Page 40 of A Touch of Brimstone

“Things between us do not have to be contentious,” I said.

“And yet you make it so.”

You’re making being nice really hard. Slow breaths. Don’t knee the prince.

“I’m here to help.”

He scoffed. “You’re here because it’s the pathway to your safety. Let’s not pretend otherwise. It diminishes us both.” His amber eyes danced with fire, and pulling my eyes from them seemed impossible. Was it my imagination or had the room grown hot? It felt sweltering.

“I want my prisoners returned, I want to stop a war, and I want to counter an insurrection. You play an important role in that. Make no mistake, you are a tool. It’s up to you whether you will be one of use.”

So that was his less than subtle way of pointing out my role in determining whether I lived or died. I started to point that out, when he swallowed the space between us and pressed his fingers to my lips. “Don’t answer yet. Think about it, Luna, because your actions will determine your fate. It is in your hands.”

The only thing I could think about was snapping at his finger like a rabid animal. He silenced me. Who does that? My face gave me away every time, and it hadn’t failed this time. The prince removed his finger and turned away and headed for the door.

“Dinner should be ready in an hour. I trust you won’t have any problem finding your way.”

He wasn’t wrong. I paid careful attention to everything, mapping out the house and observing the rooms that were kept closed and the ones where the doors were slightly ajar and anything I could glean from my vantage point. If me slowly following Dominic and stopping to get my bearings bothered him, he didn’t voice it.

One hour to dinner. I took advantage of it and put on paper the Venn diagram that had formed in my head of Dominic’s and his sister’s magical abilities after seeing her grow claws. Any information I had to help make sense of this world and better navigate it was important. At this point, no information was too miniscule, especially discovering the magic of the Prince and Princess of the Underworld and how it intersected or aligned with other supernaturals.

Amoral and possibly sociopathic tendencies seemed to be common to all. Helena and Dominic appeared to possess forms of magic from all groups, so they were inclined toward those behaviors even more. I didn’t care if my bachelor’s in library science didn’t qualify me to make a clinical diagnosis; this was about self-preservation. And as far as I was concerned, I was dealing with people who were even more dangerous because they shared qualities with witches, shifters, and vampires. Off to the side was Nailah, clearly an exception to the rule. Or was she?

There were holes in my information about Dominic and Helena because I didn’t know the extent of their magical ability compared to other supernaturals. How much could they shift? Could they shift into any animal or where they limited to one animal or species? Did they have magical abilities like the Mors? What were their limitations in zoning or whatever they called their form of teleportation? Hopefully over dinner, I’d get some questions answered. The two most pressing things I needed from Dominic were a promise that my family and friends would be safe and the ability to navigate between this world and mine without an escort, if possible. I had a strong feeling it was possible, and he had led people to believe he’d destroyed all the Trapsens.

Dominic was waiting in the kitchen. Surprise flashed briefly on his face. He smiled, a genuine smile. That was as dangerous as his magic. Shifting my attention quickly, I looked past him at the garden, letting some of the potency ease away.

“I’m glad you decided to join me,” he said. The disarming smile had settled nicely on his face and remained as he filled two glasses of wine from the bottle on the counter.

Would you have left me alone if I hadn’t? Play nice. I simply smiled, took the proffered glass, and walked out of the house toward the garden. Dominic headed down a trail leading away from the food on the table on the patio. My stomach wasn’t thrilled about that. Dinner wasn’t just an information-seeking endeavor but also to mend my tattered relationship with Dominic, negotiate the safety of my family and friends, and lay the groundwork to enter the Underworld unaccompanied. And eat.

Him steering me through the garden pricked at the defiance in me, but I knew it was just me grappling for some vestige of control.

His steps slowed to leisurely movements. He was taking in the garden as if appreciating it for the first time. A faint floral fragrance scented the air. The slight breeze that seemed strangely oceanic had me looking around for a pond. There wasn’t one. I gave a side-eye to the man who could create fire. Did he have the same ability with wind and water?

“Is there ever light here?” I asked, increasing my speed to walk next to him.

He shook his head, looked around the artificially lit area, and returned his attention to me, canting his head and giving me an evaluating look. “But that’s not where your curiosity lies, is it, Luna? Ask your real questions.” He stopped our stroll to continue looking at me. I had to work on keeping my thoughts from my face. It’s the very reason I refuse to play poker. Bad hand, you will definitely know about it. Great hand and my beam is a sunburst.

The warm light from the lanterns made his eyes glint. Taking a small sip from my glass, I sorted through the many questions I had.

“The hardest part is I don’t know how far out of my depth I am. You have one faction that wants to reveal themselves to humans, another that will do anything to keep that from happening, and you’re keeping some horrible people alive because they might be needed in case of a war. It seems like it would be easier to just let them be discovered and let humans get involved. It would take away this burden. Supernaturals would have to fall in line or deal with humans and our military,” I said.

Being candid had its merits and left no room for ambiguity. I hoped he returned my candor and gave me straight answers.

He plucked a rose and handed it to me. I took it and inhaled its scent, using that time to recall what he’d done to me. I wouldn’t be lured into putting my guard down.

“A vampire can create a family of hundreds in a week. At ten days old, a well-fed vampire can move faster than your bullets, can compel anyone to fight on their behalf, and can kill before the victim can fully grasp that they’re about to die.”

Dominic studied my face. I wish I knew what he saw because it seemed quite amusing. I inhaled his distinctive scent. His proximity crowded out the redolence of the flowers around us.

Taking my hand that held the rose, he brought it to his nose and inhaled. Moving closer, he devoured any space between us. I was standing in a black-and-crimson garden, with an ocean breeze coming from who the hell knew where, and Dominic was telling me even more horrific things about supernaturals while his face rested just inches from mine.

Focus. I stepped back and took another small sip, teetering between wanting to stay sober through the information and the need to be numb enough to handle it. When he resumed walking, I sidled up next to him.

“Shifters love rules and order, which is why they form packs and thrive best in a hierarchal system.” His eyes continued to study my face. The smile still beveled his lips. “Don’t think for a minute they haven’t infiltrated your military, your police, your government. Although shifters are born and not created, there are more of them than you can imagine.” With a sidelong look, he added, “If discord arises between shifters and humans, shifter loyalty will always be to shifters. You already know how hard it is to kill a shifter. Add their speed and strength and humans have no chance of survival against them.”

We changed direction, heading toward the patio. The food beckoned me, but I continued to focus on him. I needed this information.

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