Page 76 of The Empty Throne

The final figure, an older man, finallyspoke. "He'll kill you too, in the end. That ring won't saveyou."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Lindquist asked."Too lust-drunk to know who and what I'm fucking? Of course hemight kill me one day. My only request was that he make it quickand painless, that I never see it coming." That left all three ofthem staring at him with mouths agape. Cohea finished quietly, "Iknow the man I love better than you ever will, and if I were you,I'd be more careful about how you speak to me."

"It's not a crime to be concerned for yourwelfare, Your Grace."

Behind the man in the middle, the loudest andboldest of the three, Keris pressed the edge of his dagger to thefront of his throat and said, "I have no care for what you sayabout me, little rat, but that you're upsetting Lindquistdoesconcern me. I suggest you take your annoying squeakingfar away from us before I solve the problem myself."

The man lost all color, probably wonderingjust how long Keris had been lurking behind him. How not a singleone of them had noticed.

As they ran off, probably throwing fearfullooks over their shoulders, Cohea crooked a finger. Smirking, Kerissheathed his dagger and obeyed, splaying his hands across Cohea'schest, tilting his head up and back for the kiss that Coheapromptly gave him, biting and sucking at those lush, smirking lipsuntil they were red and swollen.

When they eventually parted, he asked, "Sowhy did those three in particular seem peeved by ourrelationship?"

"Because Baron Oless's father paid me to killhis wife, Oless's mother, and while he'll never be able to proveit, Oless knows I did it. The girl is his lover, and the boy is theyoungest son of his best friend, and rumor has it he's to bedeclared his heir. Don't you keep up with all this gossip?"

"I knew the heir thing. Not the lover, that'sa bit unpleasant; she must be at least thirty years younger."

Keris scoffed. "You're never too young to gotreasure hunting." His eyes gleamed, like moonlight on freshspilled blood. "Making those too young do it, however, is anothermatter entirely."

Cohea grunted in agreement. Keris had agreedto give up being an assassin for him once all of this was over, buthe had asked for one exception and one only: that if he found childpredators, he could deal with them as he wished. Cohea had not seenan issue with that, and he didn't give a fuck about the legalitiesof the matter. Anyone who thought obeying the law was moreimportant than protecting a child from abuse and rape wasn't worthhis time.

"What are you doing here?" Cohea asked. "Iknow you did not come to socialize of your own volition."

Keris huffed the barest laugh. "I was on myway to our room when I saw you. Thought I'd sneak up on you, seewhat that got me. Then I saw you speaking to them, overheard whatthey were saying, and wasn't going to let that stand."

Cohea sighed, long and loud, at the look onhis face. "What else are you planning?"

"Nothing involving bloodshed, sadly."

Cohea gave him a look.

Rolling his eyes, Keris relented. "I wasgoing to stalk them for a few days each, so they see me every timethey turn around, ratchet up that fear and anxiety." He touched histongue to his top lip, eyes filled with delight. "They'll never runtheir mouths again, and I won't be bored for a few days."

"Bored?" Cohea narrowed his eyes, then shotout a hand, gripping Keris tightly by the throat and dragging himin close. "Bored? Are you complaining about my treatment of you,little toy?"

Keris's face filled with smug satisfaction."What if I say yes?"

"You want to play, little snake? We willplay. Here's the first round: you're going to come with me while Igo spend time with my friends."

That turned the smugness into a pout that wasentirely too adorable on a man as lethal and unstable as Keris."What is the point in making me do that? You'll just make everyoneelse miserable, and while I have no issue with that, if you want todo all those tedious things that tiresome normal people enjoy andactually enjoy them, my presence will impede that."

"You're going to come with me, and you'regoing to behave," Cohea said, calm and implacable. "You don't haveto socialize, but you're not going to be mean either. I like havingyou with me, even when I can't fuck you and put you in yourplace."

"Fine," Keris bit out, like he was about tobe subjected to the most excruciating pain on the planet. "Speakingof my place…"

Cohea's brows rose. "Do I want to know?"

Keris tossed his head, gazing at everythingbut Cohea, and said, "Your manor is going to need a thoroughcleaning, and some repairs to the entry hall. I did what I couldbefore I left, but I didn't exactly have leisure time."

"Who did you torture to death in my house?"Cohea asked with amusement.

Still not looking at him, Keris replied, "Twoof the cretins who hurt you when you were captured by Fazekas."

He should definitely be horrified, but he hadBound himself to Keris with complete awareness. He'd fallen in lovewith all that Keris was and wasn't long before the Binding. Ofcourse when presented with an opportunity for revenge he would takeit. Given how viciously possessive he was, they had probablysuffered for every last second that Keris could spare to torturethem.

Cohea could not bring himself to be troubled.He vividly remembered the glee with which those men had beaten him.If they took pleasure in administering one beating—that was clearlynot their first—then there was no telling what else they found joyin. Call him a hypocrite, but he preferred to limit the number ofpeople who found pleasure in such things. Most of them did not haveKeris's restraint, or his willingness to tolerate someone else'srestraint.

"What do I get for all this inane, stupidbehaving?" Keris demanded.

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