Wicked Abyss (Immortals After Dark #17) - Kresley Cole Page 0,15

the hell-change robs me of reason.” He clamped Sian’s shoulder. “If this works, if you help me make this work, we could all know prosperity as never before. Our realms need each other’s resources; with trade, we could better the lives of all elven- and demonkind. . . .”

Sian had resisted right up until he’d scented Kari on the other side.

Uthyr said, —At least tell me, demon: Why make her spin?—

“Because she can never complete her task, and it will please me to watch her fail.”

The dragon winced, his scales rippling. —Sometimes you forget there’s a difference between trickery and cruelty.—

“That female taught me much about cruelty.” She’d used his feelings for her to manipulate him, digging for demon weaknesses without a qualm—because she’d seen him as a lesser being. Her bigoted parents had taught her that all beings were vastly inferior to the elves.

Sian recalled when Kari had asked if demons formed bond pairs. He’d figured she would need to know all of the details about demon matehood—graphic though they were. . . .

“A male can sense a female is his. Yet the only way to be absolutely certain is through intercourse.” Pulling on his collar, he said, “A demon cannot spill seed for the first time with any but his fated female. Some males bed many with this hope. It’s called attempting.”

“How convenient,” she sniffed. “And primitive.”

Though the elves formed bond pairs, no physical limitations constrained them; they could marry where they pleased. With so much control over their emotions, they could repress any instinctive drives.

He’d found them to be like unfeeling shells. But Kari was different.

She asked, “And if attempting is successful, do demons wed?”

“Only royals. But marriage is just a formality. If a male finds his mate, he will mark her neck. That is a lifelong pledge.”

“Mark?” Realization flashed in her dual-colored eyes. “A demon would . . . bite a female?” She was appalled. “Like those disgusting vampires? How barbaric!”

“Have you ever even spoken to a vampire, Kari?”

She blinked in confusion. “Talk to a vampire? Why would I bother?”

He’d told himself that he would introduce her to other species, expanding her views—that once she was separated from her parents, she could shed their narrow-mindedness. He hadn’t realized how deeply ingrained her beliefs had been.

Kari’s reincarnation was fey once more, so he had little doubt she’d been raised the same way.

And her godsdamned eyes matched.

All the same flaws—yet none of the charms.

NINE

It might take me more than a week to crack this prison.

Other than stone, Lila hadn’t found anything she could use to attack her captor—no materials to create a projectile, or a sneak blade, or a trap.

Nor could she find a single door leading into the castle. That large archway to the terrace was the tower’s only opening.

Taking care to avoid those excruciating fire vines, she crossed to the railing once more. She gazed out from what must be a league in the air and surveyed hell, disbelieving she was here.

The landscape boggled her mind. The night sky was black and choked with ash. In the distance, a gigantic volcano spewed lava. A river of it coursed through the valley below. Was that the legendary Styx?

The air reeked of misery, ruin, and death. Like a horror theme park on steroids.

A dense wave of fire vines did in fact crisscross the tower’s exterior. She’d have no chance of avoiding them if she climbed down.

Even if she could reach the ground, the “legions” below would seize her. There must be thousands of demons gathered. If she somehow outran them, she’d be hemmed in by that lava river. The heat didn’t seem to bother all those shirtless warriors, but she would be burned alive.

Lava rapids? She truly was in hell.

N?x, you bitch. Why would she have betrayed Lila? Only Saetth had incentive.

Lila was the next in line for the throne, and her parents hadn’t been the only ones grumbling about his inability to protect the royal house from the M?ri?r. Lila’s cousins might mount a coup, especially now that he’d lost the sword.

But she couldn’t believe he’d send her to hell just to be rid of her. If he’d felt threatened, he would simply keep her exiled or kill her.

The Valkyrie must have duped him as well.

Lila shivered in her damp underwear. Night grew chilly in hell? Her captor hadn’t provided blankets or dry clothes. No food. Only orders.

For all her bluster, Lila was about to have . . . doubts.

What “wrongs” did the demon think she’d committed?