Dani’s ring.
“Where did you get that?” he asked, straining against the chains to get a better look as Torquil stepped away.
“This?” he asked innocently, holding his hand up to display the adornment. “Ah, this came courtesy of the new event which set me to reevaluating all my plans for you.”
“What have you done with her?” Malcolm demanded. “If you’ve harmed her . . .” He would make Torquil pay. If it took until the fires of Asgard burned out, he would make Torquil pay.
“Yer wife is well. For the moment.” Torquil rested one leg against a table near the wall. “As long as you behave yerself.”
His wife?Did Torquil think to test him? Or was it possible that Torquil lied about Dani being here? Obviously his brother didn’t know as much about her as he pretended. But he did hold her ring, and Dani had made quite clear the value she placed on the jewel. She would not have allowed it out of her possession willingly without good reason. Whatever trickery she was about, he had no intention of exposing her story.
“What would you have of me?”
“Yer pledge of fealty to me, to begin with. To me, above all others, as yer rightful lord.”
Malcolm’s teeth felt as if they might crack from the pressure he exerted on them. His honor or the woman who meant more to him than life itself?
“You’ll have it. Though I find myself unable to take to my knee at the moment to give the pledge you seek.”
“By Odin’s eye,” Torquil muttered, pushing off the table to pace. “So it’s true. She is that important to you. All of Asgard has smiled on me this day.”
The expression on his brother’s face did not bode well.
“Release me and I will do as you ask. I’ll pledge the House of MacGahan to yer service.”
Torquil threw back his head and laughed. Laughed until he wrapped his arms around his midsection and leaned one shoulder against the wall.
“And what would be the fun in that?”
Malcolm stared, helpless to understand what he needed to offer to ensure Dani’s safety.
“I see from yer face, great Warrior of Odin, you begin to recognize what I want.”
His brother misread him. It wasn’t understanding that radiated from him, but desperation. Pure, soul-killing desperation to save Dani.
“Tell me, Torquil. No games. Tell me what you want me to do.”
“I want you to suffer!” the other man hissed, eyes flashing, spittle flying from his mouth. “I want yer misery to repay the disgrace my father brought upon our bloodline the day yer whore of a mother pushed you out to breathe yer first.”
At last Malcolm understood. It was not within his power to appease this madman.
“I needed only to ascertain how important the woman was to you.” Torquil resumed his pacing, his eyes alight with his schemes. “So many options to consider. Toss her into the oubliette to die with you? You would be miserable, but I wouldn’t really be able to enjoy your misery firsthand. I could bring her here, to chain her to this table and slowly disembowel her while you watch.”
A light-headed nausea settled over Malcolm as he felt the blood drain from his face. Torquil was no mere madman, but a full-fledged monster.
“And yet, that too, would be over so quickly. A matter of hours at best.” Torquil shook his head, twisting the ring as he paced. “No, I want yer suffering to go on. Days, perhaps weeks or months before I allow you to escape yer pain by sending you to the oblivion of Niflheim.”
“You may have yer revenge on me, but if you harm Danielle, the MacGahan will never be yers. Patrick will see to it for me.”
It was a desperate card to play, but the only one he seemed to have left.
“I had considered that problem, but the arrival of yer lady here at Tordenet Castle has changed all that. And as for Patrick, I’ll deal with him in his own time, just as I deal with you now.”
Malcolm shook his head, denial the only defense left him.
“It was meeting yer dead wife’s mother what gave me the idea.” Torquil chuckled, as if to himself. “In truth, I considered tossing her into the oubliette with you, but I’m no sure even you deserve to be held captive with that harpy.”
Elesyria was here! Of course, it made sense. Dani wouldn’t have traveled without another woman’s company. But the Elf! And, more important yet, Torquil didn’t recognize what creature he confronted.
