“You got me there,” I said with an air of embarrassment. “You defended me, and I'm very grateful for that. But you're also in a supe prison, so you'll forgive me if I don't want to share my true surname with you.”
I shouldn't have even given him what I had. Stupid, stupid mistake.
Talonius swore in Furinian. Loosely translated it meant, “Rub my balls.” Then he said, “You really are an Elyonne, aren't you?”
“No, it was merely the first name I could think of. As you said, the line is noble, and I'm obviously not.”
He cursed again, then looked at me—at my face. Really looked. Another curse.
“May I call you Talon?” I asked just to stop him from cursing—those Furinian expletives were enough to burn my ears.
Talonius looked at me with a wry grin. It softened his savage face just enough to make his rough features shift into something beautiful. “Call me whatever you wish,Duchess.”
“How...” I whispered, then caught myself. “I'm not a duchess.”
Talonius chuckled as he nodded. “I think you are. Furies trade with the Triari, and when I was a knight in my king's service, I visited Eden on numerous occasions. I know all about the royal family. The Elyonne name is indeed noble but not important enough for you to hide it. So, why would you suddenly recant?” He cocked his head at me and nodded as if he'd grown even more certain of his conclusion. “King Jovan took the name Rinbar from his mother, who carried the royal blood, but his brother, Prince Jetek, took their father's name—Elyonne. Prince Jetek had some kind of falling out with his brother and left Eden, never to be seen again. I'm guessing that you are part of the reason why the Prince never went home. You're his daughter, aren't you? You don't look like him, but I'll bet my wingtips you are.”
Damn, this guy was quick. How the hell did he get captured? I decided to change the subject and ask him.
“If you're so smart, how did you wind up here?”
He grimaced. “A woman.”
“What?” I scowled.
“I took a woman home and fell asleep after we had sex. She was human. While I slept, the magic concealing my true form wore off. She woke up to a monster. Things went bad from there.”
“You got thrown in prison because you scared a woman?”
“She screamed. A lot. Police officers came. They fired their weapons, and I defended myself. As I said, it went badly.” He nodded toward me. “What did you do to the supes to make them pass out?”
“Nothing.”
Talon snorted. “There were only three of us left standing. It wasn't the Dralmar, and I know it wasn't me.”
“How long have you been here?” I changed the subject again.
“I'm not sure anymore,” he said softly. “Years, I think.”
“Forest fires,” I cursed in English.
“What?” Rain asked. “What's he saying?”
“He's been here years,” I said in Dralmarin.
“Are you seriously letting theFurysweet talk you?” Rain growled.
“Rain.” I sighed. “They're a brutal race but that doesn't make them evil.”
“No,” he said immediately. “But it makes them dangerous. Don't trust him, Amara. He probably defended you just for an excuse to kill people.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “But wouldn't it be better to have him on our side when my team gets here? He could help us if there's any trouble.”
Rain considered this. Finally, he grunted.
“Could we speak in English so we can all hear the full conversation?” Talonius asked dryly.
Rain grunted again.
