Why the hell was I even here? Why hadn't I been rescued? Azriel might not be able to get into this place, but he'd have to know I was here. Why hadn't he called for help from Riley, Quinn, or even Tao?
I had absolutely no idea, and given it was a question that couldn't immediately be answered, I turned my attention back to the ropes. They were thick, coarse, and tight, and my wrists were red but not yet bleeding. I yanked on the left one as hard as I could, but the only thing I managed to do was rub my wrist raw. The fucking rope didn't give.
Amaya, any chance that you can cut the damn things?
She didn't answer, but half a second later, her energy began to burn through my flesh. Slowly but surely, she moved from her position near my spine to the right side of my body, then into my shoulder. It was a weird sensation, and even weirder to see the broader end of her blade and her hilt find substance and stick out of my shoulder. Her sharp tip appeared near my wrist, and a second later, that arm was free.
She repeated the process with my left arm. This time, the Dušan twisted around to watch, though it kept its tail firmly wrapped around the bracelet of leaves inked into my skin. Of course, it was no more a tat than the Dušan was—it was one of Ilianna's charms that the Dušan had made a permanent part of me. Just how she'd done it, nobody knew. The Dušans weren't supposed to be active on this plane, but for some reason no one could explain, mine was.
The minute both wrists were free, I sat upright and reached for Amaya.
But in that moment, I realized I was no longer alone.
"Make no further move to free yourself, my dear," Lucian said, "because I really would hate to shoot you."
His familiar tones flowed over my skin like a warm summer breeze and made me hunger for the touch of his clever fingers. It was a reaction that annoyed the fuck out of me, if only because I knew my response couldn't entirely be blamed on the spell he'd placed on me. Some of it was simple, old-fashioned lust.
He stood in the wide, unfinished doorway, an image of golden perfection, holding a gun. He was tall, muscular, and, if I was being at all honest, a perfectly formed piece of manhood. Lucian's faults were internal rather than external, emotional rather than physical. His wishes, his desires were all that mattered to him. The wants and needs of others were of little relevance, even if he sometimes offered others utter bliss. He'd certainly offered it to me often enough, but he'd also magically bound me to ensure I kept coming back to him. He might have wanted my body, but he'd also wanted the knowledge of not just what was happening with the key search, but also my father and the Raziq. Lucian hated them with a passion and depth that was as fierce as it was frightening.
And the only way he could completely keep track of both their movements and mine was to read my mind when we fucked.
"What the hell are you doing, Lucian?" My voice was amazingly calm given the anger that surged through me. "Have you got a death wish or something?"
"The reaper may want to kill me," he said with a half shrug. "But he will not overstep the rules to justify his own petty desires."
"That's where you're wrong." My fingers twitched against Amaya's hilt, and it took every ounce of willpower not to aim her steel at his black heart and release her. But he wasn't a fool, and that meant I couldn't be. Not until I knew the full length and breadth of whatever he had planned. "By kidnapping me, you've given him carte blanche to break the rules where you're concerned."
"Then he is most welcome to try to kill me. But I doubt that he will."