Prince of Spies - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,1

of skin Nico could see. Lucan wore ornate robes of state that covered most of his body, hanging off his thin form as he paced and continued to rant.

“The witch’s power is lost if she’s not virgin.”

Nico tried not to choke on his startled laughter. If Lucan truly believed such drivel, he was crazier than they’d thought!

But then, perhaps belief in that little lie was the only thing saving the girl from even worse treatment. Rape was not above Lucan. Nico’s spy network kept him well informed about Lucan’s perverted entertainments. It was well-known he found pleasure in ghastly forms of torture all civilized lands had long banned.

Nico tried not to look too interested in the girl, but her desperate green eyes drew him. She was no doubt suffering, chained and ill-treated by the despot who was only steps away from utter madness.

“I hear your King Roland fornicates with dragons. There are even rumors he drinks their blood, thereby gaining some of their power.” Lucan’s crazy eyes sidled along Nico’s form, making his skin itch. That cinched it. This bastard was completely insane and poorly informed, if he wasn’t just playing some game. Perhaps Nico could use it to his advantage.

“Is that what you’ve done, Lucan? Are you fucking skiths now and drinking their blood?”

In a flash, Lucan went from mild questioner to irate combatant. His eyes…changed. They went from human brown to slitted gold as he hissed.

“I ask the questions! Not you! Not you!”

Lucan seemed to consciously rein in his temper, breathing in deep, hissing breaths as he turned away. Nico couldn’t help watching the girl while Lucan’s back was turned. There was something about her that drew him. She was in bad shape, her hair lank and an indeterminate, unhealthy color. Her skin was sallow, pale beyond the norm and covered with little burns, as if she had been tortured with skith venom.

Cringing inwardly, Nico realized it was more than likely the poor creature had indeed suffered such inhuman torture. He would put nothing past Lucan.

Only her eyes seemed to reflect the life still clinging to her pathetically thin body. Malnourished and weak, she had heavy chains manacling both hands and feet. Her sack of a dress was stained and burned in several places—another byproduct of skith venom torture, no doubt.

The rising fire in him warned of slipping control. His dragon side wanted nothing more than to flame everyone in the room, free the girl and whisk her off somewhere to get cleaned up and eat her fill. He wanted to take care of her and make it so no one would ever hurt her again. He wanted to hold her in his arms and stroke her delicate shoulders, protecting her from all harm.

It was a startling thought.

Nico was not normally a sentimental man. It was hard to hold on to the softer emotions in his line of work. As Spymaster to the king of Draconia, he’d seen all too often how some people would sell out their own mothers for the right amount of coin. He’d been disillusioned early in his chosen profession, and the more tender emotions hadn’t plagued him since.

Until now.

Until this poor little waif with the emerald-green eyes.

Lucan turned back to him, seemingly under control once more. His eyes had reverted to human brown, but there was a wild sparkle in them that told Nico this man was far from in control of whatever evil modifications he’d made to his being.

“Let’s try this again. What are you doing in my land?”

Nico eyed the unstable king defiantly. “Sightseeing.”

Lucan nodded over at one of his burly guards and a moment later, the man’s fist was planted deep in Nico’s gut. It took a lot to injure someone of his gifts, but that had definitely hurt. Nico knew he was in for a long evening.

“You’ll have to do better than that. I know you’re a spy for the Draconian bastard. In fact, I know you’re one of his senior agents.” Lucan trailed a sharp, discolored fingernail over Nico’s jaw as his guards held him tightly around his upper arms.

Nico wondered if Lucan wasn’t just playing with him. If Lucan truly didn’t realize who he was, Nico might yet live through this session. Even better, if Lucan didn’t know who he truly was, this was an excellent opportunity to gather firsthand information about the rogue king.

Too bad he couldn’t just kill Lucan outright and end their troubles. But Nico knew all too well that getting rid of Lucan