Chapter 64
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Ryker
It had been a while since I last saw the duke’s fiancée and Leo’s daughter. She was as I remembered, with her beautiful face, tall, willowy figure, black hair, and her father’s brown eyes.
While Leo’s eyes had always sparkled with warmth and laughter, hers were cold and flat. I didn’t know what had brought her here and didn’t ask; I’d wait for her to speak first.
Bria’s gaze raked over me before settling on my missing finger. When her eyes met mine, I quirked an eyebrow but still didn’t speak.
Two guards stood behind her; they held the torches but didn’t look at me as they stared straight ahead. The blank look in their eyes wasn’t right, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on where I’d seen it before.
“Your father intended to toss me aside as his fiancée and give me to you,” Bria stated.
I didn’t know what I’d expected from her, but it wasn’t this. “Did he tell you that?”
She snorted. “I’m not a fool. I know that what he truly craves is power, and he means to push me aside for that woman… that lightning bearer.”
She said the words “lightning bearer” as if they disgusted her, but she still spoke with me. Resting my arm against the bars over my head, I assumed a casual posture I didn’t feel as I waited to see what had brought her here.
“I will not allow him to toss me aside for another woman,” she continued.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I doubt he has plans for us to marry anymore. Missing finger or not”—I held up my left hand and wiggled my remaining fingers at her—“I’m married to that lightning bearer, and Veni can’t change that… no matter how badly he wants to.”
Her lip curved in revulsion as she eyed my missing finger. I didn’t know if the missing digit or the knowledge I’d married Ellery repulsed her more.
“He could kill you,” she stated.
“He could, but he won’t.”
“And why is that?”
“Because he enjoys torturing me too much, just like he enjoys brutalizing everyone he meets.”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “Leo was my father, and this is my kingdom. I am the rightful heir to his throne.”
A few sounds of surprise came from the other cells, but the guards’ expressions didn’t change, and their eyes stayed blank. Few in Tempest knew Bria’s true heritage; the duke had kept it from almost everyone, including the aristocrats.
The guards’ lack of a response made me realize why the blank expression in their eyes looked so strangely familiar.
Bria was half amsirah, but her other half was dark fae, and if there was one thing dark fae knew how to do, it was fuck.
And in doing so, if a man or woman allowed them to, the dark fae could shadow kiss someone and take over their minds.
Once a dark fae had shadow kissed someone, all their victim craved was sex and to please the ones willing to give them what they sought. These men were no longer under Veni’s control; Bria was gaining a following all her own.
There’s no way the duke knows about this. He wouldn’t tolerate anything beyond his control, and he certainly wouldn’t accept it from a woman he considered lesser than him, even if she was the true heir to the throne.
He wouldn’t cast her aside until he had Ellery in his control, but he would toss her aside. They were engaged to be married, but there was no love between them; it was all a power play on their parts.
I suspected that neither of them had ever intended to follow through on their engagement. They were using each other to gain the throne, and once they did, they’d probably each try to kill one another in their sleep.
Or maybe they’d do it while the other was awake. It didn’t matter to them how the other died, and it sure didn’t matter to me.
It would be rather fitting if they killed one another… except, I’d much prefer to kill the duke.
“Perhaps you should tell Veni that, or maybe some of the other aristocrats. He’s kept the secret from them, but they might be willing to help you gain the throne,” I replied.
There was no way they’d go against the duke, not even for Leo’s daughter, but someone might be dumb enough to decide they’d marry her. Or maybe we’d all get lucky, a civil war would break out, and they’d all kill one another.
“Where’s the woman?” Bria demanded. “I’ll help get her away from your father and keep her safe.”
I released a harsh bark of laughter. “Leo was my best friend, and you’re his daughter, but I trust you as much as I trust Veni.”
“I’ll ensure your father doesn’t get his hands on her.”
“By trying to kill her?”
“I wouldn’t—”
“Let’s not play games, Bria. I’m not an idiot, no matter what Veni says. Your father taught me the art of war, planning, and scheming. I’ve seen it all a thousand times before. I’d die before I ever told you where she is.”
Her jaw clenched as she lifted her chin. “I can do things to you too.”
“What could you possibly do? All those who tried to break me have failed. Just ask Veni how it worked out for him. And if you think that what’s between your pretty little thighs tempts me, you’re greatly fucking mistaken.
Your father was my best friend, and I would have protected you because of it, but if you died tonight, I wouldn’t give a shit. ”
When she glared at me, I smiled back. She was a scheming bitch who was used to getting her way, but she wouldn’t with me.
Her gaze flickered to Tucker and the other prisoners. “What about them? Are they all so loyal to her too?”