Del’s upper lip curled into a sneer as he finally met Orin’s eyes again. Orin suppressed a smile as his needling finally started to chip away at the stubborn vamp’s resolve.
“You’re a prick,” Del spat.
“I’m aware.”
They stared at each other for a while before Orin continued.
“Cole can doeverythingthat psychopath asks of him and do it all perfectly, but it willneverbe enough, and the Lord will take it out on her. But if she’s something else, something we can use—”
“Noone is using my daughter for anything,” Del growled.
Orin didn’t agree, but he wasn’t going to say so. “Are you ready to talk to me about her?”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“To Varo?”
Del didn’t speak again.
“Would you trust Cole enough to talk to him?”
The silence stretched on for so long that Orin didn’t think Del would respond. And then, he gave a barely perceptible nod.
Orin rocked back on his heels as he contemplated what to do. If Del wasn’t hiding anything from them about Lexi, then he was opening himself up to a whole lot of anger from Cole, Lexi, Brokk, and Sahira for nothing.
But if he kept the vamp here, he wouldn’t talk. Well… he wouldeventuallyspeak, but it could be a while before his concern for Lexi finally broke him down enough to reveal all to Orin.
And he didn’t have that much time; none of them did. They had to do something about the Lord sooner rather than later. Del and Lexi might be the key to bringing him down.
Or he could be completely wrong, and he was handing one of his prisoners over for no reason. She may be exactly what she claimed, but Orin didn’t think so.
And after seeing Del’s reaction, he believed he was about to be proven right.
Chapter Fourteen
Brokk struggledto hide his shock as he gazed at the young women standing outside their lodges. Best described as tepees, the structures had thick, wood beams sticking out the top of the roomy canvas structures. Different symbols and runes were painted on all of them.
Some of the dwellings had their flaps pulled back to let fresh air into the shadowed interior. He glimpsed bedding stored inside as well as empty and full bottles of potions tucked neatly within.
The assorted ingredients for potions were also stored inside and outside the structure. All of the lodges had fires burning outside their doors. Heavy, black cauldrons hung over the flames.
Many of the lodges were tucked beneath the canopies of beautiful green, red, and orange trees. The sun shining through their leaves cast shadows over the ground and illuminated their dazzling array of colors.
The beautiful, haunting melodies of the pixies floated on the air until the songs intermingled in such a way they all came together as one. The different tunes didn’t grate on the nerves but soothed them.
He’d never been to a witch’s realm before, but that was because he was part vampire, and they would probably set his ass on fire if he tried to enter their realm alone. He enjoyed not having toasted buns and liked sitting, but this was different. This was a land for crones and not the witches’ kingdom.
He supposed it was still technically a witches’ land since the crones resided here, even if he had yet to see one. He kept searching for the old women, but they were all young. Some were beautiful, others weren’t so blessed, and others were intriguing or pretty, but none of them were stooped over and old.
Mixed in with the women and the landscape were other immortals. Pixies giggled as they flitted past. Each of them was a different color, and their translucent wings left a trail of multicolored dust in the air. The dust settled across the ground to create a rainbow pathway he and Sahira followed until a small breeze blew it away.
Mermaids basked on the rocks of the lake they passed. On the shore, their tails had taken on the hue of the sun and shone gold beneath its rays.
Once back in the water, those tails would become blue or green as they became the color of the water. Neither the men nor women wore tops.
Unicorns also moved through the lodges. Their hooves were noiseless on the thick, vibrant green grass. Some of them were pure white with gold horns, while others were completely black with gold horns. All of them had eyes the color of sapphires.
Overhead, pegasusses flapped their wings and soared over the land. Like the unicorns, they were either pure black or pure white, but their eyes were the striking color of a violet.
