Talon sighed. “I’d hoped keeping our distance would help cool her off. Apparently not.”
“How do you want to handle it?” Shadrach asked.
“I doubt she’ll be walking around out in the open now that she’s done this,” Talon said. “Finding her probably won’t be easy.”
“You’d kill her?” Nathan asked.
“I think I’ll have to,” Talon replied. “End her and the incentive to kill me goes away. Nobody will bother coming after me if there’s no one to pay.”
“I can track her down,” Shadrach offered.
“No, you need to stay here and keep working on Isaac,” Ira said. “We need to find out how to break their hold over him.”
“She knows we’re friendly, anyway,” Talon said. “She won’t pop her head out of her hole if she knows either of us is looking for her.”
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground,” Wolf said. “I have some contacts on her side who might be willing to talk.”
Talon gave him a pleasant smile. “That’s why we’re friends.”
Shadrach shifted impatiently. The rope in his chest was tugging hard, his longing to return to Isaac growing strongerwith every moment he delayed. How could he walk away from this conversation without looking too eager?
Ira, ever observant, flapped a hand at him. “Go let him eat. He’s probably starving. We won’t set any plans in stone without you.”
Shadrach seized the opportunity and escaped, ignoring the weight of Talon’s gaze as he went.
Chapter 9
Isaac
Alone in hiscell once again, Isaac marveled at the revelation of Shadrach’s healing blood. Did all demon blood have healing properties, or was it specific to Shadrach? Maybe it was a thing for all black-eyed halflings. His arm, while sore, was no longer broken. Not only that, but since he’d ingested it, he’d felt renewed, like he hadn’t been tied up for over a day at all. Enduring Talon’s torture was a lot easier with demon blood in his system. At first, the damage Talon inflicted healed right away. The longer it went on, the slower it became, like his exhaustion was catching up with him. While he was still hungry and tired, both were much more tolerable now that they were his only immediate needs. Even the crick in his neck was gone. It was a shame he hadn’t had Shadrach’s blood before the fight. Then he might’ve actually been able to escape.
The door opened, pulling him from his thoughts. The sight of Shadrach each time was like a punch to the solar plexus, stealing his breath. He ground his teeth at his body’s traitorous reaction. So what if the demon was conventionallyattractive? More than that, so what if he was the most attractive person Isaac had ever laid eyes on? He was still the demon holding him captive. Whatever strange reaction he had to him couldn’t be trusted.
Shadrach didn’t speak. He wordlessly handed Isaac a package wrapped in white paper and a bottle of water, then stepped back to lean against the closed door, cocking one hip out and folding his arms. Blocking the exit.
“Eat,” he said.
“How do I know it’s not poisoned?” He didn’t really think it was. He just wanted to be contrary. If they wanted to kill him, Talon would do it himself, not rely on poison.
One corner of Shadrach’s mouth lifted. He wasn’t fooled. “Eat.”
Truthfully, Isaac was hungry enough to risk it even if he suspected it’d been tampered with. He ripped open the paper, noting that it was a sub sandwich just before he shoved it into his mouth. In any other circumstances, he might’ve been uncomfortable having someone watch him eat. And though he cast a few suspicious looks Shadrach’s way, the demon’s gaze never wavered. His dark eyes glittered, watching Isaac as though captivated by the simple act of eating. No one should be allowed to look that good in this ugly lighting.
Isaac became uncomfortably aware of his own looks. He could smell himself, and he was certain he looked worse for wear. Loose strands of his red hair hung lank around his face, and his shirt was ruined beyond repair. Streaks of blood and gritty, dried sweat clung to his skin, and his teeth felt fuzzy. He’d do a lot of despicable things for a shower right now. But despite it all, Shadrach’s hungry gaze indicatedthat he didn’t seeanyof it. He saw something deeper, something Isaac didn’t want him to see.
When he finished eating—he barely even noticed what was on the sandwich—he picked up the water bottle, cracked the seal, and lifted it, leaning back as he drank deeply. It was only when he’d drained the majority of the bottle and stopped to catch his breath that he realized Shadrach’s eyes had been tracking the movement of his throat.
Heat simmered under his skin. He set the bottle down by his feet, beside the balled-up sandwich wrapper. His eyes met Shadrach’s, and for a moment, they just looked at each other.
“Tell me what Hawley would do to you,” Shadrach said.
The heat under Isaac’s skin was snuffed out like a candle in a snowstorm. “How do you know about that?”
“I saw it mentioned in your dreams last night. The others tell me they weren’t punished by the priest at all. So what did he do to you?”
Isaac looked away.
“Don’t clam up on me, killer.” His voice was soft, kind. It made Isaac want to gnash his teeth and fling curses. Kindness was a lie.
