If she could have reached out and strangled him, Darion felt certain she would have. Selene’s eyes flew wide with outrage, then narrowed on him with the heat of searing blue lasers. “I tried to tell Jordana she means nothing to you and your ilk. You turn your backs on her so easily just to keep hold of a little power.”
“Come on, now, Selene. It’s more than a little power or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. And remind me again how you are any better? You’re willing to bargain your own kin like a pawn to get what you want.”
Nathan hissed a dark curse. “For fuck’s sake, Dare. You are gambling with my mate’s life.”
Darion didn’t consider what he was doing as gambling. Rather, he was running through a few mental chess moves in his head. A plan was taking shape, one with enormous risks to be sure, but better than handing Selene a second crystal.
He let her simmer for a long moment, then said, “Here are my terms. You bring Jordana to us personally, then we can talk about who should have the crystal.”
“Bring her to you?” She laughed. “Absolutely not. And I’m through with talking to you or anyone else. Once the crystal is returned to me, I will release Jordana. Not a moment sooner.”
Nathan grabbed his arm. “Goddamn it, what choice do we have? There isn’t a blood-bonded male in this room who wouldn’t trade this whole fucking world for his mate’s life. Darion . . . all of you . . . don’t ask this of me. Just give the bitch what she wants.”
“You should listen to him,” Selene said calmly. There was challenge in the haughty stare that was trained on Darion. She was confident she’d already won.
Which meant he had her exactly where he wanted her.
Darion released a slow sigh. “All right, you’ll have your crystal. Since you and I are getting along so well, I’ll even bring it to you myself.”
“No,” she replied tersely. “Not you.”
Shit.Not the response he had been hoping for. His plans hinged on getting past the veil that barred him from her hidden realm. He’d let himself get too distracted by sparring with her and trying not to notice how ridiculously hot she was, when perhaps he should have been trying to exude a little charm instead.
“The Order’s leader will bring it to me,” she insisted. “Just him. No one else.”
Several heads turned in Darion’s direction, more than one of the Order elders eyeing him with dubious anticipation. For obvious reasons, there was no way in hell they would be sending Lucan anywhere.
But that’s not what the Atlantean queen had stipulated.
Selene’s smile broadened as the silence stretched out. “Are we agreed, then?”
Darion inclined his head, fighting his own satisfied grin. “Agreed.”
“Excellent.” Her chin hiked up. “My guards will be waiting with a boat tomorrow night in a small port near Athens. I’m sure Zael remembers the one. He can explain how to find it.”
Zael nodded, but he looked none too certain about this unexpected--and perilous--arrangement.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Selene added. “If the Order thinks to deceive me in this, it will come at the cost of your leader’s head.”
Her icy stare bore hard into Darion as she spoke. Then, as abruptly as she had appeared, she was gone.
As soon as the war room monitor went blank, Darion’s comrades surrounded him with incredulous remarks and more than one question regarding his sanity.
Only Nathan seemed even a little relieved. He put his hand on Darion’s shoulder, torment still raw in his voice. “Tell me what I can do. Just promise me I can be the one to sever Selene’s head from her neck.”
“You can’t actually be considering doing this,” Tegan said, frowning.
Darion shrugged. “You heard the lady. She wants the Order’s leader to deliver the crystal in exchange for Jordana. Until my father resumes his place at the head of our table, his duties fall to me.”
Chase cursed. “He wouldn’t expect this of you, Dare. None of us do.”
Dante nodded. “There has to be another way.”
“I say we go on the offense,” Niko suggested. “Zael, you’ve said the crystals house massive power. Can’t we use the one we have to attack the barrier around the Atlantean realm so we can get inside?”
A grave shake of his head. “To do that, we would need the power of more than one crystal. And once the veil has been torn down, it cannot be repaired. We would be leaving the entire realm vulnerable to future attacks, regardless of what happens to Selene.”
Brynne’s gaze was tender on her Atlantean mate. “No matter how any of us feel about Selene’s actions today, none of us want to see innocent civilians hurt.”
