Page 79 of Marked By the Dark Lord
“We seem to be at an impasse,” the Dark Lady said. “I want her dead, to tie up loose ends. You want her alive for the same. How do you propose we deal with this?”
“A trade,” I replied, holding up the sack I’d been holding. “Her, for this.”
The Dark Lady stared curiously from beneath her shadows, keeping her face mostly veiled. I could have pierced the magical concealment if I chose, but I didn’t, letting her have her fun.
“What do you have to trade for her life?” she asked.
“The book that her powers were harnessed to,” I said. “That’s how she passed into my territory without me realizing who she is.”
“And that matters to me why?”
“Whoever bound her power to it also bound a Fae from House Duloke into it,” I said. “A traitor, working within your own house. Sound familiar?”
“And how do you know I haven’t already killed this traitor? It was likely her father.”
I smiled tightly. “The magic has a woman’s touch to it.”
That got the attention of both of them. Based on Mila’s story about where she’d gotten the book, I'd figured out that the woman running the bookstore must have been a Fae, someone aligned with House Duloke. Given that the Dark Lady was saying Mila’s father was a traitor, that theory now stood on shaky ground. I didn’t know what her father had been planning, nor did I care. All that mattered was that there was still a chance the person who had bound Mila to the book was still alive.
The Dark Lady looked from me to Mila and back. “What is your angle here, son of Duloke?”
I shook my head sharply. “I do not associate with them. I left a long time ago. We stand apart.”
She snorted. “One does not leave their line behind,” she chuckled. “Things are changing in Duloke.”
“If you mean to hint cryptically about my brother’s coup, I assure you, I know, and I intend to do nothing about it. I am here for the woman and the woman only. Do we have a deal?”
Lallandri’av looked down at me thoughtfully. “You seek to appear aloof and uncaring, Korr’ok, son of Char’ok. But I sense great turmoil in you. You hide it well, but a woman’s intuition is often stronger than any magic. You branded this woman, but you act as if she’s your prisoner. You care not for her?”
“No,” I said gruffly after taking a second to gather myself.
The grin was more felt than seen. I wasn’t fooling her for a second. I was furious with Mila for lying, but I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. Not yet. I had let myself grow too close to stay impartial.
A failure that I will not repeat.
“I shall think about your trade proposal,” the Dark Lady said. “I shall respond within two days. Until then, Korr’ok, I extend to you the hospitality of my House. You may stay here, and I vow not to order any of my servants to kill you.”
Of course, that wasn’t the same as vowing they wouldn’t try such a thing. She simply wouldn’t tell them to. A slight but important difference. I would have to stay on guard.
“I will respect your timeline, Dark Lady,” I rumbled. “However, I must insist on being able to talk in private with the prisoner in the meantime.”
“Of course. Aurr’av will show you to a secure room.”
Meaning a room the Lady could easily listen in. She was playing me, stalling for time with this “I need two days to think” bullshit. That much was obvious. What I needed to figure out waswhy? What was she waiting for?
I shoved that thought aside as Mila was lowered to the floor. I longed to catch her, to hold her tight, but I kept my distance, letting her gather herself without help. Without my touch. I had to be cool. Collected. Withdrawn.
Then I could ask her why she’d lied to me and find the answer to at leastoneof the questions on my growing list.
Her answer is bound to be interesting, if nothing else, I thought, looking out of the corner of my eyes at her, trying not to remember her lying under me, her body slowly writhing with pleasure, her moans tickling my ear as I filled her with my hard cock, taking her. Making her mine …
Conflicted, I followed Aurr’av out of the hall.
What would I do next?
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Mila
