Maybe having a hunter in the family wasn’t such an awful thing after all.
It was certainly gratifying to see how the human Baran had been so quick to dismiss was the one to land such a decisive blow.
“Are you just going to stand there?” Baran snarled.
“Thinking about it.”
His eyes glittered at me. “Help me get it out.”
“Why should I? It seems to me having an incapacitated kidnapper would be a good thing.”
He could bleed out and die, and I wouldn’t blink.
Of course, then I wouldn’t get any answers.
Choices. Choices.
“I was saving you,” Baran spat.
He grimaced, his face growing pale from the effects of the iron.
Iron was to his kind what silver was to mine. Painful—and sometimes deadly.
It would feel like acid dripping through his veins as the iron poisoned him. His age and power might allow him to survive.
Or it could make the effects worse.
Despite that, I made no immediate effort to save him. You could say I no longer trusted him or any other Fae.
If he wanted my help, he’d have to give me something.
The truth might be nice.
“I don’t think my brother would agree with you there,” I said with a light lisp.
I hadn’t thought I was hungry, but the aroma of his blood was making my fangs tingle. The smell of autumn leaves seeping into the tunnel around us.
He staggered past me, using the wall for support.
I eyed the streak of blood he left in his wake, fighting the urge to drag a finger through the wet trail. My mouth watered at the thought of all that luscious goodness.
“Don’t even think about it,” Baran ordered, catching on as I lifted my hand. “Remember what happened when you drank from Callie?”
I’d ended up as a stone statue. It had been temporary, but the reminder was enough for me to keep my hand and tongue to myself.
Grumpy at being caught almost succumbing to temptation, I plucked the dagger from Baran’s shoulder.
A high-pitched whistle came from between his teeth as he punched the wall with his fist. It was the only sound in the otherwise silent corridor.
Impressive.
Someone had a high pain tolerance.
“How is this saving me?” I asked.
Baran took several deep breaths before he lifted his head and started walking. “Do you really think it was an accident that you ended up in a pleasure den?”
I followed him silently, wondering if he was expecting an answer to that question.
