The demon queen was playing with Tam, and I had a sinking feeling she had only begun her games. Eggs were hatching, demons were rampaging, her enemies were magically helpless or chained before her, and she had the Scythe in her hands. She could afford a little time to indulge herself. I resisted the urge to step in front of Piaras. It would just attract her attention that much faster.
The demon queen gazed down at Carnades. “And I thought this one would be my only source of amusement. Release her,” she told my demon guards. “Release all of them; they cannot escape.”
They immediately did as ordered. When they let me go, I felt a cool rush of blood into my lower arms and flexed my fingers to restore the circulation. Not that I could do anything, at least not yet, but it always paid to be prepared. I wondered how far the no-magic zone extended. My legs wanted to find out; my head knew I wouldn’t make it two steps.
“By all means, elfling. Try to escape.” The queen looked out into the shadows. “My subjects are forbidden to be on this side of the columns. It pains them to see you thus, you and your friends, since I have not yet released them to feed. Their hunger is quite overwhelming them.” The queen’s red eyes sparkled with malevolent glee, and her voice dropped to a sibilant whisper. “By all means, take a walk in the dark.”
“I’ll pass.”
I couldn’t see into Tam’s mind, but apparently the demon queen could see into mine. Then again, maybe she couldn’t. Escape was the obvious thing to do when a pair of demonic thugs let you go. But I wasn’t going to take the chance; if by some miracle I got a plan worth pursuing, I’d do everything I could to keep it to myself.
The queen looked over my other shoulder. Piaras. She’d spotted Piaras.
Dammit.
“You bring me treasure,” she murmured in approval, her eyes bright. The demon queen cast the barest glance at Rudra Muralin. “This one brought me nothing. No gifts, no tribute.” Her full lips narrowed in regal displeasure. “Arrogant.”
“Not even flowers?” I said before I could stop myself.
The queen laughed, silvery and cold, a calculated sound, probably practiced to duplicate the real thing. She showed Muralin her teeth. He had only two fangs; she had a mouthful.
“I gave you the inhabitants of this island,” Muralin reminded her.
“You gave? I take what I want, goblin.” She gestured distaste-fully at Carnades. “You have given me nothing but a poor substitute for what I truly desire. And you were so very foolish to think that I would be satisfied with mere entrance into this world.” The demon queen moved toward him with liquid grace, sensual, mesmerizing. Rudra Muralin didn’t move. He couldn’t-or he didn’t want to. The queen reached out and brushed Muralin’s flawless cheekbone with the tip of the Scythe, leaving a thin trail of blood against his silvery skin. “You know not how helpless you truly are.” Her smile broadened and her eyes gleamed. “I should like to see true fear in your eyes. And I think I shall.”
The goblin swallowed. “You have my respect and loyalty, Your Majesty.” He stood frozen to the spot like a mouse with a large and hungry cat standing over it with twitching tail.
“Loyalty,” she purred. “We shall see.”
She turned to Carnades and ran the tip of one taloned finger lightly down the elf mage’s chest, parting the pristine white linen robe as she did so. “My poor husband is a soul without a body. This beautiful one will make a fine royal vessel, albeit a temporary one.”
Carnades Silvanus with the soul of the king of demons. I was wrong; this was the worst situation I’d ever been in.
Chapter 27
Tam didn’t bat an eye.
“So, Carnades gets to be the demon king,” he commented mildly. “What’s in it for you?” he asked Rudra Muralin.
“The Saghred, once Her Majesty frees the king.” His eyes were the flat black of a shark. “Then I’ll have anything I want, beginning with some long-overdue revenge-starting with you, Tamnais.”
Tam looked at the goblin queen and raised one flawless brow. “He gets his choice of toys? Simply for opening a door for you? Your rewards are more than generous, Your Majesty.”
“Those who serve me are appropriately rewarded.”
Tam didn’t bat an eye, but Rudra Muralin did. The smarmy punk suddenly got a tad less smarmy. “I kept my end of our bargain, Your Majesty. The sacrifices, a Hellgate large and strong enough to admit your legions, and the breeders to make more.”
There was rustling and low, throaty growls and grunts coming from the darkness around us. I kept my eyes straight ahead.
There were some things I absolutely did not want to know about.
“I allow my servants their pleasures,” the queen told Tam. “My husband and king was taken by the Saghred while dining from it. I will not risk losing him again. This goblin has agreed to become the Saghred’s bond servant and wield it for me.”
“And once your elf whore is dead by my hand, I will again be the bond servant,” Muralin gloated.
There was that word again. I felt a growl growing in my chest and stifled it. It’d almost be worth the risk of getting my own throat torn out to get my hands around his. Tam was probably having similar thoughts, but he’d always had more self-control than I did.
Tam looked at Muralin, his lips curling into a grin, and then he actually chuckled. “So once again you’ll be taking orders from someone else. For eternity. And in Hell, no less. Appropriate and delightfully ironic at the same time.” He shook his head in amusement. “Rudra, you’ve merely traded a goblin king for a demon queen. Have you forgotten that a Mal’Salin king was the cause of your first death? Do you truly think the outcome will be different this time? You’re not known for being likable. It’s only a matter of time until you’ve annoyed her enough to chain you to a slab.”
The demon queen scowled down at Carnades. “I might have been more favorably disposed toward the goblin if he had brought the correct elf to me. Though his power is impressive, this was not the one I desired. The elven paladin is the most powerful of his race that I have ever seen.”
I froze. Oh no. Mychael. She wanted Mychael.
The demon queen stretched a languid hand toward Rudra Muralin, stopping just short of touching him. The goblin’s black eyes widened, his expression a twist of fear and desire.
“The young elf will make a fine songbird for your majesty,” Muralin said quickly. “And he will be useful to secure Raine’s cooperation. The dark-haired elf is her cousin. She would do anything to keep either of them from harm.” I could see the tension ease out of the goblin’s body. To save your own ass, put someone else’s in the sling. Bastard.
“Cooperation is more easily gained when the subject is motivated,” the demon queen agreed. “So the elfling would do anything to keep her loved ones safe.” She looked at Tam, her eyes lingering appreciatively. “And her soul twin,” she said softly. “Not lovers. No, not yet.” The queen paused thoughtfully, reaching out with her mind, feeling the air between us, touching, sensing. Knowing. “But the bond that links them is even more intimate than mere flesh.” She went to stand before Tam and gracefully bent her head to his throat, taking in his scent. Tam didn’t flinch, but it took every bit of his control not to. His lips pulled back from his fangs in a silent snarl.
“Delectable,” the queen murmured. “Your black magic clings to you like exotic perfume. And to make you even more exquisite, your scent is blended with the elfling’s power.” One corner of her full lips curled into a secretive smile. “Or should I say the power of the Saghred?”
There was silence, then Rudra Muralin laughed in sheer, mad delight. “An umi’atsu bond? With an elf? This is too much. Did you hear that, Silvanus? The only one to attempt to help you this day is in an umi’atsu bond with a goblin dark mage.”