Page 41 of Prisoner of Steel and Shadow

The whisperof the hidden door sliding open was the only hint he was no longer alone. His hands tightened on the railing, the waves a dull roar below him. The salty breeze a welcome assault against his anger-flushed cheeks. The party ended hours ago, but he’d only just been left to his own devices ten minutes prior.

“Did you find her?”

“Of course.”

When Dovina’s husky rasp with its clipped consonants and lyrical vowels offered nothing further, he pried his fingers free and spun around to face her.

“And?”

The single word was dripping in warning. It was a demand for information wrapped in the frayed edges of his patience.

“It was as you’d suspected.”

He swallowed back a snarl, fighting hard to keep his expression wiped clean. After the procession, Shadow had slipped away. That wasn’t uncommon at these sorts of events; she was always running off seeking calmer waters. The difference tonight was thathewas here. The man from her past. The one bump in an otherwise smooth road to success.

Ronan of Daejara, Shield and Butcher. A mage gifted in three of the five branches: Fire, Earth, and Air. A mercenary whose hands were so stained with blood they nearly rivaled his own. A man who’d just made himself a very powerful nemesis.

“I see.” He worked his jaw, one of his muscles ticking. “Did anythinguntowardoccur?”

Dovina seemed to be choosing her words with care.

“Spit it out,” he snapped.

“She was chaste, High Lord.”

Erebos jumped on the distinction. “But he wasn’t?”

“He touched her, but.. .”

“But what?” he snarled, already imagining breaking each and every finger on the man’s hands. Shadow was his pet, and his alone. No one touched what was his.

“He didn’t cross any lines.”

“He touched her. That is line enough.”

Dovina inclined her head. “That is, of course, for you to decide, my liege.”

Erebos ground his teeth together, more than ready to be rid of this threat to his future. “You and your brother know what to do?”

She dipped into a shallow curtsey. “Consider it handled.”

“I expect reports. Daily.”

“Of course. And shall we make a move if the opportunity presents itself?”

Erebos considered it. “No. I want to handle this myself. Intel only for now.”

“It will be as you say, my lord.”

“Leave me.”

She slipped away without a word, and he turned back to the ocean, releasing his first easy breath since he’d spotted the redheaded bastard crossing his stage in that mockery of a display. As if he’d ever allow one of Luna’s Chosen to serve him. The only service he’d provide would be to send a message.

A bloody one.

CHAPTER13

RONAN

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