Immortals After Dark 09 - Pleasure of a Dark Prince

as an eggshell.”
    Lucia added, “Lachlain, when she finds a moth inside and tries to free it—well, if she accidentally dusts its wings, she’s distraught for an entire night. I just don’t see her killing this fiend on his home ground when our fiercest Valkyrie have failed to do so on a field of battle. And Furie, the strongest of us? If Demestriu could be killed by a Valkyrie, then surely she’d have done it.”
    “You doona know Emma as I do. No’ anymore—”
    “Then what does she mean when she says Furie is alive but shouldn’t be?” Lucia demanded, afraid to hope….
    “She’s been imprisoned by the Horde. Demestriu never expected her to live this long.”
    Lucia swayed.
Imprisoned? Perhaps trapped at the bottom of the ocean?
In a smaller voice, she asked, “And when she says King Kristoff has her blood?”
    “They’re first cousins.”
    Her lips parted in surprise.
“Furie lives.”
    “If you doona believe me, there’s a video of the entire fight. I left it with Bowen, a member of our clan.”
    Garreth stopped gaping at Lachlain and turned to Lucia. “Go get it. For Annika to see.”
    She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to go to the clan?”
To the compound? The kennel?
    Garreth said, “Tell them I sent you, and they will no’ hurt you. I vow it.”
    Please.
“I know they won’t
succeed
in hurting me. But you’re sending
me
, who’ll be carrying a
bow
, among your people. They will not thank you for it.”
    “I would do it myself,” Garreth snapped. “But I canna since I’ve been put in a cage after coming to
your
rescue.”
    What if all he said was true? Then Emma desperately needed to drink from Lachlain. But Annika would never allow it without proof. “I’ll retrieve and review it,” Lucia said, “then give it to Annika, if it’s as you say.”
    Lachlain growled low in his throat, straining against the bars. “Damn it, that will take too long. Can you no’ just take my blood for her to drink?”
    “Annika forbids it. I’m… sorry.” She turned for the stairs.
    Regin met her as she was hurrying toward the front door, about to haul ass to the kennel. “Where are you going?”
    “Apparently I’m traveling to the Lykae compound. Lachlain swears there’s a film that shows little
Emma
killing
Demestriu
. Stay here and call me if
anything
happens.”
    Once she was gone, Garreth continued to stare at the door, telling Lachlain, “Lousha will be quick about it.”
    “How long have you known she’s yours?”
    That obvious?
Garreth faced his brother. “A while now.”
    “I wondered why you were so eager to remain,”Lachlain said, examining the cell for weaknesses. “You’ve no’ told her?”
    “Lousha’s tricky. And I suspect she’s a runner. Tell her something she does no’ want to hear and she’ll disappear. And she feels no love for me. She’s the reason I’m here in the first place,” he admitted. “She’s an unmatched archer, but suffers agonizing pain when she misses her target—that’s why she’s so bluidy good. Annika set a trap, baited it with Lousha missing and screaming in pain, and I ran headlong. I should have known there was no way she’d miss again. You’ve never seen a creature shoot as she—”
    “I have a good idea.” Lachlain drew his shirt aside, exposing a wound on his shoulder.
    I’ll bluidy kill her. She went to Scotland and shot my brother!
    “I harbor no anger toward her.” Lachlain fisted two bars, struggling to stretch them apart. “They’ve reinforced these?”
    “Aye.” Garreth joined him, grasping the same bars Lachlain contended with. “These creatures ally with the witches. Annika told me nothing
physical
can bend these.”
    When they both failed to make a dent, Lachlain began pacing, only stopping to punch one of the cement walls.
    “I canna believe she shot you.” Garreth had known she’d been gone for an entire day before Emma had returned but hadn’t thought she’d been to Scotland and back. “When we get out of here, I’ll—”
    “No, I doona care. Especially since you seem to accept that my mate’s a vampire.”
    Not bothering to hide his exasperation, Garrethgrated, “I would no’ give a damn if she was a Fury, as long as you are content with her. And it’s clear you are.”
    “Aye, but I have to get to her.” Lachlain knelt down, clawing at the floor.
    “At least we’re no’ chained. When they open this door, we can attack.”
    “I’d prefer to be only chained,” Lachlain