Micah stood shoulder to shoulder with his unit brothers staring down at the tunnel escort that was kneeling at their feet.
"Why?" Declan asked.
The tunnel escort's eyes darted from warrior to warrior. "Why did you bring me down here?" he asked looking around. They had taken him out of his detention cell and was now standing below Level One in the Pits.
Declan punched him across the jaw. "We are asking the questions. Why did you attack Vivi? What do you know about the Grand Hall door being open?"
"Nothing!" the escort shouted.
Etain knelt down. "You see? I do not believe you. One way or another, I will get the answers I need. For how long and how much pain happens between now and then is entirely up to you," Etain informed him pleasantly.
Micah watched as the tunnel escort began to shake in the face of Etain's polite threats. He couldn't blame him. If his friend's anger was directed at him, he knew he'd be a babbling mess.
Adriel turned to him. "Micah, if you would please."
Micah looked down at the escort. "You should have answered the question." He extended his hand and allowed an electric current to flow through h
im to the escort. The man writhed on the floor.
"Enough," Adriel said.
Micah pulled back his magic.
"Now. Once again. Why did you attack Vivi? And what do you know about the door being opened?"
"Okay! Okay!" the escort sobbed. "DeLaFontaine promised me that he would make me his heir if I killed Vivian DuSang."
"Did he say why?" Grant asked.
The escort shook his head. "Only that she had to die. That she was too close."
"And the door?" Etain prompted.
"All I know is that I was to come down here, create a platform and go up to the Greeting Hall. After that I was to find Vivian and stab her," he looked around. "That is all I know. I swear!"
Adriel turned to Etain. "Your call. DeLaFontaine will be killed for his part in this. We do not need this parasite's testimony."
"You cannot kill me! I have to go before the council!" the escort screamed.
Etain stared down at the escort and smiled. "The council is not here. The virus locked down the city remember?" He pulled the long sword from the scabbard at his waist. "You almost stole my mate from me. I had to watch as my unborn daughter's light flickered as she fought to cling to life. What made you think you would not die?"
"For the crimes you have committed against the city, her royals, my brother, his mate and his unborn child. I sentence you to death." Adriel declared before leaning down. "Or did you forget I was a royal now and could do such a thing?"
The escort's mouth opened before Etain sent his head bouncing across the hall. Micah stared down at the growing pool of blood. "We're just lucky I learned some of the cleaning spells from Kendrick when we set the royal quarters to rights."
Etain lifted his sword toward him, and Micah whispered a low phrase removing the blood from blade. Etain slid the sword back into the scabbard and turned to Adriel. "What trouble could we face for this?"
Adriel shrugged. "Probably none. Both Aiden and Gavriel have mates after all."
"We all do," Grant murmured then looked to Micah. "Sorry."
Micah forced a smile. "It's quite alright. The way things are going, I'd prefer to meet my mate much, much later. Definitely after this virus is cured and the city back to normal."
Adriel gave him a funny look. "Have you not been having nightmares?"
Micah kept cool. "Some odd dreams here and there, nothing too bad." He could not share his dreams with his brothers, no matter how desperately he wanted to.
Grant clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be like us. Share your fears, we can help."