The flicker of something predatory in Navya’s expression as she trained her gaze on Vitus roused me from my haze of agony.
There was something there. Something that said she was contemplating yanking Vitus’s spine out through his neck.
The faint flash of hostility bolstered my flagging strength, giving me a spark of hope that had been fading with every second I spent in Vitus’s grasp.
There was the possibility that if I was very smart, and very cunning, I could use the friction between them in a way that benefited me.
That, or I could die trying. Anything was better than spending more time as Vitus’s toy.
Navya approached, her bare feet whispering across the grass of the glade. “She’ll be useless if this goes on much longer. If I cannot get the answers I seek, there is no reason for me to continue this alliance.”
I flinched at Vitus’s vicious expression, wishing I could shrink in on myself. A couple of hours, or however long it had been, was enough to condition me to feel fear at the slightest change in the vampire in front of me.
Seeing my reaction, Vitus calmed. “By all means then.”
Navya remained in place as Vitus withdrew, leaving us the only two in the clearing with the exception of the other poor souls held captive here.
“You’ve landed yourself in quite the situation, young one,” Navya observed.
Summoning my strength, I mustered a smartass response. “Is that what you’re calling it? And here I thought I had you just where I wanted you.”
“Tell me how you did it.”
“Did what?”
I wasn’t faking my confusion. I had no idea what she was talking about.
The depths of her dark eyes lit with a spark. A kindling of avarice that was just as terrifying as Vitus’s sadism.
“There’s no need for you to hurt. I can make this easy on you.”
“You’re going to kill me either way.”
“Yes,” Navya admitted. “But it can be made less painful.”
That brought a bitter laugh to my lips. “What makes you think I want an easy death?”
I was too vindictive to go quietly into the long night. If I was a bone, I’d be wedged in the craw of the person trying to eat me. I would drag this out, make things as difficult as possible right up until the very last minute.
Then when I went, I’d go secure in the knowledge that I’d done everything possible to survive.
Because Vitus was wrong. My death wouldn’t be enough to stop the boys. He thought Thomas was the real threat but it was Liam he should be wary of.
Connor too.
Thomas at least tried to play by the rules. Liam and Connor—not so much.
“It’s a pity you landed on the wrong side of this. You could have been powerful.”
“I could say the same to you. Ahrun isn’t the forgiving type. He’s going to tear you apart.”
Navya showed no expression at my threat. “Yes.”
That old relic will never allow someone who hurt his family to live. I already know he’s making plans to annihilate the council,Navya spoke in my head.
She sounded different this way. More human.
Then why—
