Prince of Spies - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,3

figured Lucan would die a slow and agonizing death without her constant healing treatments and almost wished he’d go too far and kill her one day so he would die too.

But somehow she couldn’t find the courage to goad him into that final, irrevocable act. Something inside her fought to hang on. Some kernel of hope remained. Hope that somehow she would get a chance at escape or a chance to kill Lucan herself. Either would do.

She struggled to her feet, knowing she would have to clean up first, then see to the fallen warrior. After she gave him her healing energy, she would be too weak to move for several hours. If the room was dirty when Lucan returned, she would pay a heavy price, so she scrubbed the blood away, cleaning in a familiar rhythm. She’d been ordered to do this before. She knew what was expected.

After over an hour of scrubbing, the room was clean and everything put back to rights within the length of her chain tether. Only then did she settle by the fallen man, stroking back locks of long, dark hair from his chiseled face. He would be badly scarred without her help. As it was, she didn’t know how much energy she could give him. She was dangerously weak. Lucan kept her that way so she wouldn’t try to escape—or if she did manage to escape, she wouldn’t be able to get far.

Settling next to the man, she saw to his worst wounds first. She sent little pulses of her energy, rationing it as best she could, to make him as strong as possible before her own energy gave out. He was a brave man. She’d never seen one of Lucan’s victims defy the crazy king so long or so well. This foreign warrior impressed her and stirred a womanly interest she’d thought long dead.

After watching Lucan’s bed sport over the past months, she never thought she would feel any kind of attraction for a man again. Lucan was brutal. She didn’t know if she could trust a man not to turn into a beast like Lucan if she ever gave one the chance. Plus, her virginity was the only thing protecting her. If she lost that, she lost everything—her power, her tenuous position and most probably her life.

The man groaned as she touched the savage wounds on his torso. Skith venom burns ate away at the skin, causing agony unmatched by anything else. She knew it from painful, firsthand experience. She had skith venom burns all over her body thanks to Lucan. It was one of his ways to remind her of her position and warn her not to cross him.

The warrior’s skin was hot and feverish, but her healing gift confirmed he was in prime health aside from the torture he’d just undergone. She didn’t understand it, but like her, his normal body temperature seemed to be a bit higher than most other humans she’d treated.

His warmth was comforting as her strength waned. He’d gone from pain-laden unconsciousness to more normal sleep while she sent healing energy to his battered form. At least she’d been able to do that much for him, allowing him to rest easy before the next round with Lucan. The injured man would need whatever she could give. So thinking, she concentrated the last of her remaining strength in one final, powerful burst, sending it to the terrible burns on his face. He had such a strong, handsome face, she thought it a shame to have it scar.

Slipping into oblivion, she settled down at his side, her hand over his heart, her head resting on his shoulder as she unconsciously snuggled closer to his warmth. Just before the darkness claimed her, a stray thought drifted across her mind. She had never been so comfortable in all the years since being stolen from her home. For just this short moment, she was finally at peace.

Chapter Two

Nico woke to the rich scent of woman in his nostrils. Unsure of his surroundings, he immediately noted the soft, female form snuggled at his side. She was thin and shaking with cold, clinging to him for warmth. He opened his eyes and was startled to see the girl there, her elfin face resting against his heart.

Something inside him twinged at the sight. The sleeping dragon inside him woke, possessively pulling the small woman closer as if to never let her go. Nico noticed then the energy flowing between them, from him to