Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,29
room between sections of the castle. A good idea if you wanted to trap someone. Not so good if he didn’t open a door soon because then she’d have to hurt the king. That would probably get her in trouble.
She smiled. “I’m just a bodyguard who’s good at blending in.”
“There is nothing just anything about you. You are interesting, Lady Casey.”
She blinked at him. “Excuse me? What did you call me?”
“You are displaying a psionic talent. Meaning you are Aunimaa, one of the chosen ones the Enclave favors. Given I’m still building my court, and you are one of my subjects, I am giving you a rank.”
Her mouth snapped shut, and she shook her head. “You cannot make me a lady.” Only too late did she frown as she realized her words.
“Actually, I can. I am the king, and I declare you Countess Casey, protector of the royal family.”
She almost felt ill at the ridiculous title. “I refuse.”
“You can’t refuse an honor.”
“That’s not an honor. It’s a reason for my friends to mock me. A lady.” She sniffed.
“Are you a snob, Countess?” He pretended affront.
She bestowed upon him a most regal scowl.
The jerk had the nerve to laugh. “Would it help if I said that, as a lady and protector, you would be allowed to join me in questioning certain prisoners in my dungeon?”
Trapped! She felt the jaws snapping as he neatly tipped her in. She lifted her chin. She’d get him back. “Fine, make me a lady. I still will not call you majesty, although I am starting to be partial to royal pain in the ass.”
He laughed. “Oh, the faces of my staff if they hear you. Shall we, my lady?” He drawled the last two words as he held open the next door.
They went down another set of stairs and halted at yet another locked portal. The concrete appeared rather old. The metal rimming the doors as well. The patches of newer smoothed stone stood out in sharp contrast, and faded signs reminded her of other warnings she’d seen when they lived in the Humps in a hangar buried partially underground.
“What is this place? This is ancient.” She placed her hand on the damp concrete.
“This connects to the tunnels.”
“The same ones Titan told us about?” she queried, looking back at him.
A nod was his reply. “There’s a network of them running under the marshes, although many of them have since collapsed. These ones don’t actually go anywhere anymore.”
“I’ve heard say humans lived underground after the Fall.”
“They did. It’s why the network extends so far along the continent. Most of the cities have a set underneath, or nearby.”
“That seems dangerous.”
“Hence why the many locks. Just in case an impassable area opens up again.”
“Yet no guards. I haven’t seen a single other person since you ditched Borax.” An observation that brought a frown. He had enough staff to station some down here, so why neglect an access point?
“There’s only a few people allowed in these sections.”
“People you trust, obviously. What if they betray you or the locks fail? Shouldn’t you have someone on guard?”
“These doors would need a powerful explosion to open. And I mean powerful. Anything like that would just kill anyone near them. So no, I won’t waste lives. If something is coming through, then it’s coming through. The doors are rigged with alarms instead.”
Her lips pursed. “Better be damned good alarms or they’ll be in your castle before you can shout radioactive.”
“Your concern warms my heart.”
That earned him another disdainful glance. “I assume the fact you consider it secure is why you keep your prisoners down here.”
“Only the really bad ones.”
“What happens to the good ones?” Her sarcastic retort.
“They fight for their freedom in the arena, of course.”
The next door opened onto a hall where Titan stood, and not alone. Strung out along the length of the corridor, several guards. They were all stationed in front of separate doors. Four in total.
“I thought you didn’t believe in soldiers guarding on site,” she muttered.
“I don’t. Titan does. He must think the prisoners dangerous.”
Catching sight of them, one of the guards hastily saluted, a sloppy thing that almost concussed him. “Your Highness.”
Everyone else snapped to attention, but Titan pushed off the wall and said, “About time you got here. Glad to see you brought Casey. She’ll probably want to see what we’re up against.”
Neither corrected the fact she’d invited herself along.
Roark stared at the doors, his eyes slightly unfocused as he said, “Give me a brief summary of