“I don’t.I’m familiar with your methods.”
She didn’t know his exact affinity or what the masters had given him, but she suspected it was mental.
Like Thea.Only on a much greater scale.
She’d observed a few of his interrogations on those rare times one of his minions crossed him.Their screams still haunted her.The nightmares he’d caused in their minds, the phantom pain he’d subjected them to, it had broken them.
Gus had no intention of following their fate.That’s why she’d acted so decisively.
“Are you sure it’s not a guilty conscious making you see things that aren’t there?”Ryan asked.
Here we go.
“I’m not your traitor, Ryan.Someone is setting me up.”
Ryan’s gaze followed Gus as she rose.“Where are you going?”
“There are matters that require my attention.”
And a traitor, or traitors, to catch.
Ryan shifted in the tree’s hold.“Do you really think these are enough to contain me?”
“I do.”
Ryan set his head back, closing his eyes tiredly.“Let me go, Gus.I promise not to hurt you.”
For a moment, Gus thought about it.
But no.
“Don’t bother trying to escape,” Gus told him.“Ever heard of Lueraheim?”
Ryan opened his eyes to look at her curiously.
Gus fondly patted the trunk next to her.“This tree’s from there.”
Lueraheim was a Tuann proving ground.Its flora and fauna had evolved to be uncommonly strong.TheDominus orbis terrarumwas particularly hardy.Enough to withstand whatever Ryan threw at it.
He wasn’t going anywhere.Not without help anyway.
Ryan relaxed further into his bonds.“You seem to have put a lot of thought into this.”
Gus was glad it seemed that way.In reality, she’d gotten lucky.If Ryan had attacked her anywhere else, the outcome would have been much different.
“Rest, Ryan.I’m sure one of your henchmen will be around shortly to retrieve you.”
Her guess was Pallas.Or maybe Enoch.Hopefully, he didn’t send either of those two after her.
But if he did, she’d handle it.Just like she always did.
“Gus,” Ryan called as she headed toward the trunk she’d used to gain access to the hollow.He waited until she looked at him.“It’s good to see your face again.It’s been a long time.”
Nonplussed, Gus reached up to touch her cheek.Her bare cheek.There was nothing hiding her features from sight.At some point during her descent, her hood had slid down, and she hadn’t thought to pull it back into place because she’d never expected to encounter anyone else here.
Cursing internally, she grabbed the hood and pulled it over her head, giving it one sharp tug to make sure it was firmly in place.
Ryan’s smile was faint and a little too smug for Gus’s liking.“You should let people see you more often.”
