Page 47 of Bound By Darkness

Cambion faces Raflamir and breathes in deeply. “Only tell those of our allies you trust.”

“Son of a bitch!” I growl as I pound the table with my fist.

Cambion glares right back at me. “Raflamir’s right, you fool! We can’t fight Variant alone. We need our old allies.”

“This is going to blow up in our faces!” I protest.

“Can’t believe I be sayin’ this, but the Demon Prince be right. It’s too risky,” the sprite offers as it floats up from Eilish’s lap and sits its round ass on the table.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Revenant leans back in his seat. I notice with anger that Eilish stares at him openly, her expression is one of… admiration.

“There are only three names I can remember from that time,” Revenant begins. “Kolvar, Pyre, and Aima.” He pauses for a moment, as if to make sure the names are correct. “If my fractured memory is correct,” he continues, “then they fought beside us and tried to drive back the enemy angels while we advanced toward Variant on the battlefield.” The vampire’s unsettling gaze narrows on Cambion. I don’t know what his expression means, but it’s clear Cambion recognizes the names. I only recognize two of them.

“Kolvar and Pyre did fight alongside us, yes,” Cambion says to Revenant. “But Aima was an Unseelie advisor… to my brother.”

“She still is,” Raflamir informs us, standing to pace in front of the table. “Aima is the one who told me Variant’s followers are unhappy with him.”

“Did she?” Cambion’s tone is one I can’t place. There was a time when Cambion was in love with Aima—that is before she chose Theren over him and then he never spoke to her again.

“Yes,” says Raflamir, his gaze fixed on the elf. “As Aima tells it, the Unseelie don’t trust Variant’s judgement anymore.”

“This coming from the Unseelie advisor?” I ask with a shake of my head. “The Unseelie who also happened to be Variant’s right-hand men?”

Raflamir nods. “Aima might have been Theren’s advisor during the war, but she now acts as an informant to those who resist Variant’s influences. She can be trusted.”

“So you say,” I growl accusingly.

“So Iknow. Everyone in Earlann is on edge due to the tension between Theren and Variant,” continues Raflamir.

I watch as Cambion straightens in his chair. Theren is Cambion’s brother, but the two of them have never been especially brotherly. And once Theren realized he could take Cambion down from his mighty throne by backing Variant, he did exactly that.

“The Unseelie King,” Raflamir starts, but Cambion interrupts him.

“Call him by his fucking name,” he snaps.

“Theren,” Raflamir corrects and glances at Cambion with an expression that’s anything but amused. “Theren rules with an iron fist, and he’s the only one with enough power and resources to be a true threat to Variant.”

I see Cambion flinch out of the corner of my eye before his expression hardens. His brother’s betrayal is something Cambion rarely speaks of. Revanant and I must be thinking the same thing, because the vampire turns his gaze toward Cambion at the same time I do.

“Theren backstabbed us once before,” Cambion points out.

“I’m aware, but things are vastly different now. Variant is not the ruler he promised to be,” says Raflamir.

I scoff at that—I could have seen the truth in that statement coming a mile away.

“My brother can’t be trusted,” Cambion continues.

“We need Theren and his Unseelie militia if we plan to go up against Variant and his forces,” Raflamir counters.

“He’s right,” adds Revenant. “Without support, we are nothing.”

We… From the sound of it, he’s thrown his lot in with ours. And I have every conviction that the reason why happens to be a buxom blond with the face of an angel who sits beside me.

Damn Revenant to fucking hell.

“Dragan?” Cambion faces me. I’m surprised he’s even asking my opinion.

I shrug. “I distrust your brother as much as you do,” I say simply. The truth of the matter is, I hate Theren. Almost as much as Cambion does. “But, maybe wedoneed him.”

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