“I… thank you.”
“Mhmm. Now, explainhowyou are standing before me. The last I’d heard, you’d been dragged off to The Pit. Usually, that’s a one-way ticket to death. How did you survive?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Brynleigh admitted. “They tortured me.”
Several seconds passed in that horrible, too-quiet silence.
Groaning as he melted his dagger, Ryker wished he had eyes inside the house.
“Yes, well, that was always a possibility,” Jelisette said dismissively. “You know how those Representatives are.”
A deep breath, then Brynleigh murmured, “I do.”
The older vampire hummed, the sound as melodic as it was deadly. “And I suppose your husband freed you out of the goodness of his heart?”
Brynleigh laughed bitterly. “No. He wants me to do something for him, but he hasn’t told me what it is yet. He’s still… upset about what happened.”
Understatement of the gods-damned century.
“You will inform me the moment he asks something of you,” Jelisette purred.
“Yes, ma’am,” Brynleigh said in a cold, robotic tone that sent ice cascading down Ryker’s spine. “I understand.”
A sound that was like knuckles cracking filled his ears.
“Does the captain know you’re here tonight?”
Ryker’s heart stalled, and he didn’t breathe, waiting for Brynleigh’s response. If she wanted to, she could ruin all this with one word.
“No, he thinks I’m sleeping off the torture.”
Another lie. The ease with which they rolled off Brynleigh’s tongue frightened Ryker. Her tone didn’t change, her breath didn’t hitch, and each word carried the same inflection.
Ryker exhaled, pressing a hand against his chest as his heart beat once again.
Brynleigh continued, “I shadowed here as soon as I was healed enough to get away. I must return soon, or he’ll grow suspicious.”
The fae captain had to hand it to her, she was weaving a masterful web of deceit. If he didn’t know the truth, he would have believed her.
Hehadbelieved her.
But did Jelisette?
Gods above, waiting had never been so painful.
“Alright,” the older vampire eventually said. “I’m assuming you’re still looking for work?”
Such a strange way to refer to murder.
“I am,” Brynleigh said.
“Mhmm.” Jelisette made a clicking sound with her tongue. “And if I told you to kill the captain?”
Ryker’s chest seized.
“I’d do it,” Brynleigh said. “Although I think I’ve lost the element of surprise, thanks to Zanri.”
Another pause. “Yes, well. It had to be done. The rules and all that.”