Page 56 of Dance for the Dragon
“And yet, here I find myself, hiding in these caverns like a bat, because just a few hours ago a team of Parasupe assholes showed up to take us all out.” His eyes drifted around the room. “I can’t help but wonder how the fuck they found out about us? And how they just happened to know our exact location?”
Kohl remained silent. He couldn’t defend her. Devon had as good as admitted to what she’d done. But that didn’t mean he was going to hand her over, either.
The silence stretched on until the Master sighed dramatically and shrugged. “No matter now. The threat was severely undermanned for a coven of our size, and it has been taken care of. However, how many more are going to come now? I’m not going to spend another moment of my life running because you have a soft spot for a human.”
The threat was severely undermanned…
The words went round and round in Kohl’s head. He was right. A team of eight was nowhere near enough to attempt to take out an entire coven. It made no sense.
Perhaps, because they hadn’t come here looking for an entire coven.
And suddenly it all clicked. Her confusion. The wisp of a scent in her hallway.
He was a fucking idiot.
Hoping his expression wouldn’t give anything away, Kohl raised his eyes to meet the Master’s mocking gaze. “Perhaps Jaz and his pals shouldn’t have attacked her.”
If he’d expected the Master to have a reaction to this statement, he was sadly mistaken. “Perhaps.”
White-hot fury flared within Kohl. He bared his fangs, not bothering to hide his rage.
“As they haven’t returned, am I to assume you used their bones for kindling for your fire?” The Master began to laugh, the sound slightly mad.
The Master’s sharp eyes speared through him, perhaps sensing the dragon was just beneath the surface. At this moment, Kohl believed he would love nothing more than to breathe fire on the smug bastard perched on the throne before him like some sort of self-proclaimed god. But even after everything, something inside of him still balked at taking out the one who had given him a home and a family when he’d had nothing and no one. Squeezing his hands into fists, Kohl dropped his chin and reigned in the beast with some effort.
The laughter faded away. When Kohl raised his head again, the Master bared his fangs, pure hatred shining from his black eyes. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d done to deserve such wrath. And maybe he hadn’t done anything. Maybe the Master had just never liked him because he was different, and more powerful, and therefore a threat.
Maybe the Master was just an asshole.
“You’ve tested me since the moment I allowed you into this coven, boy.” He held up a hand when Kohl opened his mouth to protest. “Oh, you do as you’re told, and you always seem willing to help out upstairs, but I sense your rebellious nature. All this time, you’ve been waiting…watching…to catch me at a weak moment.”
“That’s not true,” Kohl protested, wondering where the hell this was coming from. “I’ve always been grateful for everything you’ve done for me and my mother.”
The Master smiled. “Ah, yes. You’re mother. She was a good woman, despite her filthy shifter blood. She knew her place, and she stayed in it. May she rest in peace.” He made the sign of the cross, mocking a religion Kohl knew had brought nothing but destruction upon his people.
Then his black eyes landed on Kohl. A trace of uneasiness fluttered through his gut.
“Disobedience is not something I take lightly, Kohl. You must understand. If I allow you to get away with not following a direct order, I am opening the door for others to follow in your footsteps. I have held the position of Master of this coven for so long because vampires respect power, and power stems from strength, and from fear.” His stare never wavered. “According to our laws, I have two options here.”
Kohl pulled himself up to his full height. As long as Devon wasn’t harmed, he would happily take on whatever punishment the Master saw fit to dole out.
“Banishment. Or death.”
Whatever Kohl had been expecting, this was not it. “And which one is it going to be?”
The Master appeared genuinely conflicted. “I haven’t decided. But until I do, get out of my sight.”
Dismissed for the time being, Kohl turned on his heel and left the throne room, his head reeling. He knew there was no way he was getting out of there without the Master knowing about it and coming after him. He thought about trying to find Hawke, but he would only be dragging his friend into something he had no power over. If he tried to help Kohl, his life would also be on the line. He thought about finding Jaz, the dragon sharpening its talons eagerly, but it would only strengthen the case against him. No, if he wanted any chance of coming out of this alive, any chance to be with Devon, he needed to chill the fuck out.
In the end, he went back to his area of the caverns to wait out the Master’s decision.
Chapter 21
Kohl awoke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. Glancing down, he saw he was lying on top of his mattress, still in the same clothes he’d had on last night.
For a moment, he was disoriented. And then the events of the previous forty-eight hours crashed into his consciousness.
Devon.
