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She sensed she was being herded. And that she wasn’t going to like her destination.
“Despite Jorgan’s unfortunate display of ignorance, we are not all stupid enough to believe we can force a vampire to give us the information we desire,” the commander assured her.
Sofie frowned. It was doubtful he was talking about torture. They would have left her in the dungeon for that. Did they have some sort of creature who could read minds?
“How many times do I have to repeat myself?” She forced out the words in an effort to keep the minotaurs distracted as she glanced around. At this point her only hope was escape. “I don’t have any information.”
Stavros ignored her protest, taking a sharp right as they reached the top of the stairs. They’d left the subterranean area, but they were in the same stone structure as they moved down a long hallway that curved to the left.
“Eventually you’ll talk,” Stavros assured her.
“Doubtful,” she muttered, suddenly aware of the thunderous shouts that echoed in the distance.
She’d suspected they were in the colosseum and now there was no doubt. The question was whether they were leading her to a new location, or if she was going to be kept in this formidable structure. It would be easier to escape if they traveled through the congested city. The more distractions the better.
“There’s no doubt,” Stavros argued. “And better yet, we can lure your partner from the shadows. He won’t escape again.”
Sofie didn’t bother to argue. The minotaurs had obviously seen him before he’d turned to smoke. And she realized that she had another opportunity to discover exactly why Ryshi had been in the labyrinth. This male was in charge. He would know precisely what was stolen and why.
“Your friend, Jorgan—”
“He’s not my friend,” Stavros interrupted.
It was her turn to ignore his protest. “He said that the male you’re searching for had stolen a valuable artifact.”
The minotaur made a sound of disgust. “Jorgan doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”
“If you explain what it is, perhaps I can tell you if I have seen it,” she said, veiling her interest with the pretense of bargaining for her release.
Stavros narrowed his eyes. “So you admit that you’re partners?”
“Reluctant partners,” she said. “Tell me.”
Surprisingly, the commander appeared quite willing to reveal the truth. “It’s a small blue stone shaped like an egg.”
“I think that’s familiar,” Sofie smoothly lied. “What does it do?”
“It allows you to speak with another minotaur over a great distance.”
Sofie blinked, doubly confused. Why would a minotaur need to speak over a long distance? And why would Ryshi risk his life to steal it? Maybe it had other magic.
“An odd item for a such a reclusive species to consider valuable,” she pointed out the obvious.
The scent of minotaur was suddenly thick in the air. Not the stench of an unwashed body, but the raw power of this beast. Her words had obviously touched a nerve.
“We didn’t always live in a cloistered society.” Stavros clenched his massive hands. “There was a time when we regularly traveled far and wide.”
It wasn’t that unusual. Several species of demons had entered a world, then left. The merfolk were just one example.
“Why did you stop?” she asked, genuinely curious.
His heavy boots slammed against the floor with enough force to send tiny tremors through the stone.
“Intolerance. Fear. Mainly arrogance.”
Sofie studied the male’s tense profile. There was something different about Stavros. It wasn’t simply the power that vibrated around him, or the cunning intelligence in his eyes. He had an unmistakable air of leadership. So why was he in this shithole instead of the homeland?
It wasn’t hard to guess.
