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Can you get out of there?
Sure. Once I undo the binds and get out of the crate.
The ‘crate’?
As she tackled the binds, Khloé kept her eyes on her captors, who were still arguing.
“The plan was simple, so I can’t understand why you had such difficulty following it,” Gavril berated Thea.
The woman looked nervous, but not cowed. “It wasn’t easy to get close to Knox. People tend to keep their distance from demons with Lane’s ability—you know that. Stealing the ability from Asher seemed simpler. You yourself said he probably inherited it from his father.”
“Yes, probably,” said Gavril. “But I can’t be sure. You should have waited until you had an opportunity to steal it from Knox. It shouldn’t have been so hard for you to integrate yourself into his life. You’ve known him since childhood, for shit’s sake.”
Thea’s lips thinned. “I warned you that he was unlikely to trust me. Knox trusts very few people—I’ve never been one of them.”
“But you were once close to one of his sentinels. All you had to do was get close to Keenan again so that you’d have access to Knox.”
“I tried! Keenan always had that bitch with him!” She jabbed at finger at Khloé but didn’t move her gaze from Gavril.
“Then you should have tried harder.”
“Keenan wouldn’t give me the time of day, and he went ballistic when I spoke to her. Knox warned me that I’d be punished if I went near her again. He, his mate, and their sentinels apparently consider her to be their family, not me. If she really is Keenan’s mate, it will only be a matter of time before she joins his lair. If I was still around, she’d have requested that I be gone from the picture. Then I’d have lost any chance of getting the power you want. I had to act now.”
“What good was acting now if the child doesn’t even possess the power to call on the flames of hell?”
“I believe he does, and I believe that Lane can give you the power when he wakes.”
“That’s all well and good. But the idea was to strip Knox of his powers so that he’d be vulnerable. I planned to kill him with his own gifts. Now I can’t.”
“Not true,” she objected. “Nothing’s impervious to the flames of hell, which means you could still kill Knox with them. He just won’t be helpless while you do.”
Hmm, it would seem Gavril thinks that Knox can truly call on the flames of hell, and he wanted Lane to get the power for him—Thea was in on it, said Khloé, trying to ignore the pain pounding through her skull. She believes the rumor that Asher also possesses the gift, so she had Lane try to steal it from him instead.
Why the fuck would she help Gavril?
Don’t know. Gavril has another reason for wanting Knox stripped of his powers, though. He wants Knox to be vulnerable to attack so that Gavril can kill him. He’s not too happy that Thea went off script and targeted Asher.
Gavril sighed and looked at Lane, who was curled up on a chair, asleep. “How long will it be before he’s conscious again?”
“Not long,” said Thea. “Then you’ll get what you want, and he and I will be on our way.”
“Not until you’ve helped me deliver the imp. Then my sentinels will take you and Lane wherever you want to go.”
Khloé stiffened. Apparently, they plan to “deliver” me somewhere.
What? Where?
I don’t know yet.
Thea’s eyes narrowed at the Prime. “Thanks, but Lane and I can make our own way.”
Gavril smiled. “You don’t trust that I’ll stick to my end of the deal and let you both go?”
“Of course I do. I just don’t like to take chances.”
Also, Thea and Gavril made a deal that he’d leave both her and Lane be if she had the kid use his gift for him this one time. In other words, she played Knox.
It was a few moments before Ciaran responded. I just relayed all that to everyone. Believe me when I say that Thea and Gavril will pay. But we’re more worried about finding you before you get “delivered.” We need some clues as to where you are. What can you see? What can you hear?
Like I said, it’s just some fancy Victorian-style parlor. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time. I can’t hear any voices coming from outside the room. Don’t bother trying to track me through GPS—they trashed my cell.
Yeah, we figured that when Larkin’s attempt to track you didn’t work. Can you see anything out of the windows?
She lifted her head and peered out of the nearest window. A dull sky. Clouds. Trees. That’s it.
“Ah, you’re awake,” said Gavril, his gaze now on Khloé. “Excellent.”
Shit. Gavril’s noticed I’m conscious.
Are you able to attack him?
Not until I’m out of the crate. There’s a containment spell in place.
