Page 30 of Elven Lies

The shifter sucked in a sharp, shuddering breath at the contact and glared at her, as if Harkennr had just served newborn puppies on a platter as the next course and Rebecca had suggested he try one.

But he was still in enough control to know she’d reached out for a reason. So Maxwell reined himself in one more time, because she’d wordlessly asked him to.

Not a moment too soon, either.

When Harkennr removed his hand from his inside pocket, he withdrew not a weapon but something thoroughly mundane and surprisingly non-threatening. A sleek, narrow remote control, though there was no sign of a television in his prison-basement-dining-hall.

“As I’ve told you,” Harkennr said calmly, spreading his arms and waving the remote around casually, as if it were as threatening to his guests as a dinner napkin, “the katari is perfectly fine. Unharmed. Untouched. You may rest easy with that knowledge.”

Maxwell growled again. “You said we had yourword.”

“Of course you do. And I am, if nothing else, quite a man of my word. See for yourselves.” Harkennr aimed the remote at nothing in particular without taking his eyes off his guests and pressed a button.

The same churning, rumbling growl of stone against stone filled the room, but this time, Rebecca immediately saw where it came from.

A panel of stone slid open along the far wall of the basement to reveal a circular raised dais and the gut-churning sight Rebecca had hoped not to find.

It was Nyx, lying motionless in the same type of heavily augmented metallic torture chair as the one they’d seen upstairs. The fact that this one lacked leather straps and iron manacles and boasted a thick layer of luxurious cushioning instead didn’t make it any less palatable.

The chair had reclined enough to make it look almost like a bed. Like Nyx could have been sleeping. But from this distance, it was hard to tell if she was evenbreathing.

Then the worst thought wormed its way through Rebecca’s mind.

If Nyx had been here all along, if she’d already spent too much time in that chair, they might already be too late to save her anyway.

10

“Again, you have my assurances of the katari’s health.” Harkennr gestured with his remote toward the alcove. “Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to work withheras well. A katari’s abilities are exceedingly rare, as you know. If you like, I’d be happy to provide a demonstration this very moment. I dare say the Roth-Da’al would find great benefit in the additional use of a katari’s teleportation—”

“That’s enough,” Rebecca snapped and kicked herself for losing it. She forced her gaze toward Harkennr anyway, fighting to maintain her composure, and dipped her head. “Thank you, but no. I think we’ll pass on any other demonstrations today.”

The warlock’s offer to show what his technology could do, withNyxas the subject, was sickening enough. Worse than that, Harkennr assumed Rebecca would become so much more powerful with Nyx’s magic inside her, and she was certain that was what he’d offered.

As far as she was aware, Harkennr still didn’t know her true identity as the Bloodshadow Heir or even as a Bloodshadow Elf, but he’d seen more than enough of her power in action to recognize the possibilities.

The entire idea made her shudder despite the fire’s blazing heat filling the basement.

Rebecca swallowed the bile in her throat and reminded herself they still weren’t out of the woods yet.

Not until they got Nyx out of that chair and left the protection of the Old Joliet Prison’s walls provided to them by Harkennr’s invitation.

“As you wish.” Harkennr dismissed her reply as if he’d already expected it but still had to ask. Like none of this bothered him in the least, because it absolutely didn’t. “Take all the time you need to mull it over. And I do hope you consider my offer for its invaluable possibilities. As I’m sure you can imagine, underyourleadership, Roth-Da’al, Shade would also benefit greatly from this new technology. If you would agree to something of a partnership between us, there are a great many things we—”

“We’ve seen enough of this new technology,” Maxwell growled, his silver eyes targeting Harkennr with burning hatred. “And we want nothing to do with it.”

Their host’s cruel smile widened. “Oh, what you’ve seen here today barely scratches the surface, shifter. And do correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe you speak for your Roth-Da’al.”

Maxwell’s chest swelled with another deep breath. The audible pop of his cracking knuckles as he clenched his fists told Rebecca he still teetered on the edge of losing it. But he finally averted his gaze from their host and dipped his head toward Rebecca, deferring to her.

“That’s all right,” she told him loud enough for Harkennr to hear. It was all for his benefit, anyway. Then a new idea hit her—a way to gain at least a little more useful information before this was over.

“But now that I think about it,” she continued, turning toward Harkennr, “your technology here does look familiar. I’ve seen something like this recently, though not to the same degree of precision, not to mention discretion. I’d callyourdevices far more sophisticated, without a doubt.”

When Harkennr’s slender, manicured eyebrow twitched upward, she knew she’d caught him on the hook. The guy couldn’t stand a mystery, and once his interest was piqued, he didn’t let it go until he picked it all apart to study inside and out.

“Interesting,” he said. “You’ve seen my technology before?”

“Well, that’s what I’m wondering. The other night, I came across an augmented explosive set with a proximity detonator embedded in concealed casting circles. Approaching the circles initiated a detonation sequence, though fortunately, I never got to see it go off. There was an element to it that feels similar to your work here. The lights, to start. And the effects that technology seemed to have on its nearby subjects.”

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