“He’ll stick to it,” Thea insisted.
“He isn’t going to give up the kind of power your son has. If you have any sense, you’ll grab the kid and teleport out of here while you still can.”
That would not only save Lane further harm, it would mean that Thea couldn’t “deliver” Khloé anywhere. Also, Khloé would then have one less foe to worry about. She could hunt Thea down at a later date. The Prime and Enoch were the main threats.
“I gave Gavril my word,” said Thea.
“So? You gave your word to Keenan lots of times. You never had any trouble going back on it.”
Thea winced, and an angry flush swept up her neck and face. “Bitch.” She leaned forward, her eyes blazing. “I’m going to watch while this Enoch guy kills you, and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it.”
“And then you’ll die because you’ll no longer be of use to Gavril, and your son will be taken back to your lair to be used like a tool for the rest of his days.”
“You’ll be the tool. Enoch intends to use you in all sorts of ways.”
Oh, Khloé didn’t doubt it. “I don’t plan to stick around. Not really feeling the vibe here, you know.”
“Thea,” Gavril called out. “Get over here and wake the boy.”
Thea threw Khloé one last glare and crossed to her Prime. “It’s not so simple,” she told him, looking down at her son.
“Make it simple. Slap his face or something.”
“I’m not going to slap my child.”
Gavril lifted a brow. “Surely you’re not going to get all high and mighty now—you just happily used him to strip another child of his powers.”
“I didn’t do it ‘happily.’ You gave me no choice.”
The Prime gave a soft snort. “Don’t kid yourself, Thea. You agreed to my deal because you liked the idea of Knox being vulnerable enough that I could kill him. You want him hurt. You want him to suffer. What did he do, forbid you from joining his lair all those centuries ago?”
“No. I chose to be a stray.”
“And Keenan chose to stay with Knox instead of leave with you. Is that what this is about? You blame Knox for the choice Keenan made, or do you simply hate the Prime because he means more to the incubus than you ever did; that Keenan’s loyalty is to him instead of to you?”
Thea’s face reddened. “It’s neither of those things.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Gavril.
Hell, neither did Khloé. The asshole had a good little theory going on.
“And I have to wonder if you targeted Asher because you knew it would hurt not only Knox and Keenan but Harper and the other sentinels,” Gavril went on. “They don’t consider you part of the family they’ve made—you said so yourself. So you struck at the heart of that family to punish them all, didn’t you?”
Thea’s eyes flickered. “You are way off base, Gavril,” she firmly stated, but Khloé heard the deceptive note to her voice.
The Prime must have heard it as well, because he shook his head and smirked. “I don’t think so.”
“And I don’t care.”
Khloé reached out to Ciaran again. Listen, there’s something you should know. They’re taking me to Enoch.
A vibe of anger smacked her mind. What?
Apparently, he’s offered to pay Gavril a lot of money to do so.
Her twin bit out a vicious curse. Do you still have the blade?
Yes, it’s still in my boot. No one thought to check inside my boots for weapons, thankfully.
Gavril let out an exasperated breath. “If the boy isn’t close to waking, we might as well take the imp to Enoch while we wait.”
Thea frowned. “I’m not leaving Lane.”
“He’ll be fine with my men.”
“I’m not leaving his side. I want to be there when he wakes.”
“You mean you don’t trust that I’ll return you to his side?”
Thea lifted her chin and shrugged one shoulder. “I like to err on the side of caution.”
“Then we shall all leave as one party. I want the imp off my hands so I can concentrate on what’s important.”
Khloé tensed. Um … it appears we’re leaving now.
To go where?
I don’t know, but I do know that Enoch will be there.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Don’t worry. I’ve already undone the binds, so I’m not as helpless as he’ll be hoping I’ll be. And remember, I have the blade. Have a little faith in me, would you.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“A dull sky, clouds, and trees,” echoed Keenan. “If Khloé can see those things, she’s not being kept in the Underground.”
The moment Ciaran had told him that he felt Khloé’s mind stir, a shudder had racked Keenan. The depth of his relief almost made his knees give out. His demon, equally relieved, had rolled back its shoulders. The entity had been keeping itself occupied by plotting lots of torturous ways to make Thea suffer.