“First, my crystal.” She glanced at the titanium box he held under his arm. “Guards, bring it to me.”
Darion tightened his hold on it as the soldiers at his back and sides began to close in on him. “That wasn’t our deal, Selene.”
“You’ve already broken our deal simply by coming here,” she fired back.
Darion shook his head. “And you were never going to release Jordana either way, were you?”
“Do not suppose you know anything about me, vampire.”
Without warning, she lifted her hand and a bolt of light arced the length of her court and wrapped around him like a rope. He couldn’t move, couldn’t break loose.
Fuck. He knew Atlanteans and their light were powerful, but he’d never seen anything like this. Like her.
She sent another bright stream at him. The titanium box was snatched from his grasp and delivered straight to Selene’s waiting hands.
She didn’t even attempt to mask her smug satisfaction at besting him. Her triumphant smile transformed her face into a vision that was almost sweet, almost playful.
Then she opened the box and looked inside.
She lifted her crowned head, fury in her glare. “What is the meaning of this?”
Darion felt the guards tense beside him, ready to act on their queen’s command. But he stood firm, unwavering. “I didn’t trust you at your word either, Selene. Since you haven’t brought Jordana here for the exchange, obviously, I was right to doubt you.”
She took out Zael’s amulet and let the empty box fall discarded at her slippered feet. Her fist closed tight around the crystal. Light surged between her fingers, then went out just as suddenly.
When she opened her hand, only a small puff of stardust remained. She let it spill off her fingertips, minuscule flecks of glitter that swirled on an unseen breeze.
Darion groaned inwardly, watching Jordana’s only means of escape fade into nothingness.
And he still couldn’t move. The bonds of light Selene had caged him with held more firmly than chains.
She stared with open amusement as he struggled. “I knew better than to think one of the Breed would have even a speck of honor.”
Darion scoffed. “That’s a hell of a lot of haughty indignation from a woman who’s holding an innocent member of her own family hostage.”
Selene moved to the edge of the cushioned seat on her elaborate throne, practically crackling with outrage. “You are an arrogant, crude creature, Darion Thorne. I’d be well within my rights to kill you where you stand. Didn’t I warn you deceit would carry a steep price?”
“Yeah, you did, but killing me won’t bring you any closer to getting the Order’s crystal, will it?”
He saw her hesitation. As murderous as she might feel toward him, was she actually prepared to let her fury overrule her reason?
Darion seized on that small glimmer of hope. “You want a hostage? Here I am. Just let Jordana go.”
“I want what belongs to me and my people.” She vaulted to her feet as her voice began to rise. “What I want is the crystal you agreed to bring me.”
Darion frowned, questions forming in his head. “If the crystals mean so much to you, why didn’t you take the colony’s when you had a chance? You could’ve had it as easily as you took Jordana the other day. According to Zael, you didn’t even try.”
A ripple of shock went over the guards. Unspoken, but Darion could feel the tension vibrate from the other Atlanteans. They didn’t know Selene had been at the colony--or that she could have recovered the crystal.
Why was she keeping that secret from her people?
What did she have to hide?
She stood rigid at the top of the dais stairs. A curt nod to her guards. “Leave him with me.”
One of the soldiers sounded unsure. “Your Grace?”
“I said go, Yurec. All of you.” A flick of her finger tightened Darion’s bonds even more. “This male poses no threat to me.”
