Kiss of a Demon King

her bindings.

And any time she tried to convince him to let her go, he threatened the gag. She wondered how real that threat was, because he clearly wanted to talk to her

today-but only about one topic. He kept asking her how many times she'd died.

Finally she said, 'Why do you care? Does it soften you to know terrible things were done to me when I was a girl?'

'I... don't know. Do you want my sympathy?'

She shrugged. 'I don't deserve your sympathy.' Though this could have been a maudlin statement, she said it as if it was a fact of life. Because it was.

'The strand of white in your hair. I've heard of that occurring when someone knows fear so bad, it shocks their system. What happened to you, Sabine? Did Omort hurt you?'

'He's never hurt me.' Physically.

'You are still loyal to him?'

She couldn't tell the demon as much as she wanted to, or needed to. She couldn't tell Rydstrom how she hated her half brother, or how much she agreed with Rydstrom-that Omort had to be killed. Anything she said now could be seen by Omort later when they were recaptured. Her brother would force the demon to open his mind. And my betrayal would be there, plain for Omort to see.

'He's protected Lanthe and me for many years,' she hedged. 'And besides, should I be loyal to you over him? You keep me bound, risking my life in this danger-ous place. At least he cherishes my life. He'll be coming for me.'

'I look forward to that.'

'Speaking of loyalty-why would Lothaire betray

Omort for you anyway? Had you two been working together all this time?'

'The vampire wanted something I could give him, and we bargained for my freedom.'

'He's the one who traced us out here?' At Rydstrom's curt nod, she said, 'When would he ever have had a reason to be in Grave Realm before?'

Rydstrom shrugged. 'He said he knew much about the kingdom.'

'Is that so? Then maybe he could've gotten us closer to a portal instead of making us tromp through this gods forsaken place.'

'The portal openers move constantly. Suck it up, sorceress.'

When she stumbled once more, she said, 'Demon, come on!'

'Unless you can tell me another way to render you powerless, the bindings stay.'

'What if I vowed not to use my power?'

'Your vow?' He gave a cruel laugh. 'You'd be gone in seconds.'

'You said there'd be parity, but it's not like I tortured you. I never physically harmed you, yet you're killing me out here.'

'Under your care,' he sneered the word, 'I had my spine severed and a hole punched in my chest.'

'That wasn't my fault-I saved your life.' Her expression lit with realization. 'You're most upset about the three who bathed you, aren't you? I'd thought you might like it!'

'No-you-didn't.'

She nodded easily. 'Okay, that was a lie. But I didn't think you'd hate it, per se.' When he narrowed his gaze, she said, 'Yes, yes, that might be a lie as well.'

'How would you feel if I had three women bathe you?'

She quirked a brow. 'Like I was on a date gone well. And actually, according to your parity rule, you have to arrange for it. And they have to be ravishing, because I sent you choice Inferi-and they were all volunteers, believe me.'

He snapped, 'This is exactly why I will not do that to you-if it's not punishment to you, then it won't be like for like.' He increased his pace.

'What exactly does your parity involve again?' she asked, hurrying to keep up. 'I'm unclear.'

He stopped and turned so suddenly she almost ran into him. Gazing down at her, he said, 'You will have one more night where I am going to make you scream with need-unless you beg me to ease you. After that I won't take you again until you say, 'I beg you to claim me. I need you as my master and surrender my will to yours.' And Sabine, I can wait as long as it takes. You will lose if you match swords with me in a battle of wills.'

'As long as it takes? Exactly how long are you plan­ning to keep me? When will you release me?'

He gave her a strange expression-part possessive, part aggressive. His eyes turned sharply from green to jet-black. 'I won't.'

26

 Over the long day, the landscape gradually trans­formed again. The thickening underbrush tangled at their feet, and wind-whipped trees filled crowded groves. Rivers carved through plateaus, with cliffs over­looking all.

He and Sabine continued to ascend, crossing one shallow stream after another.

: She glared at every bramble, glared at the sun blazing overhead, glared at him whenever he helped her drink from the canteen.

Rydstrom couldn't stop thinking about what he'd learned this morning. Where had he been five hundred years ago when Sabine had been unprotected and tor­tured?

Maybe if he'd been able to let go of his quest for the crown and had searched for her instead, he could have spared her this. My female, slashed like that as a mere girl

Had she been afraid? Had she known what was about to befall her?

She'd said that wasn't the last time she'd been murdered, and, in this, he believed her. So how many deaths had she suffered? Exactly how else had she died? How old was she each time?

No wonder she held life in so little regard.

He'd yelled at her this morning, shaking her to get her to tell him. And something had happened. She'd gotten a look about her, and her eyes had darted. Her swagger had vanished.

As he'd suspected, whenever she was discomfited, she camouflaged her expressions with an illusion of either amusement or patronizing indulgence.

Now there were no illusions. And she was so used to mystickally hiding her expressions that she didn't remember to school them.

Angry, sarcastic Sabine had started blushing today, as well. Whenever she'd caught his gaze on her strand of white hair or her neck, a pink flush colored her high cheekbones. She acted as if he now knew a flaw in her character that she'd tried to keep hidden.

Sabine had become an open book. And what he was reading disturbed him greatly.

She'd asked him if the knowledge of her past had softened his anger. He almost felt numb to that anger, as if his confusion about her had overwhelmed it. At every turn, she confounded him. Like the most complicated puzzle he'd ever encountered.

This situation reminded him of when his Lykae friend Bowen had been trying to win the pretty witch Mariketa. The two had gotten off to a rocky start, since

he'd trapped her in a tomh of Incubi and hadn't rescued her for weeks.

Rydstrom remembered being perplexed by his friend's confusion and weird aggression. Rydstrom had been so smug, calmly advising Rowen to reason the situation out. He recalled Bowen snapping that he was going to enjoy it when Rydstrom found his own woman. She'll make your horns go ramrod straight every time she. saunters by. Bowen had been eager to see her shake Rydstrom's unflappable demeanor.

Was I once unflappable? It seemed a lifetime ago. Now

I comprehend what Bowen had gone through. But the Lykae had ultimately used