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He eyed me, then stepped close, his hand coming to tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear. “What troubles you, my sweet? Are you worried I might decipher all your pretty lies if we share a bed together?”
I bristled. “There are no lies.”
“You sang that tune before, if I recall.”
“If you don’t trust me then why are you protecting me?”
“Because,” he said, eyes glittering in the darkness, “whether I like it or not, you are mine. You possess my mark, Darya, my little deceiver, and that means I cannot just let you wander around this lion’s den unprotected.”
I huffed a breath. Little deceiver? It almost sounded like a term of endearment but I knew it was not. “What will it take for you to believe I came here with no ill intent?”
His eyes blazed. “Time will tell.”
He turned and started walking again. I hurried to catch up with his swift strides. “You told Jalio that I was your ensnared. What does that mean exactly?”
“It’s just a demon term used to describe those we mark and bond with, though normally we don’t bond with someone who ends up betraying us so very often.”
“Vas, I—”
He shot me a dark look and I quieted. Evidently, he was in no mood to hear my proclamations of loyalty. I thought it best to talk about something else.
“When Ren and I stepped through the portal, we arrived a few miles outside the city,” I began and he cast me a curious glance. “It was a long trek and there were all these fiery holes in the ground that we had to navigate.”
“I’m familiar with the terrain. Where are you going with this?”
“Well, a little demon popped up out of one of the holes and he was fanatical about my gold earrings.” I reached up, smoothing my thumb over my earlobes that were now healed. Curse that bastard thief Yuri for cutting me. Vas watched my movement with interest.
“That wasn’t a demon. It was a fire goblin. They’re mostly harmless but they love shiny things. Demons do, too.” He paused and studied my ears, free of jewellery now. “Did the fire goblin steal your earrings?”
“No, he bartered for them. One pair, at least. Paid me a fair price, I think. When we ventured into the city and found ourselves captured, one of the demons who trapped us was entranced by the gold, too. It was like he’d never seen anything like it before. Is there no gold here?”
Vas rubbed his chin. “Only in tiny quantities. We have different precious metals, most of them silver or black. Gold is quite rare to Oreylians.”
“Ah, interesting,” I said.
Vas narrowed his eyes. “What did the demon do?”
“The demon?”
“The one who you said was entranced by your earrings.”
I gazed ahead into the darkness as we walked. “He knocked me out, but that was mostly because I’d opened some of the cages and allowed dozens of captives to flee.” Vas raised an eyebrow, almost looking impressed. “Anyway, when I woke up I found he’d cut the earrings right out of my ears.” Vas stopped walking and I turned back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
“This demon, what did he look like?”
“Tall and rangy. Dark hair, bright green eyes. Mean face.”
“Yuri,” Vas seethed, his eyes flickering with dark intentions.
“You know him?”
“I’m well acquainted with most of the demons who work for Red Armand, especially the ones who have a fondness for cutting people.” His voice was a low rumble.
“Wait,” I said, my attention going to the jagged scar that ran down one side of his face. “This isn’t the same demon who scarred you, is it?”
Vas didn’t respond, but his violent expression combined with his silence was answer enough. Suddenly, I had a whole newfound hatred for the demon who’d cut me, because he’d cut Vas, too, when he’d been a poor defenceless child.
I hurried to keep pace with him until we came to a quiet little cave that had been hollowed out of the wall. “What is this place?” I asked as Vas led me inside.
“This is where Sven and I spend most of our time when we aren’t sleeping or working. We like to be on our own, away from the rest of the miners.”
“It’s so cold in here,” I said, pleasantly surprised by the lack of humidity that permeated the rest of the Blaze.
“That’s because it’s night. The heat abates slightly at night because the temperature drops in general, but also because there’s no active mining going on.”
As soon as he said it, I realised why I was suddenly less stressed than I’d been all day. The constant din of people hammering at reylite had ceased. The quiet was a welcome reprieve.
As we continued inside the cave I spotted Sven sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, his eyes closed like he was meditating. Maya was nearby with Demi asleep on her lap and Ren jumped up when he saw me, pulling me into his arms for a hug.
