Darkness Avenged (Guardians of Eternity #10)(12)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

And that was saying something for a witch who’d been in the employ of an evil god.

Realizing there was something seriously weird going on, she had impulsively driven to this lair and demanded an audience with Styx. It was worth a try.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been for the powerful, lethally beautiful vampire to invite her into his private study where another vampire with long, silver hair and the face of a fallen angel had been standing in the corner. She’d somehow assumed she would be handed off to a flunky to deal with her concerns. But instead the two powerful demons had listened to her claims with a convincing display of interest.

Styx had murmured all the right words and even offered her a cup of her favorite tea. And she’d fallen for his faux sincerity hook, line, and sinker.

“Come into the parlor, said the spider to the fly. . . .”

Sipping her tea, she’d been in the middle of telling him precisely why Gaius had to be captured when she’d felt her tongue go thick and her eyes drift shut.

Drugged.

The coldhearted, treacherous jackasses.

She’d woken only a few minutes ago, her tongue coated in fuzz and her magic muted by the hexes scrawled on the silver walls.

She did have her secret weapon, but it was a talent that only worked on humans, never demons. Or at least it hadn’t until a few weeks ago when she’d accidentally used it on a hellhound who had strayed too close to the house.

She didn’t know if her connection to the Dark Lord had muted her natural talents, or if she’d reached some critical age where it finally blossomed. More likely the hellhound had been weak and she’d been pumped up on adrenaline when it had suddenly appeared on her porch.

In any case, she’d have to be an idiot to try it on a vampire or even a pure-blooded Were.

If she failed and they realized what she’d tried to do . . . Well, being tossed in a cell would be the least of her worries.

Damn Styx and his leech squad. She hated this feeling of helplessness. She’d promised in the past that she would never again allow herself to be at the mercy of others.

Why else would she have agreed to worship the Dark Lord? Or partnered with Gaius?

Now she was back to the beginning.

Prey.

No. With a fierce effort she shook off the rising tide of panic. She wasn’t prey. Never again.

Turning toward the camera hidden in the corner of the cell, she waved her arms. “Heeeellllooo. Can anyone hear me?” she screamed, knowing the vampire monitoring the cameras would be flinching at her shrill voice. Super hearing could be a bitch. “What’s wrong with you freaks? I came here to help you.” She stepped closer to the camera, her voice raising another painful octave. “I risked everything to just try to warn you about Gaius. And what do I get? A reward? An ‘atta girl’? Hell, no. I get locked up like a rat in a cage. Thankless bastards.”

A second later she heard the sound of a distant door opening and closing, then the soft whisper of approaching footsteps. Instinctively she turned toward the bars of her cell, denying the urge to back into the distant corner as a cold, sharp-edged power filled the air.

Vampires thrived on fear. It was an aphrodisiac to the bloodsuckers. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

The brave thought had barely passed through her mind when it tumbled into an abyss of shock at the sight of the male who stepped into view.

And despite being a dreaded leech, he was a male with a capital M.

Wearing jeans, a leather jacket over his T-shirt, and moccasin boots that reached his knees, he had the hard, lean body of a predator. His skin was bronzed and his dark hair brushed his broad shoulders. His features were lean with the high cheekbones of his Native American bloodlines and a proud nose. His brow was wide and his lips cut on sensual lines.

But it was his eyes that made her forget how to breathe.

They were . . . astonishing.

In the overhead light they glinted with a silver sheen, but they were so pale they appeared almost white, the shocking paleness emphasized by the rim of pure black that circled them.

She shivered, feeling as if he could see through every layer of defense she’d wrapped around her vulnerable heart.

Halting close to the bars of her cell, the stranger folded his arms over his chest and regarded her with a mocking smile. “Did you learn such language from your mother?”

The edge of disdain in his voice effectively squashed her unwelcome fascination. Jerk. What right did he have to look at her as if she were something he scraped off the bottom of his moccasin?

“My mother was too busy trying to kill me to teach me anything beyond how to run. Really, really fast,” she mocked in return, moving forward to grasp the bars. As if her knees weren’t trembling and her heart wasn’t slamming against her ribs. “And, oh yeah, never to trust anyone. Something I was stupid enough to forget.”

The astonishing eyes widened, as if she’d truly managed to surprise him.

“Your mother tried to kill you?”

She shrugged. Families. What’cha gonna do?

“Why was I drugged and thrown in the dungeons?” she demanded. “I came here in good faith.”

“We have only your word on that.” He planted his hands on his hips, his jacket shifting to reveal the dagger attached to his belt and the gun holstered at his side.

Holy crap. He had enough firepower to bring down a rabid troll. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or horrified. In the end she was just pissed off.

“And a witch’s word can’t be trusted?” she snapped.

“You admitted you worshipped the Dark Lord,” he said without apology. “That hardly encourages faith in your moral compass.”

“Moral compass? Are you kidding me?” She gave a disbelieving shake of her head. “You’re a vampire.”

“So?”

“You’re the last one who should be judging my morals.” A slow smile curved his lips and Sally’s fingers tightened on the bars. If he’d been handsome when all haughty and disdainful, he was outrageously gorgeous when he smiled.

“Fair enough.”

Concentrate, Sally. This beast is the enemy. No matter how beautiful a beast he might be.

“Then let me out,” she challenged him.

“It’s not my call.”

“This is bullshit.” She glared between the bars. “Complete and utter bullshit.”

“Are you hungry?”

She blinked, taken off guard by the abrupt question. “What?”