He shrugged, but I could see the pain he was trying to hide behind the casual gesture. “What’s done is done. Can’t change the past.” His voice grew harder, more focused. “So what does Ari want with you? Why drag you into this hellscape?”
I swallowed hard, the taste of fear bitter on my tongue. “He wants to restore the Dark Demons to power. Complete dominion over all the supernatural realms.” My chains clinked as I shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position that didn’t exist. “He doesn’t want any of the supernatural races to have mixed bloodlines. He thinks we’re all...contaminated.”
Darius’s expression darkened. “Sounds like Ari, the sadistic supernatural supremacist.”
“He’s obsessed with Gunnar Khan. He wants to turn him back to what he was—some kind of killing machine.” Shame burned in my chest as I remembered what I’d been forced to do. “I...I had to help capture him. Gunnar had fought so hard to protect his wife, Ebony. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her. And I’d been the one to deliver him into Ari’s hands—back to the people who wanted to strip away his humanity and turn him into a weapon.”
“Ebony?” Darius frowned. “I should know that name. Damn it, I can’t remember.”
“What about Gunnar?”
He jerked back. His entire body went rigid, and he whispered the name again, as if tasting something half-remembered. “I know that one.”
“Wait.” He shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs from his mind. The name had finally registered, cutting through the fog. “Gunnar Khan—you said Gunnar Khan? The former Dark Demons’ healer?”
“Yes, yes.” Excitement flickered through me. Maybe he could help me find a way to stop Ari.
Darius shook his head slowly, his eyes unfocused as he stared at something I couldn’t see. “Long blond hair? Blue eyes? Some kind of intricate tattoo covering his chest?”
“Yes,” I said, recognition flooding through me. “He’s got blond hair and blue eyes. I’ve never seen his tattoo, but I heard it’s a dragon.”
“It’s coming back—talking about it helps. I remember more now.” Darius’ voice grew stronger as memories surfaced.
“Please, please keep going.”
“For what I remember, Gunnar was evil, twisted by his father into something monstrous. He was a healer for the Dark Demons, but he was also their most deadly weapon. Gunnar has the ability to kill you just by touching you or he can heal you, depending his choice.”
Terror shot through me. Ari wanted to turn Gunnar back into that—a weapon that could kill with a single touch. Enzo wouldn’t stand a chance. None of them would. I had to find a way to stop Ari before he succeeded.
“And he chose to betray his father? Why?”
“He came to our side because my brother, Armond, healed him.” Darius’ expression grew wondering. “My twin brother—how funny how I’d forgotten him when he’s the most important person in my life.”
“Are you a healer too?” My mind raced with possibilities. If Darius could heal, if we could escape this dungeon together, and I could open the portal—he could heal Enzo and the others.
Darius shook his head. “No, I’m not a healer. I’m a runner.” He winked. “Faster than the speed of light.”
Maybe all wasn’t lost. He might not be a healer, but if he was fast, maybe that could help us escape this place. “Ari said Gunnar could heal Enzo. He was entangled in magic vines that were literally ripping him apart. He’s a made vampire and practically immortal, but Ari said he would eventually die without help. It had something to do with his tattoo. Is that true?”
“Possibly. You never know with Ari—he tells just enough truth to make his lies believable.” Darius’s eyes grew distant as more memories surfaced. “Gunnar has a tattoo on his chest of a Cantan Dragon—Hades.”
“You’re kidding? The tattoo dragon has a name?”
“Yeah. When Gunnar calls him, he peels off his chest. Hade’s small but fierce as hell.” A genuine smile crossed Darius’s face for the first time since I’d been chained next to him. “He has the ability to heal anyone infected with dead demon blood.” His chuckle echoed off the stone walls. “Ari’s actually afraid of him.”
Hope surged through me so powerfully it hurt. Gunnar could save Enzo—actually save him. And Ariwasafraid of him. That meant Gunnar had power, real power. If I could just get to him before Ari’s spell completed, before Gunnar was turned back into a weapon...maybe there was still a way to win this.
But then his expression darkened, the brief moment of lightness vanishing. “Hades is bound to Gunnar’s soul. If Gunnar goes dark, so does Hades. They would be almost unstoppable if Ari manages to change them both.”
“Tsk, tsk, Darius.”
The mocking voice slithered through the darkness like a blade against skin. “Giving away all of my secrets?”
Ari emerged from the shadows, his pale face gleaming in the torchlight, Queen Alanna gliding behind him like a cobra ready to strike. The room seemed to shrink around them, the air thickening with menace.
My heart plummeted. They were here—both of them. Whatever they wanted, whatever they’d come to do, it wouldn’t be good. I pressed myself back against the wall as far as the chains would allow, every instinct screaming danger.
Darius yanked on his chains, the metal rattling in a desperate, furious rhythm. “Fuck you, Ari.”
