Page 89 of The Devil She Knows
“Hmm.” A frown graced his face. He’d been silently studying her while she’d done the same to him. “Given the little tailspin you sent our Daphne into, I thought you’d be prettier.”
Sam sucked in a sharp breath through her nose and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
OurDaphne? Oh, devil or no, he could piss right off.
“Funny you should say that.” She drew herself up to her full height and looked at him with as much contempt as she could muster. Of which she possessed plenty. “I thought you’d be taller. More, I don’t know, imposing.”
Behind her, Eithrig, or whatever he had called her, gasped.
He was a beautiful man, she’d grant him that much. Careless wisps of blue-black hair rested against his pale forehead and curled around his ears, glossy strands brushing thestarched collar of his crisp white dress shirt. His face looked like it had been carved from the finest marble, his skin smooth and unblemished, nary a freckle to be found, his cheekbones high and jaw square and chiseled, balanced by the softness of his full, sensual mouth.
But what was it Mr. Darcy had said? Tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt him? Yeah, that.
He threw his head back and let out a full-throated laugh that sent a flock of birds into flight and several squirrels scurrying from a nearby tree.
“You tickle me, Miss Cooper,” he said, and with a thoughtful frown, he added, “It’s that dour countenance, I think. It doesn’t do you justice. Smile for me a moment, would you?”
She glowered harder and he gave a careless little shrug.
“Ah well. What’s that your grandfather used to say?” He drummed his fingers against his chin. “There’s a lid for every pot?”
Her frown slipped. “What do you know about my grandfather?”
“You miss him, don’t you?” He slipped his hands inside the front pockets of his black slacks and rocked back on his heels. “He misses you. I know he misses you dearly, in fact. And he misses your grandmother, too.”
Her chest went cold. “I don’t care what youthinkyou know, but my grandfather was a good man. He’s not—”
“Oh, he is.” He looked pointedly down at his feet, at the ground beneath. “In fact he—”
A crack of thunder wrenched a gasp from her lips, the ground trembling beneath her feet. The acrid scent of spentgunpowder and sugar just the wrong side of burnt tickled her nose, and Sam strained to see through the thick black smoke in the air. About two yards away, something rose from the scorched earth. No—her heart climbed into her throat and another gasp died on her lips—someone.Daphne.
Hands resting on her knees, Daphne stood hunched at the epicenter of what looked like a small blast zone. Her dress was torn in several places, tattered at the hem, the crinoline ripped to ribbons that hung loose around her legs. Ash and blood and grime smeared the skin of her hands, her cheeks, even her bare feet. Tendrils of matted blond hair stained red in places by blood fell into her face, though they did nothing to disguise the fire burning in her black eyes.
“Don’t listen to him, Sam.”
“What the hell happened to you?” she whispered, horror strangling her voice.
Daphne grunted and with a claw-tipped finger she plucked a—God, what was that?—a feather out of her mouth. “Hell happened.”
A slow clap filled the air.
“Oh, Daphne, my dear! You escaped the harpies! Bravo! I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Harpies?” Sam cried. “Does somebody want to explain to me what’s going on here?”
“You know what?” Eithrig jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m just going to excuse myself from—”
“Don’t be silly,” Lucifer said. “Stay. We do have you to thank for arranging this little tête-à-tête, don’t we?”
At that, Eithrig paled considerably, her shoulders slumping like she was trying to make herself small.
Lucifer turned to Sam. “Now, back to what I was saying about your dearly departed grandfather—”
“He’s lying, Sam. It’s what he does. Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to upset you.”
Upsether? Sam had passed upset a long time ago.
Lucifer tutted softly. “Daphne, Daphne, Daphne. You were my shining glory once. My pride. As you lay dying, dashed against the rocks on the island of Delos, I sensed such beautiful anger in you. Such sweet vengeance in your heart.”
