He laughed, low and hard. “You know, the Queen said you had a smart mouth.”
“Did she?” I asked. “I’m not surprised to hear she’s still obsessed with my mouth after all this time.”
“That’s not the only thing she said.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t.” There would be no repeat of Lord Devries. There wasn’t much time. I had a Rite to ready myself for. “But I didn’t come here to talk about that bitch.”
“Then why are you here?” He glanced at the cane. “Your brother?”
I shook my head.
His cheeks hollowed. “The Maiden.”
I smiled.
“You will not get your hands on her,” he swore, his dark eyes glinting. “I promise that. You won’t—”
“You know what I find fascinating about the trees that grow in the Blood Forest?” I interrupted, drawing my palm down the smooth side of the reddish-brown cane, enjoying the rumble of his anger. “Besides the fact that you clearly treat these canes as if they are an extension of your withered cock?”
Air hissed between his clenched teeth.
I chuckled. “While bloodstone leaves nothing left of an Ascended, the wood of a Blood Forest tree simply kills a vampry. Slowly. Painfully.” One side of my lips curved up as I met his stare. “Leaving the remains to rot and decay, just like any other body.”
Teerman swallowed. “And what does it do to an Atlantian?”
“Not much.” I smirked. “I bet that gets to you. The Ascended want so badly to pretend they’re Blessed by the gods. You and I both know that is a load of shit. You’re nothing special. You never have been. None of you are. You’re just a poor imitation of us, desperately clinging to the last vestiges of your waning power and privilege.”
“And do you think you’re any better than us?” he retorted.
“Most of us are. Me? No. I’m not that much better. Hell, perhaps I’m even worse than some of the Ascended. But you?” I pointed the cane at him. “You’re not even horse shit compared to me.”
“You insolent—”
“Traitorous, murderous bastard. I know.” I sighed. “Anyway, back to these canes.” I watched him through half-open eyes. “I know what you do with them.”
Teerman went silent.
“I know you’ve used them against her.”
His shoulders straightened. “And did she tell you that?”
“Poppy hasn’t said a word.”
Teerman’s brows shot up. “Poppy?” he repeated, and I knew I’d made a mistake there. I’d slipped. The Duke stared, a slow smile creeping across his cheeks. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Now, it was I who fell silent.
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Anyone else taking an interest in her wouldn’t have surprised me all that much. She has a…certain way about her. A fire.” He laughed again, and I went cold. “Her last guard had a soft spot for her. But you? The Dark One? Didn’t see that coming.” One side of his lips curled up. “Then again, Poppy is beautiful. Well, at least half of her i—”
I moved then, leaving the cane on the desk as I vaulted over it. In a heartbeat, I had the Duke by his shirt collar and his back against the spot my boots had just dirtied. I clamped one hand around his throat, just below his chin, pressing my fingers into his cold skin until the fragile bones there started to crack. I didn’t break them, though. I wanted the fucker to still breathe but not scream.
“You will not say her name again,” I said as a thin rush of air wheezed from his gaping mouth. “Not Penellaphe. Especially not Poppy.”
Teerman grabbed for the cane.
I caught his arm, snapping it at the elbow. The crack of bone made me smile as a low moan rattled out of him. He swung his other arm. I broke that one at his shoulder.
“Make one more move, and your legs will be next,” I warned as his skin dampened along his brow. “Do you understand? Blink once for yes.”
Teerman blinked.
“Perfect.” I patted his chest. “There is something I want you to understand. You were already dead before you ever laid eyes on me. You were already running out of time. But your death, why it’s coming now, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Blood Queen or the throne and lands you’ve taken part in stealing. It has nothing to do with my brother. You were right when you said it was because of her. You’re dying right now, right here, because of her.”
A tremor went through Duke Teerman as he struggled to breathe. He went as still as a fucking statue, though, when I picked up the cane.
“You’re dying because of this.” I watched him track the cane as I moved it above his face. “The last time you used it on her, how many times did you bring it against her skin?”
He moaned, flopping unsteadily on the desk.
I leaned in until our faces were inches apart. “Use your eyes. Blink,” I instructed. “Blink once for each lash you delivered.”
Teerman’s eyes remained wide for several moments, then he blinked. Once. Twice. When he got to five, a rage that tasted of blood unfurled in my chest. When he finally stopped blinking, I shook.
I fucking shook.
It was part horror for what he’d subjected Poppy to, and part awe that she had withstood it. And a couple of days later was out on that Rise. Godsdamn.
“Did you break her skin?” I demanded. “Once for yes. Twice for no.”
He blinked two times rapidly.
“Have you drawn blood before?”
Duke Teerman blinked once as his lips thinned and pulled back over his teeth.
I inhaled deeply as I pushed up. Of course, he had.
Gripping him by his ruined shoulder, I roughly flopped him onto his stomach. His muffled groan of pain was just a precursor. I tore open the back of his shirt, exposing the pale line of his spine as I leaned over him and whispered into his ear the number of times he’d blinked.
Then I brought the cane down on his back that many times, each lash whistling through the air, sending his body into spasms, each blow opening thin slits in the skin.
I delivered an extra one just because I fucking felt like it.
When I finished and flipped him onto his back once more, he was a quivering mess, and the scent of piss was strong in the air. I shook my head in disgust.
His lips moved as he tried to speak around the cracked larynx, finally pushing the words out in a broken wheeze only Atlantian or wolven ears could’ve picked up. “Once…she…finds out who…you are, she…will…hate you.”
“I know.” I gripped the cane. “And just so you know, every part of Poppy is beautiful.”
“She…is.” Something flashed in his eyes. A flicker of dying sunlight amidst the darkness. “And…she will…always be…mine.”
“You sick bastard,” I snarled. “She has never been yours.”
Then I drove the cane through his chest.
Duke Teerman’s body reared, arms flopping as I let go of the cane. It remained in his chest as I stepped back. This time, I had all the patience in the realm to wait. His death wasn’t quick. I’d purposely nicked his heart, so it took several minutes for the blood tree to do its thing.