Dark Desire After Dark

'Nah. I just needed your cooperation to get you to my employer here.'

Oh, God…oh, God. Breathe. 'I was part of a…business transaction?'

'Yeah, that's about right.'

Groot chimed in. 'Your guardian sold you over. For a weapon.' He snapped his gnarled fingers, and those foul, rotting soldiers seized her arms. 'Put her in my room.'

'Cadeon?' As they began forcing her out, she cried over her shoulder, 'You don't mean this!'

Cade gritted his teeth, battling not to go to her with every ounce of will he possessed. When he felt Groot studying him, he forced himself to shrug. 'Never trust a demon, love….'

Before, he'd wondered if she'd suspected him. At the look on her face, he knew. She'd really believed in me. She'd trusted him utterly.

She began struggling against the revenants, seeming shocked when she couldn't budge their grip. When tears welled in her eyes, pain stabbed him like a knife to the heart.

Keep it together, five more minutes. As long as the sorcerer was with Cade, he wasn't hurting Holly.

Groot's going to give me the sword, I'll kill him, then come for you. We'll take our chances together….

The door closed behind her. Cade forced himself to breathe.

'She's exquisite,' Groot said with sigh. 'It will make this process that much more enjoyable.'

Cade had never wanted to kill anyone so badly in his life. This sick fuck thought he would have Cade's female, was already envisioning it.

And Groot was brother to the sorceress who had Rydstrom. At that instant, Cade decided he'd kill every single member of that family with the sword Groot was about to give him.

'The revenants look stronger than before,' Cade said, his tone deceptively casual.

'The metal spike. I'm able to infuse them with a hundred times more power, and control their actions even more precisely. They're handy to have around. They're stronger than even, say, a rage demon.'

Holly might not have suspected Cade of anything, but Groot did. 'I'm not here to make trouble. I just want the sword. Get in, get out.'

'Very well. I have it here,' Groot said, crossing to a weapons cabinet. Once he'd collected the sword, he unsheathed it.

The weapon was a thing of beauty to behold, glimmering in the light.

Groot started across the room toward Cade, then faltered. 'Actually, I'll keep my distance, if you don't mind.' He made a motion like he was about to toss the sword. Once Cade raised a hand in readiness, Groot pitched it to him.

When Cade caught the handle, he felt the smallest prick in his palm. Changing hands, he darted his gaze down and found what looked like a silver thorn embedded into the skin. He plucked it free, and a drop of blood welled. 'What the fuck is this, Groot?' But he knew…

'Relax, demon. It's just a little toxin to make you sleep. Your kind is so susceptible to it. You'll wake up unharmed a few hundred miles from here with no memory of how to locate this place.'

Blind panic…rage… Cade charged the sorcerer, bellowing, 'You goddamned bastard! I'm going to feed your heart to—'

The world went black.

43

As the guards led her away to yet another bailey, Holly felt numb with shock. She willed herself not succumb to the tears that threatened.

Holly thought that once she started crying, she'd never be able to stop.

Cadeon had deceived her. He'd lured her into this trap by telling her she could have her transition reversed. And then he'd made sure she was fertile for another man.

Holly had loved him, and he'd feigned the same only to get her here. Had he ever cared about her at all?

When the guards forced her into a bedroom, she fought them, but even with her new strength she could gain no ground. The entry doors audibly locked behind them.

The chamber was dominated by a large bed with black silk sheets, a vile reminder of what this madman intended to do to her.

How could Cadeon betray her like this…?

No, get it together, Holly! She swiped her sleeve over her eyes. She needed to take note of her surroundings. Yes, she'd been wrong to trust Cadeon, but that didn't mean his training didn't make sense to her—or that she wasn't about to need it.

Holly surveyed the area for escape. Besides the main entry doors, there were two other sets. She ran to the first, a narrower door, finding it locked. She tried the next. Also locked. But it felt colder to the touch. It had to lead outside. She thought.

The layout of the castle confused her, and she'd been so dazed as they'd brought her here that she hadn't paid enough attention.

No escape? Then she'd fight. She scanned for weapons. Her gaze landed on two battle-axes crossed high above a fireplace. Just as she'd tensed to leap for one, Groot entered.

The door automatically locked behind him. No keys to steal. 'You look upset.'

Trying to make her voice steady, she said, 'I just didn't see that one coming.' What an understatement.

He gave her a disbelieving look. 'Not even a little?'

She gritted her teeth. She recalled how she'd never fully trusted the demon in the beginning, always having that niggling doubt. But she'd forced herself to ignore her apprehension.

'Well, I'm sure he made you very earnest promises to win your trust. Did he give you the fated female song and dance?' When Holly averted her eyes, he exclaimed, 'Oh, he did!' With a sigh, he said, 'I'm afraid you fell for the oldest trick in the Lore.'

Wait… She faced him again with her chin up. 'There are ways to tell if I was truly his female. I had proof.'

'And who informed you of what that proof might be?'

Oh, my God. Her heart fell. Cadeon had obviously lied about certain aspects of rage demon physiology as well. I'm an idiot! How he must've laughed behind her back.

'Every single thing he told you was a lie. They come more easily to his tongue than the truth.'

'But Nïx also told me—'

'Nïx? You trusted that mad creature? She plays with fates. It amuses her. When you live that long, I suppose you take entertainment where you can get it.'

Betrayed by Nïx as well.

'Now, we both know why you're here,' Groot said. 'Are you going to make this more unpleasant than it needs to be?'

Think! Play along. Buy time. 'No. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of being shot at. Anyone who can keep me hidden and alive looks very good right now.'

'Precisely. I'll keep you protected here. You're much better off without Cadeon.'

'And I'm sick of being betrayed. At least I know at the outset that you can't be trusted.'

'Smart Valkyrie. Now, I just need to make sure the demon departs.' He crossed to the thin door, and it opened automatically. He entered a small anteroom that contained what looked like a master control booth, with two rows of TV screens and monitors, multiple keyboards, and at least four whirring CPUs.

Keep him off his guard. 'Nice system. You know the way to a geek's heart.' She saw all the screens were security camera feeds. 'But paranoid much?'

His tone amused, he said, 'It's not an easy thing when the most powerful sorcerer in the world wants you dead.'