“Payment?” Dashara asked, her sweet voice trembling with the word. Her hope turned to question as she watched him and Seth knew she was waiting for him to speak. If he did, though, Dominic would suffer. It took everything he had to hold his words back, but he had no choice. Both Dashara and he had willingly accepted their fates when they turned on House Avanti. Their children had not. His son and daughter were innocent and no matter how much it hurt, he would not let them suffer for their parents’ sins, even if it meant letting Dashara die believing he had never cared at all. His throat tightened at the thought but he kept his face carefully neutral. For all he knew, Hemlock would take a frown as a reason to harm his son. The Assassin had specified quite clearly “no movement,” so he wouldn’t even move his lips.
“Don’t sound so confused, girl. Of course, Seth was involved. How else would we have found you so easily? Thanks to him, we now know every traitor in Avanti,” Uindraely’s voice rose from the shadows near the back wall and Seth shifted his gaze to watch her. He hadn’t expected to see her here, but then he should have. Uindraely Merrodin had a habit of being involved in everything unpleasant. She smiled sweetly as she noticed his attention and raised the bundle in her arms. “Your daughter is simply beautiful, Seth. May I congratulate you on such delightful children?” Her dark eyes flashed and Seth had to fight to keep his hands from clenching. Uindraely was a heartless bitch and the thought of her even touching his daughter drove his fury higher. Davahni was barely four months old, yet she showed such intelligence in her dark eyes that Seth had no doubt she knew something horrible was going on. Like his son, though, he was sure the infant didn’t understand exactly how horrible it was. Uindraely raised a hand to brush back her dark hair and sat down on the edge of the table making a show of cooing over his child. “It’s too bad your mommy is such a fool, little darling. This is just not a memory any child should have,” Uindraely murmured in a childish v oice as she bumped a finger lightly under the infant’s chin. “You wanna say bye bye to mommy?” she asked in the same exaggerated voice as she pulled the child’s hand free of the blanket and bobbed it up and down in a mocking wave. “Bye bye, Dashara,” she grinned and turned her attention back to Seth. Her grin widened into a full smile as she winked at him. “Once she is dead, you are all mine, Seth,” she purred.
“We haven’t discussed that fully, yet. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Uindraely,” Donrey Avanti cut in sharply as he eyed Seth with obvious anger. “Seth turned on me, but he has served me for so long that he is almost like family. Some betrayals can be forgiven.” He paused and glared down at his daughter. “Others can’t,” he added softly as he drew a dagger from his belt and examined the razor sharp blade. “Seth did not turn his back on me alone. He was guided from my side by this little bitch. I don’t believe for a moment that Seth wanted to save the world. Seth is a creature of hatred, not a savior.”
“I doubt it was his love of people that led him to betrayal. I doubt it was Dashara either. Most likely it was simply his hatred for you,”
Uindraely mused softly.
Dashara’s eyes met his again and Seth shifted his gaze toward Dominic and then Davahni hoping she would realize he was indicating the children rather than their captors. He saw the recognition in her eyes and she smiled at him sadly and nodded almost imperceptibly.
“You can kill me, but you can’t kill what I stand for. There will always be someone to take my place. As long as you walk the path you are on, someone will always rise up against you.” The room fell silent as Dashara spoke and even Uindraely’s smile faded. “I love you, Seth, and I know you love me too. They can take everything else, but they can’t take that. I don’t need to hear the words. I can see it in your eyes,” Dashara whispered.
“How sweet,” Donrey hissed as the back of his hand slammed into Dashara’s face nearly knocking her from the chair. “No one else will rise against me, you stupid little bitch. When they see what happened to you, they will cower back into the shadows. No one has the strength of Avanti and no one cares about slaves. You threw everything away for worthless wastes of flesh.” His hand slammed into her, punctuating every word until tears began to stream from her eyes. A faint whimper bubbled through her broken lips and Seth’s heart screamed for him to help her. Dashara had never been strong physically. Pain was a weakness for her and he had always tried hard to shield her from harm. He swallowed heavily and struggled to maintain his iron control. His children depended on it.
“Avanti will fall and you will pay for your sins.” Dashara managed the words barely coherent through her battered mouth and sobs. “No life is worthless,” she gasped as her father grabbed her by the face roughly.
“Yours is, Dashara,” Donrey informed her as he lifted the dagger up high enough for her to see. He held her jaw firmly, preventing her from looking away as he lowered the tip to rest just below her eye. “I am going to kill you so slowly that simply the stories of your death will spread nightmares. Anyone who ever shared sentiments with you will cringe at the sound of your name. When I am done tonight, the name Dashara will be a curse,” he promised as the blade slowly punctured her pale ivory skin. Bright blood welled and coursed down her battered cheek as he slowly pulled the knife down her face, skinning the top layer of flesh. “Bring me the salt, Uindraely,” Donrey ordered in a low voice as Dashara screamed in agony.
A faint whimper rose from Dominic and Hemlock shook his head in disapproval. “We talked about this, boy. Do you really want me to cut your sister for your noise?” The sound abruptly faded, though Dominic’s bottom lip still trembled.