Page 72 of A Dawn Of Blood

He sneers. “You think you’re the first woman who’s ever tried to seduce me? I’ve had countless throw themselves at my feet, all immensely more desirable thanyouare. But youdoall haveonething in common.”

Successfully fighting off the sting of the words, I ask, “Yeah? What is it?”

“You make the mistake of assuming I’m one of you, a slave to lust and emotion, when I’m not, never have been and never will be.”

The words make me frown. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? It could be an opportunity to anger him and make him say more. “Are you trying to tell me you’re keeping yourself pure for daddy, Hot Stuff?” I ask mockingly.

I see a muscle in his jaw jump. “How dare you?” he snarls as my eyes get drawn to the hands balled into fists at hissides. They’re radiating magic and the magic is starting to seep through the cage, despite all the wards. “I’m the general of the greatest army this world has ever seen, the Guardian of the King’s capital and the heir to the throne. You don’t even have the right to address me, let alone use nicknames.”

I take a step back, unpleasantly surprised and wary of his magic, but choosing to sneer to anger him even more. “Yeah, nevermind that, you’ve just shown your hand.”

When he realizes what happened, he moves to lunge at me and I stumble back, but it’s at that exact moment that the others barge in.

“Don’t you dare,” I hear Dryden yell out as I regain my footing.

“No, it’s fine,” I say without tearing my eyes off Cain, my heart pounding.

Fuck. This means he could escape after all. Or worse, hurt one of my people.

I throw a glance over my shoulder to see the entire team watching him like hawks. “Listen, everyone,” I say as I turn my eyes back onto Cain, “we don’t seem to be blockingallof his power. He obviously can’t kill, but hecanhurt you if you get close enough.” I force myself to smile, determined not to let him think he’s winning. “So we simply won’t be getting close enough, will we?”

It’s a disappointment, to see he’s back to cold indifference.

“We can do better thanthat,” Dryden comes to tell me.

I turn to him, frowning. He calls everyone else over and uses Tension Magic to envelop us all in a soundproof bubble. “There’s magic that would render himone hundred percentpowerless.”

I press my lips tight with frustration. “Why aren’t we already using it?” I snap a little.

He gives me an annoyed look. “It comes with a price no one normally wants to pay.”

“I’ll pay it,” I grit out without a moment of hesitation.

I don’t wait for a reaction. I have an idea on how to try to use this.

“Thank you, Dryden,” I say, loudly, as I step out of his bubble. “I have good news,” I turn to tell Cain. “It seems we’ll be ridding you of your magiccompletely.” I pause to quirk an eyebrow at him. “Unless you choose to change your mind and talk to me, for real this time.”

Now he’s back to gritting his teeth, but it’s clear to me he won’t be taking the deal. “Don’t think you’ve won. I’ll find a way out of here even if it kills me, witch. And when I do… Let’s just say I’ll enjoy watching what my father does to you.”

The words render me speechless for a moment, but I don’t show emotion. I smile at him. “Adorable. Sleep tight, Hot Stuff, and dream of me, won’t you?”

Chapter 54

On edge - despairing - determined

A few days later, Dryden texts me to come to the Main Hall. I don’t ask what for. I already know. For days now, we’ve been ready to leave for Uppsala. We’ve only been waiting for him to finish working on the solution for the problem of Cain.

Taking a deep breath, I get up and leave my room. There are many feelings waging war inside me, but it’s mostly guilt and sadness. Guilt because I wish there was another way to go about this. Sadness because almost everyone else — Raven being the only exception — agrees that I shouldn’t feel bad about it.

He’s a ruthless killer, they tell me. The way we’re treating him is already more than he should ever expect.

It’s with a heavy heart that I enter the Main Hall and find them all gathered there.

But it’sCainmy eyes fix on as I walk — my biggest source of confusion, anxiety and sadness right now. His gaze snags on mine, but only for the briefest moment.

I find him in the exact same position I always seem to find him — sitting in the corner from which he has the clearest view of all of us, his legs spread, his forearms resting on his thighs and his eyes relentlessly scanning his surroundings.

Every time I lay my eyes on him, I wonder how he does it. It’s been days since we brought him here, and he’s still not sleeping, eating or drinking, all the while making it seem as if none of it is bothering him in the slightest.

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