I didn’t respond as more movement from the portal drew my attention. I’d never expected to see my father in the Revenant Woods, but there he was, striding from the portal with that arrogant,smuglook I loathed so much plastered on his face.
I sneered before I suppressed it. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t let him see any emotion from me.
I somehow managed to rise higher as I braced myself for what was to come. If the duke was here, then shit was going to get bad.
Gaius and Samael emerged from the portal behind him; Gaius was grinning from ear to ear while Samael remained stone-faced. I’d vowed never to be at the mercy of these men, but here I was—chained, powerless, andfucked.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Ryker
Callan groanedand shifted on the ground before going still again. He didn’t make another sound.
When my father’s soulless, pale green eyes landed on me, his grin widened. I knew that cruel, calculating gleam in his gaze well; I’d seen it many times over my lifetime, while he was beating me, locking me away, or simply talking to me.
Despite my loathing of this man, I smiled back. The hatred between us hadn’t eased during our time apart; it had only grown stronger, but he wasn’t the only one who could screw with someone’s head.
While my father was a little more used to my stubborn nature, my smile caused the smallest of missteps in Gaius’s stride.Good.
Gaius was another man I’d love to gut and choke with his intestines. One day, I would get that chance. Samael moved to the side to survey the bloody carnage with an indifference that set my teeth on edge.
His yellow brown eyes briefly met mine before flitting away again. There was a time when I’d considered the sheriff of Nottingshire my friend; that time had long since passed.
From behind the three newcomers, more guards emerged; they held a boy of no more than eight between them. Tears streamed down the boy’s pale, dirty face.
Val lurched forward, and because of her chains, she nearly faceplanted before catching herself. When the boy spotted her, he cried out and lunged toward her, but the guards jerked him back.
Tucker made a sound that wasn’t quite a grunt; he bit it back as he pushed himself awkwardly up. On his knees, he swayed a little but managed to stay upright as he studied the boy.
“Fuck,” he murmured.
“Georgie,” Val whispered.
The boy’s lower lip trembled as tears dripped from his chin.Shit!
I didn’t have any sympathy for this woman, but I had it for the child. He shouldn’t witness this.
My father walked around the crater I’d created in the earth to stand beside Val in front of me. Callan groaned again and opened his eyes. The minstrel didn’t move when his gaze fixed on my father, but his slight intake of breath told me he was aware of what was happening.
“It’s good to see you, son,” my father said.
That malicious look had shone in his eyes many times when I was a child. Back then, it made me cower, then it made me rise against him, and now, it widened my smile.
This man wouldn’t kill me outright. He’d take his time torturing me as badly as he once did, and far worse than the ophidians, but throughout it all, he’d never hear me scream again.
We studied each other, both smiling, and both knowing we’d love nothing more than to see the other dead.
“I would say the same, Veni, but we’d both know that would be a lie,” I replied.
I no longer had to play the game our roles had defined for us. I would never again acknowledge this man as my father and would never call him such a thing again.
“And we don’t lie to each other, do we, son?” he asked.
“Oh, I’ve lied to you often, and I don’t think you know how to tell the truth.”
His smile faltered before he forced it back into place, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Behind him, Gaius studied me with utter contempt while Samael searched the forest.
“Where’s your little slut?” Veni inquired.
