lying to you, so you enlisted a band of underworld thugs to kidnap a prince?"
"Imagine what she'd do if the bastard had cheated on her," Raven quips from his spot by the door.
I smirk, not taking my eyes off Plague. "What can I say? We have a complicated relationship. But we're about to uncomplicate it significantly." I lean forward, making sure he can see exactly how serious I am. "You're going to tell me the truth. Who thefuck is Azarel, and why is he in Reinmich, working for my father?"
Plague doesn't answer immediately, his gaze hardening, clearly weighing what he's willing to share against what might keep him alive. The silence stretches on, and my finger starts tapping against the trigger guard. If he thinks he's the one in control here, he's about to learn otherwise.
But I know Geo will take the gun if I hit Plague again, so I manage to resist. Barely.
Finally, Plague sighs as if this whole thing is a huge inconvenience to his busy schedule of... what? Coordinating security and being an uptight prick?
"It would seem you already know part of it," he says, voice pointedly neutral. "Azarel is my older brother. The second crown prince, heir to the throne of Surhiira in the event of our mother and our eldest brother's untimely demise."
"Hear that, Cos?" Nikolai's voice drips with his usual sarcasm. "You could've been a fucking princess."
I shoot him a glare that promises retribution later, then turn back to Plague. "Keep going."
Another put-upon sigh. Like I'm not holding him at gunpoint on a moving train after poisoning and kidnapping him. If there's one thing this alpha never lacks, it's fucking audacity.
"He went undercover years ago as a defector to keep an eye on the situation as it was unfolding in Reinmich. Even I don't know all the details of his assignment." His jaw tightens, and for the first time, I see genuine emotion crack through that cold exterior. "Surhiira lost contact with him months ago. At first, itwas feared he had been killed, but it would seem the role he was playing merely became his reality."
"Are you saying Azarel actually defected from Surhiira?" Nikolai asks, leaning forward. "That he's working for Maybrecht now?"
The pain that flashes across Plague's face is gone so quickly I almost miss it. Almost. "It would seem so," he says quietly.
"Why?" Raven asks the question I can't quite form.
