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Guilt flared—he had even fought his instinct when it urged him to bestow a kindness on her He’d had nu, and each ti ourselves, Thronos With our history, these last three days have just been a recap The da since been done”
“You’re the one who’s trying to get et it! To see it differently” She pinched the bridge of her nose “Why a, demonic wall I just can’t do this with you!” She sat to put on her boots, refusing to look at hiht, he paced the glade
Yet as his ire cooled, he began to feel like the worst hypocrite Who was he to judge her? He’d planned to coh they weren’t wed
I dare to judge?
Why couldn’t he get over the past? He was going to destroy her before it was all over
She’d been hunted, attacked, and poisoned oodness in her at all! She could have done truly unforgivable deeds Instead, she’d lived her life
Without hies, he’d told hied hi he would always despise her
But deep down, hadn’t he feared the opposite was true? That no force in the universe could change his feelings for her?
He recalled his conversation with Nïx, when she’d told hi back frustration that he would have to wait an entire year to capture his o ive you a piece of advice, Thronos Talos Before Melanthe became this, she was that”
He hadn’t knohat the Valkyrie was talking about Now, as he gazed over at his mate, the answer came to him
Before Melanthe became my enemy, she was my best friend
TWENTY-NINE
When Lanthe stood, dressed oncewith power
WhichThronos She turned a o wherever“Melanthe, we don’t have to figure this out all at once We can’t expect to wade through everything so soon It will take tiet hoo with him It was rumored that the Vrekeners stored all the sorcery they harvested in a vault in Skye Hall; Thronos was planning to take her straight there
As charged up as she felt right now, she could command Aristo to kiss Sorceri ass and order him to release all the abilities his kind had stolen ( one or two or ten for herself and Sabine)
Lanthe would be a Sorceri superstar, no longer preyed upon by the likes of Portia and Ember!
Wait a minute Surely Thronos had to worry about the havoc she could wreak up there? “I don’t get it, Thronos How do you think you’re going to keep me captive? You don’t have a collar, and eance” She trailed off, coods Y-you planned to take my power”
For the briefest instant, had he winced?
She fought for breath, feeling like he’d punched her in the chest His face blurred as her eyes watered “You’d steal my soul? Turn me into a mindless breeder for you?”
“I would not do that to you!”
“And you wonder why I don’t want to have children with you! Would you take their souls, too?” She made a fist above her heart “Press a fire scythe to their chests?” As she began backing away from him, sorcery whorled around her
“No!” He looked like the idea appalled hi that to you, but iainst it”
Her voice shook with fury when she said, “I’m done with this With you Done”
When he strode toward her, she commanded him, “Freeze in place” She was astonished at how easily she wielded her persuasion, her sorcery flowing unhampered Maybe her nervousness had affected it
After all, every ti Vrekeners down upon herself and Sabine No chance of that now
Though Thronos fought the command, he was forced to obey it “Gods damn it, Melanthe, don’t use your sorcery on me! You can’t comprehend what it’s like for me to lose control of my body and mind” When she merely raised her brows, he said, “Don’t do this now We’ve been e between us”
“Because I didn’t knohat you were plotting! I colade for twenty-four hours That ought to give you some time for contemplation”
Incredulous, he bit out, “You don’t believe I’ve done enough of that? And where will you go? To steal a key by yourself?”
“Precisely” If she reached both demon lairs before dawn, the armies would still be locked in conflict Not only could she follow the sounds of their skirmishes, she would encounter few demons within their respective dens
Of course, with her sense of direction, she should be lost directly
Even if she sohold, it was fronted by a maze of ruins Yet she expected to find her way into and out of them? She couldn’t find her way out of a human mini-mart
As if he read her o? If you follow that path back toward Inferno, you’ll have to cross the pest zone”
Or she could follow the path away from Inferno for a time, then cut north (or south, or whatever) to reach the plateau Inferno would be on one side, Deep Place on the other
She’d thread the needle, get the lay of the land, and decide her strategy “I have a plan”
He shook his head hard “You’re going to get yourself killed”
“I’ll be fine I’ve ed all these years without you” Of course, she’d always had Sabine to protect her