Page 51 of Demon Unleashed

Zoltan grimaced. “That would be the easiest, but the three demons who kidnapped you disappeared. And if I’m not mistaken, they’re probably dead. The traitor doesn’t leave loose ends.”

“That’s convenient.”

“Yeah, it is.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “By now he probably knows that I have feelings for you, and he knows he can hurt me by hurting you. He’ll use you to get to me. He’ll never give up. I have to eliminate him.”

“So he won’t take your throne?” Enya shook her head. So all Zoltan was still interested in was his kingdom.

“My throne? You think that’s what this is about? Me being worried about being deposed?” He blew out a breath. “This is about you. Your safety. As long as I haven’t eliminated the traitor, you’ll never be safe from him. He’ll torture you. All because of me. Because I care about you.”

Enya stared at Zoltan. Too many thoughts and questions bounced around in her head. “And once you eliminate him, will you continue sitting on the throne of the Underworld?”

To her surprise, Zoltan let out a mirthless laugh. “Enya, that’s not important right now. Let’s just figure out the best way to get you out of here.”

Something in his expression made the wheels in her brain turn and click. She suddenly understood what he was doing.

“Once you’ve helped me escape, and eliminated the traitor, your days in the Underworld are numbered. Helping a Stealth Guardian escape… It’s committing treason, isn’t it?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Zoltan, tell me the truth. What will happen?”

He hesitated for seconds that seemed to stretch to minutes. “I’ll be fair game for any demon to kill me without repercussions. And whoever succeeds will take the throne.”

Finally it sank in. Zoltan was risking his life for her. “Why?”

“That’s the rule.”

“No, not that. Why are you doing this for me?”

A genuine smile appeared on his lips, and he lifted his hand to brush his fingers over her cheek. “Because you’re worth it. When I look at you, I feel a connection. I feel as if I’ve left a part of myself inside you. And all I can think of is to protect you.” He laughed. “Crazy coming from a demon, isn’t it?”

“No, not crazy. Because that’s how I feel when I look at you. There’s something that binds us together. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Now let’s figure out how to get you out of here and eliminate the traitor so he can’t hurt you like he hurt so many others before you.”

“What did you just say?”

“That he hurt others before you?”

She nodded. “What did you mean by that?”

“Just that he killed humans to interfere with my plans. Like he killed your emissarius Nancy Britton and—”

“And he gave Tessa an overdose of heroin!” Enya interrupted. “You said before that it wasn’t you who did that.”

“That’s right. I wasn’t going to turn Tessa into a martyr so she could win the election. Nor did I authorize to have Nancy killed.” He raised his hands. “That was definitely not my plan.”

“Then I have an idea of how to identify the traitor.”

19

Zoltan stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Enya whispered.

“Then let’s get this show on the road,” he replied, and gripped the shackles around Enya’s wrists before he ripped the door open and dragged her outside.

As expected, Silvana stood guard, the Doberman standing next to her, its nostrils flaring at Enya’s scent.