Page 5 of Deceived By a Warrior

Why her?

I don’t even know the woman,he reminded himself, his facial expression still placid. Despite his feigned sense of calmness, his fists involuntarily clenched together at the thought of putting that woman in harm’s way.

When he first and last saw the woman she had been smiling, while holding a stray cat to her rosy cheeks. She seemed happy, and if not happy, she at least seemed content.

If Darius brought her here, he knew she’d never know contentment again. He would take away any happiness she had left.

Could he do that to the woman?

A picture of his humble sister and her timid smile crossed his mind.

If Darius didn’t do as Artem asked, his sister would suffer, wouldn’t she?

Needing more information before he made any rash decisions, Darius asked, “Can I ask why you are asking this of me? Why do you want me to find her?”

Other than not wanting to subject that woman to a life filled with torment, Darius wasn’t entirely sure if he could evencontrolhimself around the woman. When he last saw her there was an incredible amount of distance between the two of them. Despite the distance, his bodystillurged him toward the woman, begging for him to do things to her that he never did with anyone before.

Now, the simple thought of that girl caused his erection to grow, forcing him to position himself appropriately to keep anyone from noticing how aroused he became.

If I’m anywhere near her, I’ll lose all control,he thought. One thing Darius never lost was his control. The life of his sister depended on his unceasing control.

Yeah, there was absolutely no way he was going to Miami.

Darius noticed Artem’s eyes trail down to his swelling erection, showing a brief hint of amusement, before directing his stare back to Darius’ face. Darius stood tall, remaining outwardly emotionless. Though internally, he was dying.

“You see,” Artem began, his fingers clicking against the bones on his throne once more. “We desperately need a soothsayer. In fact, I’m disappointed that we haven’t found one already. If I remember correctly, youdidclaim she was a sorceress, did you not?”

Darius wanted to curse himself for providing Artem with too much information in the past. A few years ago, wanting everything to prove to Artem that the lifeblood he located meant nothing to him, he told the vile vampire everything he knew about her, save for her exact location.

Most importantly, Darius told him about her purple irises - a classic indication that one was a sorceress

Of course, seeing a sorceress alone in Miami didn’t make much sense to anyone. Sorceresses were notorious for sticking together. Yet this woman must have ventured off on her own considering how far she was from any others of her kind.

Yes, sorceresses occasionally drifted away from their homeland in Norway, but they never strayed far.

Except this woman traveled across the Atlantic. It didn’t make any sense.

At first he lamented on what could have triggered her to decide on living a life on her own. But as time passed, he realized he was better off never thinking of the woman again, so he tried his best not to.

And that meant not giving a shit about where he found her or why he found her there.

So he managed to push her down to the depths of his mind, never to think of her again.

Until now.

“She might have been. If I remember correctly, I saw her from quite a distance, so the description I gave of her could have been lacking.”

Artem showed off a slick, half grin. “My boy, your descriptions ofanyonehaveneverbeen lacking. You’re an exceptional asset to me. I doubt your description was off at the time - especially considering I recently acquired information that there’s a lone sorceress on the loose in Miami. Asoothsayersorceress.”

Still determined to find a way out of the mission, Darius asked, “And how did this information come to you?”

“A few wolves from Ireland passed this information along to me. Apparently, another sorceress accidentally revealed that there was once a sorceress among them who had the ability to see into the future. Unfortunately, the soothsayer ran off nearly one hundred years ago. I was shocked to hear the story of a sorceress who freely chose to leave that repulsive sisterhood. We all know it is understood that no one leaves that cult. Truthfully, I was in such disbelief when this news was delivered to me that I killed the messengers. It wasn’t until after my servants were sweeping away their dead bodies that I remembered the time you told me of the woman you encountered in Miami.” Artem began picking at the dirt beneath his nails.

It took everything for Darius to keep a straight face. He despised how Artem could so easily speak ofaccidentallykilling others and not think twice of it. Artem spoke so nonchalantly about killing innocent messengers it was as if he was talking about nothing other than dust picked up by the wind.

“How can you be so sure the woman I once saw is the soothsayer you’re looking for?”

“You saw a sorceress alone, and that’s something that has never been seen before. It aligns with the tale I have been told. I’m certain it’s her.” Artem leaned forward in his chair, narrowing his eyes as if to analyze Darius. “Are you doubting me?”

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