Jaden paused as one of the screams crescendoed. He flinched at the same time she cringed from the horrendous sound of pain.
“That comes from Rezar’s son, the demigod Seth. Imagine what they’d do toyouif they held you in his place.”
Those words sent a chill down her spine. “They torture their own nephew?”
“That surprises you? I’m their brother. They’ve never shown me any mercy, at any time. Why do you think Braith is in hiding? And she’s their beloved missing piece they need to overpower the Malachai. She, alone, can bring him down or bring him to heel. Yet she knows better than to show her face around them. So she keeps herself hidden from them and their schemes.”
ThatVine hadn’t known.
He leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear. “Why do you think I brought you back from the void, Vine?”
She shrugged. “You had no choice.”
“I always have choices. Even while held in bondage. Never mistake that. They only control me because I let them.” He smiled coldly in her face before he spoke again. “Nay, my dearest harpy. I want my freedom. We have one shot at Kadar. If we strike together, we can bring the beast down. The only question you have to answer is if you want to live out your life again, or do you want to spend eternity in a dark, vacuumless void, or worse, like Seth in screaming agony while they rip out your entrails and have sex to the sounds ofyourscreams?”
***
Cameron pulled up short in the glistening throne room that shone so brightly it made her eyes water. What the bleeding blue devil was this underwater amazement? How was it even possible? It made no sense whatsoever!
And she wasn’t the only one to be taken aback by its unexpected splendor. Every member of the Deadmen stood in stunned silence as they took in the glittering underwater palace that shouldn’t be physically possible.
“Blimey.” Will finally spoke under his breath while he held his hand up to shield his eyes against the sharp glare of lights that seemed to have no natural source.
“Fuck me.” Leave it to Bart to be the most colorful with his verbal expression. “How is it that we’re able to breathe under the ocean?”
Simon Dewing, their stalwart, stoic, and ever-amusing former priest of the African spirit Exú, flashed a taunting grin in Bart’s direction. “It’s magick, mate. Have you learned nothing in all our travels?”
Screwing his face up in pain, Bart tossed a dagger at Simon’s head that Simon caught and flipped back at him to lighten their somber mood.
But not by much, as they were all very aware of how tenuous their lives were in this mysterious and unknown place.
Valynda stepped beside Belle for cover, while Janice held both her hands up to study them closely in the light that danced like living water around them.
“Why am I not bursting into flames?” Janice scowled at the captain. “This is daylight, isn’t it?”
Cameron would have said aye. It appeared to be such, and yet Janice was right. Sunlight normally made the Dark-Huntress blister and burn, and it should prove most fatal to her unique species.
Yet fortunately for them all, it did none of those things and left her appearing as normal as any of their crew.
William turned toward Bane. “Captain? Where are we?”
Paden stepped closer to Cameron while he turned a slow circle, inspecting every inch of the elegant room with walls that seemed to be made of sparkling amber crystals. “What is this place we’ve come to?”
“My home.” That deep, melodic voice that was filled with suspicious malice answered before the captain had a chance to explain it to them. “But the real questions are, what are you doing in it? And how the hell did you get here?”
Turning into the body of a thin squidlike male, Chthamalus slithered behind Cameron, then shifted into a small, thin line so as not to be seen. He clutched at her arm and trembled.
The grimace on Paden’s face said that her brother was about todenounce the demon and offer him up to the newcomers as a sacrifice, but she quickly shook her head to keep him from speaking. Best to let the captain tend these things without their interference. Besides, the one thing she’d learned growing up in a tavern—most intelligence came from knowing when to keep one’s mouth shut, especially during tense moments and conflicts. And this seemed like a prime time to heed that sage advice and ride herd on her wandering tongue, and leave it to the captain to take the lead through these turbulent waters.
Especially given the size of the man asking the question. Equal in height to Captain Bane, he was a massive beast. Well muscled, with black hair that hung in braids to the middle of his back. He reminded her of their mate Rosenkranz, who wore his dark blond hair in braids and dreads. Unorthodox in all things, that was their fun-loving Rosie. But while Rosie was forever good-natured and jovial, this man showed only the most somber of manner and humor. He also lacked Rosie’s wildly mixed, flamboyant Caribbean dress.
Instead, he was robed in a rich fabric of gold unlike anything she’d ever seen before. The cloth flowed over his muscular body, reminiscent of molten lava. And he held himself with the regal carriage of a king—proud and arrogant—flanked by two equally sullen watchmen. In matching uniforms of a gunmetal gray. And both eyed their entire group as if the Deadmen were asps who’d slithered across their favorite pair of expensive shoes and had decided to rest there for a spell.
And take a dump.
Something the captain tolerated about as well as she did.
He set Mara down on her feet and tucked her in behind himbefore he moved toward the newcomer to address him as an equal ruler who wasn’t intimidated at all by their dour faces and soured moods.
