“Everything.” She stared at Raziel flatly. “Now hereallyneeds to die. Are you insane?”
“I trust Ivan more than I trust myself, Nadi. He won’t betray us.” Raziel shook his head.
“If that were true, you would have included him from the beginning!” She paused, taking a breath. She really had to avoid shouting right now, she’d pass out into her soup.
“I knew how you’d react. And at the time, it wasn’t necessary.”
“Wasn’t—” She really had to calm down. She took a long moment to steady herself and work on getting her heart rate under control. “This is a risk we can’t afford. I vote that we kill him.”
“You want to do this democratically? Very well. Let’s vote. I vote that wedon’tkill him.” Raziel smiled. “Ivan?”
“I vote for not killing me.”
“Lords below.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to scream. She was dealing with children. “He’s a liability. How do you know he’s not working for your brother? Or your sister?”
“I trust Ivan’s loyalty to me far more than I trust yours, Nadi. And I have plenty of proof to back up that statement. Would you like me to elaborate?” Raziel arched a dark eyebrow. She found it deeply irritating that someone who had clearly been through the wringer like him could also still look soput togetherat the same time.
“No. I don’t need you toelaborate,Raziel. But the fact of the matter is, we don’t need more variables. Especially not at this stage, when we’re so close to failure.”
“So close to failure? How do you figure? I think this turn of events works perfectly for us.” Raziel grinned. A flash of the Serpent returned to his features.
He’d been scheming while she was unconscious.
Lowering the bowl of stew to her lap, she found herself a little too intrigued by the wicked glint in those crimson eyes of his. “Raziel Nostrom, what are you planning?”
Fae were resilient creatures, Raziel would have to give them that. His mother often spoke of them like cockroaches—insects that were seemingly impossible to kill.
He’d never been more grateful for their pernicious nature. If Nadi were a different woman, she would still be in bed. In fact,he wished she would listen to reason and rest. But he knew she wouldn’t, so he didn’t waste his words.
At least she didn’t try to claw at Ivan in her current state. She was smart enough to know when to bide her time. But if he didn’t get her assurances that Ivan wassafe,he would have to worry about protecting his bodyguard from his…whatever she was.
Nemesis? Lover?
Both were true.
But the question remained what she had become.
He knew that she was a ghost that would haunt him for the rest of his days, however long they lasted, and in whatever form she might take. And if anyone could die and haunt him from beyond the grave, it would be her, he was certain of it.
What else?
He knew what burned in his heart.
But what about hers?
She’d spared his life. Chosen to save it.Twice.That was no act of conscience. No mere moment of pity or mercy. And his siblings had granted her leverage that was greater than his own—so it wasn’t about his position of power either.
It had to be something more. But what else was it tangled up in? What else was threatening to drag it down into the depths of the void like it had with Braen?
Raziel pushed those thoughts away to the corners of his mind. He had to focus on the matter at hand.
She had gone back to eating her stew. Good. She needed it. Her body was healing quickly, despite the amount of blood he had drained from her—but he would need her on her feet.
He cracked his neck from one side to the other. Every fiber of his body ached. “From the family’s point of view, we were successful in our task. We slaughtered Braen, as we were commanded. While we must be very careful to watch our backs,we can’t be invisible either. Whatever games my brother and sister wished to play, I suggest you keep stringing them along. Continued information from them will be crucial.”
“How long was I out?” She touched her neck gently. It was bandaged.
He noted that she did not wish to elaborate on his siblings’games.Interesting. He couldn’t say that he blamed her. “Thirty-six hours.”
