As if he senses my shock, his head turns slowly, shadowed eyes finding me in the darkened stairwell. Blood flecks his cheek and his thick dark hair is damp with sweat as it falls to his shoulders. Our eyes lock, and that familiar punch of sensation drives through me, my heartbeat kicking into gear.
You.
Nothing remains of the regal warrior from the cells.
This male is pure savageness, his amber eyes alight with feral need. He’s not human in this moment. Whatever lurks within him is in full ascendancy, his focus skating over my body in a swift glance. A monster. I’ve never been surer of it in my life.And my entire body stills as it recognises the fact that suddenly I’m no longer the predator.
“Bael?” I whisper.
The spell breaks.
“Are you all right?” he demands, ripping his hand from inside the man’s chest and pushing to his feet.
I scramble back, my spine hitting the wall as I hold the knife between us. The one I stole from him.
Bael stills and it seems as though someone pulls the curtains shut behind his eyes, sending the monster back into its shadows. The fury in his expression fades until a man stares back at me. Every inch of his posture eases. Dangerous still. But no longer terrifying. No longer looking at me as though I am something to be devoured.
I can’t forget it though.
They’re all villains here.
“Your throat,” he rasps. “Can you breathe?”
“Barely.” I touch my throat. It’s tender to the touch and my voice sounds like shit. “What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing a certain vexatious brunette who owes me a debt.” Bael surveys the bloodied stairs around him, before stooping to tear someone’s cloak off them. He uses it to wipe the blood from his hands. “Now come. We need to get out of here before the fires spread.”
“No.” I avoid his hand by grabbing fistfuls of my diaphanous skirts. They’re shredded at the hem and stained with blood, but still glitter beneath the lamplight. “They took my friend. They took Kari.”
“Then we must hope she has managed to flee,” Bael counters, gesturing me ahead of him. “Because some fool set the manor on fire and it’s burning so swiftly it’s almost as though Kasaros himself is breathing on those flames.”
That’s when I smell the smoke.
And hear Kasaros’s laughter echoing in the halls.
Chapter 7
Zyla
Thedreiare an ancient war-like race that hail from the Ash Kingdoms. Once upon a time a star crashed from the heavens, and from this star was born a creature of fire and fury, whose mere touch scorched the ground it walked upon. The First bred with a woman from the Iron Kingdoms, and over time, the magic in their bloodline has diluted. But discount them at your own peril.”
—KARI SILVENDALE, AUTHOR OFA HISTORY OF THE DREI
Flames lick at the night sky, roaring heartily. What is left of Rhykus’ operation will soon be no more. Men flee from the burning manor like beetles scuttling from a sinking log, but we managed to find all the women within before I allowed Bael to lead me out, except for the few that were gathered up by Rhykus’ remaining warriors.
Many of the women have left, whispering thanks.
One of them, a battle-scarred woman with only one eye, gathered the others to her as if they were her chicks. “Come. There is safety to be found at the Sanctuary. And room for all.”
“Sanctuary?” I asked.
“It’s a secret place within the Labyrinth where those brides that are trapped between hunts have managed to find some sense of security. They still worship Amara there and light candles in Her name,” Lannia whispers eagerly, tears wetting her eyes. “It’s considered a myth, but we—I—hoped…”
“Not for you,” the leader murmured, holding her hand up flat to me as she glanced toward where Bael still lurked. “We appreciate all you have done, but it is not safe for us to travel with you. Your mark still blazes. The Hunt is not over for you, and you will bring others down upon us. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I’d waved her away. “Go with my blessing.”
Because now I have two women to find.
