Page 31 of Seized to Sacrifice
RYE
Rye paced the library floor, his hands behind his back as he thought. He’d had his doubts about her story, but he’d spoken to Eruk’s friend Oreon, who, it turned out, wasn’t his friend at all. He’d had plenty of vile things to say about the man that Rye had brought into their home.
Thorne was sitting at his usual chair, his feet on the table in front of him, ankles crossed.
‘Losing your touch?’ he smirked, as if he knew Rye’s thoughts.
Rye scowled at him, but he was right. ‘I haven't been so wrong about a human in a long time.’
‘At least we know one thing for certain now that she’s used her power,’ Thorne said, cutting a piece of apple with the small penknife from the desk. ‘It's definitely her. No one else could have destroyed him like that, left those symbols burnt into his flesh. But why these games? Why is she pretending not to know herself or us? Why did she wait so long to show her hand if he was truly hurting her?’
‘You remember how much she enjoyed amusing herself,’ Rye said, standing in front of the casement and looking out into the valley. ‘But perhaps we should consider the alternative, that she truly doesn’t know who she is.’
‘If that’s true then she is at a greater disadvantage than we thought.’
Rye nodded. ‘And it raises questions. What happened to make her return here? It’s no coincidence the slaver found her so near to our keep. She must have known how much we despise her and yet she was clearly making her way to us.’
‘No coincidence,’ Thorne agreed. ‘That bitch is playing us for fools.’
‘Nyx believes her.’
‘Nyx,’ Thorne scoffed. ‘That fucking celibate fool. I suppose if you don’t use your dick for millennia, it clouds your mind, makes you obsess over the first damsel in distress with a plump pair of tits and pretty face who says you make her feel safe.’
Rye snorted. ‘Perhaps. But we need to tread carefully. You know how protective he can be. The last thing we want is for things to go back to the way they were between us after all this time simply because of her. We can’t let her tear us apart again.’
‘Agreed,’ Thorne snarled. ‘Perhaps I should let the Beast run free to tear her to shreds and see if she knits herself back together.’
Rye said nothing, his face blank.
Thorne made a derisive sound and rolled his eyes. ‘I jest, don’t worry.’
‘You’re in control of yourself, aren’t you, Brother?’ Rye asked quietly.
Thone gave a light chuckle. ‘Of course.’
He popped a piece of apple into his mouth and chewed, saying no more about it, and Rye tried to put the Beast from his mind.
‘What if she truly has lost her memory? What then?’
Rye smiled darkly. ‘Well, Brother, then I suppose our revenge will be that much easier and perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone; use her to our advantage.’
Thorne nodded, his lips twisting up into a nasty smile, then he faltered. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, getting out of this fucking prison that she put us in, being able to go through a breach if we choose.’
‘You wish to return to the Dark Realms?’
Rye shrugged. ‘Anything's better than this purgatory we find ourselves in. How long have we been here now?’
Thorne shook his head. ‘I used to keep count,’ he admitted. ‘There's a cell in the dungeon covered in marks, but I gave that up a long time ago. A very long time ago.’
Rye sighed. ‘In truth, I'm far too long in the tooth for missions and quests. I think I'd rather simply grow old and die.’
Thorne sat up, his feet dropping to the floor as he leant forward in earnest. ‘Would she grant such a request?’
‘With the right incentive … and her memories.’ Rye crossed the room and sat down across from Thorne. ‘If we find a way to get her memories back, we’ll make her do what we want.’
‘At least Nyx will agree to helping with half of that,’ Thorne muttered.
