“I doubt my knowledge will bring them down.”
“Look at the big picture. Start to cut off the hand that feeds them, and you weaken their hold. Make them desperate. We chip away at their power while we work on the real plan.”
“And that is?”
A knock rapped on the door, and an older man with gray hair stepped into the room with a tray.
“Tea, Kaptain?” The man set down the tray with achlebícky,an open-faced mini sandwich, a few cookies, and a teakettle.
“Thank you, Oskar.” He nodded at the man, watching him leave quickly.
Mykel’s hand motioned at the food. “Please eat. You need your energy.”
Refusing would only hurt me. I was almost sliding out of my chair; my body was barely able to move. Picking up a cookie, I shoved it into my mouth. The treat was dry and bland compared to the ones I ate at HDF, but the sugar tasted good on my tongue. I devoured another two before I turned my attention to Mykel.
“What is the real plan?”
The door opened again, and Kek stepped in.
“Kaptain?”
“Kek, take Brexley?—”
“X,” I replied, taking Birdie’s nickname for me. I didn’t want my name being used either.
“X.” Mykel dipped his head, repeating it. “Take her to the bunkers. She needs to rest. Room 418 is now vacant.”
“Across from mine.” Kek lifted a blue eyebrow. “What fun.”
I was being dismissed.
Rising from the chair, I grabbed the sandwich, staring at my newly found uncle.
“I gather you aren’t going to tell me the plan,” I said.
“You haven’t earned that yet. The person who attacked me in the elevator was my right-hand man. I don’t have theluxuryof trusting anyone, including my own niece. Especially because you were under Istvan’s thumb for so long.”
I could understand and respect that.
Heading for the door, his voice paused me just as I stepped out.
“When the time comes, you will understand your role here.” He stared intently at me, flicking his chin at Kek. “Welcome to Povstat. Do not disappoint me.”
With that, Kek shut the door, leaving me hoping the same thing about him.
The cookies and sandwich must have helped my blood sugar because as Kek and I descended into the belly of the base, I started to feel better. The weight and clawing sensation ebbed slightly, letting me breathe fully and walk on stable legs.
When we reached the bottom level, the demon exited the elevator, strolling down the corridor without a glance back.
“Come on, little lamb. Keep up,” she purred. This time I could feel the power in her, the seduction and command of a demon. Imprisoned fae were blocked from their power in Halálház, so they couldn’t use their “gifts” to escape or kill guards. Humans still weren’t on even ground, and even without their powers, demons had full command and dominance over us.
My gut instinct was to be wary of why a demon helped me when my own human colleagues wanted to destroy me, but after a few weeks, I started to believe she did like me.
I should have trusted my gut.
“Now you are cautious of me?” Her pale navy-blue eyes peered at me from over her shoulder. The color indicated she was powerful, but not the most dominant of demons. Didn’t matter if they were blue, red, yellow, or chartreuse, she was still stronger than me.
“I’ve always been cautious of you.” I stepped out of the elevator, my tone firm. “Now I see I had a reason to be.”
