Rhadamanthus uncrossed his arms and dropped them to the armrests of the chair, bringing his face close to the Fae lord’s. “Dante needs the Luna Court for the next lunar eclipse. So, tell me, High Lord, when will your court be graced with one?”
Hyperion tried to pull back, bucking in his seat, but the demon king didn’t move. “What he needs is blood,” the Fae male gasped. “And you won’t find that in Luna.”
I let my gaze flicker from Rhadamanthus to Grey, who finally met my stare.
There was nothing in the redness of her eyes; any of the guilt or shame she would have felt for the male being tortured was gone. The Maeve Grey who appeared to be in control had disappeared, replaced by the vampire new recruits whispered about in the halls of the Phoenix Compound.
And that should terrify anyone who crossed her path.
“I’m sendinga demon into the Luna Court undercover to see if they can find anything about Dante’s plans for the war,” Rhadamanthus said as we left the High Lord’s cell, giving Grey more alone time with the male.“Those parting words have left me wary about what comes next. Dante never mentionedbloodto us in the cottage.”
My jaw clenched, hands fisting at my sides. “Make sure whoever goes in confirms the timeline,” I replied, voice low. The halls of the Elysian palace were eerily quiet; the demons who had been here the night of the wedding were gone, and very few souls—only those trusted completely by Rhadamanthus—remained. “I don’t want him to have the upper hand. And now I’m worried, too.”
It would have been too easy. Of course, there was something we were missing. Dante knew we’d work with the eclipse, but if there was something else…
Rhadamanthus made a sound in the back of his throat as we came to a stop outside the war chambers. Within, I heard the mutterings of the mages I barely saw now that we’d returned to the Underworld.
“He won’t outsmart us, not again,” the demon promised. “But we need to find where she’s being held in the meantime. If we wait until the eclipse, it could be too late.”
My stomach bottomed out. “He also has two of Ivy’s unbonded mates,” I murmured. “We don’t even know if they’re alive.”
The Primal from the Old World and Hawk Nash. The former had been a surprise addition to Ivy’s mate circle, an unknown in a realm of threats. But he was a formidable shifter, a creature none had ever seen before, and we didn’t know the extent of his power. There was a chance Dante would keep him alive for that alone. We knew he was testing magic on shifters, and who better to study than a creature who shouldn’t exist?
But then there was Nash.
The half-Fae, half-demon male who refused to accept the bond with Ivy. Who had strung her along for months, hurting her at every bend. And he’d been a target for our enemy, a desired soldier for their war. We still didn’t know why they wanted him, what they needed him for, but he’d been taken alongside the Primal and vanished.
I had a feeling he was alive. They wouldn’t kill him now that they finally had their hands on him.
We just didn’t know what the hell they wanted him for.
But I knew what they’d wantedmefor.
I’d tried blocking out the familiar demon since returning from the Old World, but desperation made it hard. There was no proof, other than some deep, hidden fear and panic that awoke at his appearance.
I wasn’t even sure if it was worth mentioning to the others. I had a feeling if it was, Grey would have brought it up by now.
But she’s lost to the bloodlust, I reminded myself. Her focus was on Hyperion and getting whatever information she could out of him.
I held up a hand, stopping Rhadamanthus before he could enter the chamber. His red eyes found mine, brows furrowing.
“What is it, wolf?” he asked, crossing his arms.
Under other circumstances, the use ofwolfin place of my name would have pissed me off. But instead, I sighed. “We need to get our hands on a mind witch,” I said. “Orion Black had one as a friend. She might help us.”
The demon’s frown deepened. “And why would we need a mind witch?”
“Other than the obvious?” I raised a brow. Only a mind witch would be capable of counteracting Dante’s power. Though not spoken about much, it wasn’t a secret that witches were a hell of a lot more powerful than their mage counterparts. “Her name is Blythe Windermere. Original Bloodline. She’s the one hiding the island for Orion.”
It was probably yet another layer to Dante’s victim mentality; his belief that he was owed something. Hatred because even as the son of the Queen, he would never be as powerful as the witches who came before him.
Rhadamanthus pressed his lips together. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll have Sao send for her. Anyone else?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Find Vanya Blackwood. She’s Ivy’s friend, and her family is?—”
“An original Bloodline,” the demon king finished. A smile briefly touched his lips, but he quickly shook his head. “Done.”
He didn’t ask any other questions as he turned on his heel and walked into the chamber. He had no idea why I really wanted Blythe Windermere.
