Page 70 of Kit
“Councilman Greya. Lady Rin,” Evie greeted respectfully. “This is the witch’s student –”
“Leave,” Rin interrupted her. There were quick footsteps and then the sound of the door shutting.
“Desre insists he’s the one,” Greya said.
“Please, when does she ever do anything but insist she knows best?” Rin answered.
“She’s usually right.”
“She’s never right. She just fucks with everyone’s head to make you think she is,” Rin snapped back.
“Even a god fell to her charms.” Greya had a chided sound to him. “Don’t punish me for not being able to resist her.”
“Resist her? You seek her out! All she’s interested in is fucking her kits. You beg and beg until she turns an eye on you and –”
“Remove the bandages. Let’s see the mark.” He talked over her.
The kit released Nick’s head, and he was able to raise his eyes. Greya and Rin were dressed more finely than anyone Nick had seen, even at Vi’s party. Jewels adorned their fingers, ears and necks, and gemstones were inlaid in hair that both wore long. Their faces were similar enough that Nick suspected they were related, but it was hard to guess their ages.
“She feeds it to that beast of hers, you know,” Rin snarked.
“Even she wouldn’t go that far,” Greya objected.
Rin’s top lip curled back. “Why do you think her pet is so strong?”
Greya’s brows knitted together. “Is he particularly strong? I hadn’t noticed.”
“You’re hopeless.” Rin turned sharply to Nick. “Take those off.” She gestured to his arms. Without unlocking the manacles, the kits cut loose the bandages from his arms. Rin’s gaze jumped to the symbol on his inner wrist, surprise shining in the woman’s eyes. Her ire vanished. “I stand corrected.”
Greya’s shoulders slumped in relief. “I thought we’d never find one again! Blessed be, this calls for wine.”
“This calls for a test, first, to be sure.”
Neither of them had acknowledged Nick, not meeting his eyes, not addressing him.
“We can enjoy our wine while we do a test,” Greya pointed out.
“Have you forgotten that there’s an army surrounding the city?”
“So what? Send out Desre’s man. He’ll have them running away squealing in no time—oh, you’re right, Idoremember! He’s very strong.” Greya beamed, as if he’d recalled something delightful.
“You know…” Nick’s anger had been stoking away as he listened, slowly reaching a boil. “For people supposedly centuries old, you talk like children. Have too many years rotted your brains away? It sure seems like it.”
The two councillors went silent, staring at Nick with matching looks of appalled shock. The violent kit snatched his hair and yanked his head back to a painful degree. Nick snarled, eyes flashing towards him. But the kit wasn’t angry. His eyes were empty of emotion, and the flatness was familiar. Reminiscent of the way Kit shut down whenever he was summoned by Desre. At once, Nick knew that this man had been subdued by Desre and that his actions were an extension of her. Nick flicked his eyes back to the council members.
“And,” Nick added, “you’re both ugly fucks.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Cut his tongue out,” Greya said, shocked.
The kit tightened his grip in Nick’s hair as he slid a knife from his belt. Nick’s heart leapt, adrenaline flooding his system. Now would be a great time for his supposed protection symbols to start doing something useful!
“I’ve heard that all from that region are ill-mannered, but to think it was this bad,” Rin scoffed.
Nick met the kit’s eyes as he moved in. With Kit, Nick had known that he didn’t want to hurt him. From the first moment they’d met, Kit had been trying to lessen the violence of his own actions, but Nick saw plain as day that whatever resistance this kit might have once had to following violent orders, it was long gone.
“I need my tongue for spells,” Nick blurted.
