Blood Lust - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,84

asked about your men.” Lana abruptly changed tactics. She’d been wrong. Stella wasn’t stupid. She was, in fact, very clever. It was going to take more than intimidation to force her to tell Lana what she wanted to know. “Aren’t you concerned about their safety?”

Stella aimlessly paced toward the far end of the cell, pretending an interest in her scarlet-painted nails.

“Not particularly,” she admitted without a shred of guilt. “The Brotherhood was a means to an end.”

Lana wasn’t impressed. She hadn’t expected to like the leader of the Brotherhood. They were the enemy, intent on destroying her people.

But this woman was . . .

Revolting.

She briefly reconsidered the pleasure of weaving some gruesome illusion. If she had to endure being stuck in a cramped cell with the smug bitch, she should be allowed to have some fun.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time for games.

“What end?” she demanded.

“Power. Wealth.” An unmistakable glint of envy flashing through Stella’s eyes. “Everything you possess.”

Lana shook her head. How dare the woman try to compare their positions? They couldn’t be more different.

“I’m not the Mave because I hunger for power or wealth,” she sharply denied. “A leader’s only concern should be the welfare of her people. I would lay down my life to protect them.”

Stella gave a grating laugh. “Then you’re an idiot. They would sell you out in a heartbeat.” She flicked a disdainful gaze down Lana’s slender body. “I should know. It took one blowjob for the clairvoyant to forget his allegiance to Valhalla.” Her gaze returned to meet Lana’s glare. “Do you call that loyalty?”

Lana had centuries of training to keep her expression composed. There was no way she was going to let Stella know she’d hit a nerve.

She understood that not every high-blood was going to approve of her or Valhalla. There were always going to be those who resented authority, or refused to follow rules. But it troubled her that Peter would not only have turned his back on Valhalla, but that he’d be willing to sacrifice his own people.

For what?

This woman in his bed?

Pathetic.

“This is a free country,” she forced herself to say, her voice frigid. “Everyone is allowed to make their own choices, even if I might not personally agree with them.”

Stella snorted, no doubt able to guess that Lana was far from pleased by Peter’s betrayal.

“Very democratic,” she mocked.

Lana released another burst of magic. Stella needed a reminder of who was in charge. And maybe Lana just enjoyed watching the pretty face drain of color as the faint prickles turned to actual pain.

“Tell me about Peter’s visions.”

Stella rubbed her arms, her face flushing. She clearly didn’t like the blunt proof that Lana had the sort of power she so desperately desired.

“Fuck you,” she muttered.

Lana stepped forward. “It will be much easier for you if you simply tell me.”

“Or what?” Stella lifted her hand to wiggle her fingers in Lana’s direction. “You’re going to do some hocus-pocus on me?”

Lana ignored the taunt. She’d proven her point.

“I don’t need to,” she informed her companion. “I have several high-skilled psychics who can dig through your brain to extract any information I need.” She glanced toward the camera blinking in the corner of the ceiling. “They’re waiting for my signal to begin.”

Genuine fear tightened her features as Stella took a jerky step backward. Swiftly, however, she was regaining her composure. Almost as if she was telling herself that Lana wouldn’t follow through on her threat.

Was the woman stupid enough to think she was going to be able to escape? Or that the men she was so eager to dismiss as necessary baggage might be able to rescue her?

“You know, we’re not so different,” she told Lana, her fingers running through her dark hair as she flashed a coy smile.

Lana arched a brow. “Really?”

“Of course. We’re both ambitious women who’ve struggled to survive in a man’s world.”

Ah. So this was the “we are sisters” routine.

Lana might have been more sympathetic if she hadn’t been born several hundred years ago. What did this woman know about suffering? Had she been bought and sold as property? Or compelled to run from angry villagers who intended to burn her at the stake?

“We’re virtually soul mates,” she drawled.

“Mock me if you want, but it’s true,” Stella insisted. “Men will never comprehend what we’ve been forced to sacrifice to earn a position of respect.”

Lana gave a sharp laugh. No one, absolutely no one, would ever understand what she’d sacrificed over the years.

“Peter was capable of knowing where Myst would