Another hint of a smile. “I will endeavor to do better.”
“You mean I’m the first to complain?”
“No. But yours is one of two complaints I’m willing to heed.”
What a sweet thing to say. But that’s not going to stop me from hurting him during the next round. “And the other came from…?”
“My brother.”
So far, every time he’d mentioned his brother he’d shut down soon afterward. After last night, she hoped he would trust her with details about what had happened. “The brother you…killed?” She wanted to know more about him, this man she had welcomed into her bed.
“Yes.” He said no more, but the sadness in his tone said enough.
At least he hadn’t changed the subject. “Why did you do it?” Before, she’d speculated that it had been an accident. Now that she knew him better, she had big-time doubts. Zacharel was not someone prone to accidents. He was too guarded, too careful. He would have had a reason.
The ice shuttered back over his emerald gaze. “He was better off.”
Clearly that marked the end of the conversation. But…now she wondered if the brother had been sick. That’s usually what better off implied. Poor Zacharel. “Well, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Before the last word left her mouth, he was on her, his clawed hands shoving her down but not cutting her. Surprised, she flailed as she fell, loosening her hold on one of the daggers.
Between one blink and the next, his weight was pinning her in place, his hand manacling her arms above her head, rendering the weapon she did have useless. Argh! She bucked once, twice, but couldn’t dislodge him.
“If I were truly a demon,” he said with the same coldness she’d glimpsed in his eyes, “what would you do to escape me right now?”
“Bite you when you lean down.” As she’d had to do in the institution time after time.
“And risk swallowing tainted demon blood?”
Rocks filled her stomach, their edges sharp. “What happens when you swallow tainted demon blood?”
“You sicken.”
His tone implied you could die. Trying not to panic, she thought back over the past four years. The only times she’d gotten sick were due to overdoses of the drugs the staff had forced on her. So, she must not have swallowed any of the blood. Right?
“Pay attention to me.” He gripped her shoulders and shook her. “To free yourself, you are to stab one of my horns.”
“Okay, but not all demons have horns.”
“And I will show you how to fight the hornless next time. Today, you learn how to deal with horns.”
In other words, concentrate on the here and now.
“But you’re holding my hands captive.”
“And you cannot somehow trick me into loosening my grip?
Well, yeah. Him, she could. But someone else? “Let’s say I manage it. Wouldn’t the dagger just lodge there, leaving me without any kind of weapon?” Teeth were no longer an option—ever.
“Yes, and that’s the point. The hard outer shell protects a soft, vulnerable center. If you cut into the nerves properly, you can paralyze the demon for several seconds, sometimes even minutes.”
Now, there was a tip she could use.
“All right. Let’s test this theory of yours.”
Just as she geared up to trick him into loosening his grip, three enormous shadows fell over them and Zacharel leapt off her. Thinking the demons had found her, she scrambled to her feet. Rather than a misshapen enemy horde, however, she saw the blond warrior from the institution—Thane. He appeared and landed at her left, white wings threaded with gold outstretched.
At her right appeared a robed warrior with hair and scarred skin the same shade of white. The only color he possessed was in the red eyes even now glaring at her.
Directly in front of her was the biggest male alive—possibly ever created—his skin the most luscious shade of gold she’d ever seen, his eyes a rainbow of brilliant colors.