Heir to the Shadows

louder. *For shame, Lady,* Saetan said, using a Black thread to keep the conversation private. *Breaking a promise to your little Brothers. Care to agree to my terms now, or shall we all snarl a bit longer?*
    Her venomous look was not only an answer but a good indication of how often she lost these kinds of "discussions" once Ladvarian and, therefore, Kaelas made up their furry little minds about something.
    "My Brothers." Saetan tipped his head courteously toward Ladvarian and Kaelas. "The Lady would never break a promise without good reason. Despite the risks to her own well-being, she has pledged herself to a delicate task, one that cannot be delayed. Since this promise was made before the one she made to you, we must yield to the Lady's wishes. As she said, this is important."
    *What's more important than the Lady?* Ladvarian demanded.
    Saetan didn't answer. Jaenelle squirmed. "My . . . mate ... is trapped in the
    Twisted Kingdom. If I don't show him the way out, he'll be destroyed."
    *Mate?* Ladvarian's ears perked up. His white-tipped tail waved once, twice. He looked at Saetan. * Jaenelle has a mate?*
    Interesting that the Sceltie looked to him for confirmation. Something to keep in mind in the future.
    "Yes," Saetan said. "Jaenelle has a mate."
    "She won't have if she's delayed much longer," Jaenelle warned.
    They all politely stepped aside and watched her painfully slow journey down the corridor.
    Saetan had no doubt that she would use Craft to float her body as soon as she was out of their sight, which would put more strain on her physically but would also speed her journey to the Dark Altar that stood within Ebon Askavi. And except for being carried, that was the only way she was going to reach the Gate that would take her to the Keep in Terreille.
    After Ladvarian and Kaelas had trotted off to tell Draca about the Lady's mate, Saetan turned to Lucivar. "Come into the healing workroom. I'll take care of that arm."
    Lucivar shrugged. "It's not bleeding anymore."
    "Boyo, I know the Eyrien drill as well as you do. Wounds are cleansed and healed." *And I want to talk to you in a shielded room away from furry ears.*
    "Do you think she'll make it?" Lucivar asked a few minutes later as he watched Saetan clean the shallow knife wound.
    "She has the strength, the knowledge, and the desire. She'll bring him out of the Twisted Kingdom."
    It wasn't what Lucivar meant, and they both knew it.
    "Why didn't you stop her? Why are you letting her risk herself?"
    Saetan bent his head, avoiding Lucivar's eyes. "Because she loves him. Because he really is her mate."
    Lucivar was silent for a minute. Then he sighed. "He always said he'd been born to be Witch's lover. Looks like he was right."
     
    2 / Terreille
    Surreal watched Daemon prowl the center of the overgrown maze and wondered how much longer she would be able to keep him here. He didn't trust her. She couldn't trust him. She'd found him about a mile from the ruins of SaDiablo Hall, weeping silently as he watched a house burn to the ground. She didn't ask about the burning house, or about the twenty freshly butchered Hayllian guards, or why he kept whispering Tersa's name over and over.
    She'd taken his hand, caught the Winds, and brought him here. Whoever had owned this estate had either abandoned it by choice or had been forced out or killed when Dhemlan Terreille had finally caved in to Hayll's domination. Now Hayllian guards used the manor house as a barracks for the troops who were teaching the Dhemlan people about the penalties of disobedience.
    Daemon had watched passively while she'd used illusion spells to fill in the gaps in the hedges that would lead to the center of the maze. He'd said nothing when she created a double Gray shield around their hiding place.
    His passive obedience had melted away when she called in the small web Jaenelle had given her and placed four drops of blood in its center to awaken it, turning it into a signal and a beacon.
    He'd started prowling after that, started smiling that cold, familiar, brutal smile while she waited. And waited. And waited.
    "Why don't you call your friends, Little Assassin?" Daemon said as he glided past the place where she sat with her knees up and her back against the hedge. "Don't you want to earn your pay?"
    "There's no pay, Daemon. We're waiting for a friend."
    "Of course we are," he said too softly as he made another circuit around the center of the maze. Then he stopped and looked at her, his gold eyes