He swallowed, and it was a long moment before he could speak once more. “She took you from us. The woman you called your mother.”
“I know.” And I was struggling to understand why. Struggling to understand how I could forgive her myself.
My birth father’s servant had betrayed him, allowing me to be taken. Using his power to hold Demos back. And then I’d woken in a huge satchel, in the dark.
Now I knew where my fear of small spaces had come from.
“I have a question for you.”
“Ask it.”
“When we snuck into the city, I used my power. But there was a man who didn’t freeze. A man with blond hair. He turned and looked at me…and winked.”
Demos closed his eyes briefly with a sigh. “A cousin. Now’s not the time to go into that family history.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You’re not going to be able to help any of us if you don’t recover. Go to bed, Prisca. We’ll talk soon.”
It must be difficult for him to call me Prisca. And yet he did it. For me. I squeezed his hand back. “Look after yourself.”
With a whispered “good night” to Asinia, I went in search of Lorian.
He’d been writing something at his desk and didn’t look surprised to see me. But he frowned as he took in my shaky legs.
“Sit.”
I didn’t have it in me to argue, and I slumped on his sofa.
“I know where your amulet is.”
Lorian cocked his head in that strange way of his, and his eyes narrowed on my face. “Where?” His voice held no inflection. It was as if he’d turned cold. Emotionless.
“I can get to it. With my power. But you have to help the prisoners get out in return.”
He shook his head. “If you think I have the ability to trust anyone else with my task, you obviously don’t know me at all.”
Frustration rose, sharp and swift. It was what I’d expected from him, and yet it was still disappointing. “Yes, yes, you’re a tyrant who believes he must always be in control. That’s not exactly a secret.”
“I could get that information out of you,” he said softly.
I raised an eyebrow, although my heart thumped harder in my chest.
“I thought we’d moved past threats of torture,” I muttered.
He took a single step closer, and my skin tingled at the look he gave me. Dark, hopelessly amused, dripping with lust. “I wouldn’t need to torture you. A few hours in my bed and you’d answer any question I asked.”
“How do you bear the weight of such an ego?”
He just smiled. “Not ego. Fact.”
My toes curled, even as I fought the urge to growl. “You just ensured I’ll never be in your bed.”
He gave a low chuckle that made me want to slam my fist into his face. “We both know that’s not true.”
“Take the deal, Lorian. We can do this together.”
“You’ve come a long way with your power, but I swore not to leave this castle until I found what I came for.”
“You can trust me.”
He was already shaking his head. I let out a low, slow breath and fought for patience. “I would be trusting you with everyone I love, Lorian. Everyone.”
“I’ll consider it.”
I blew out a breath. That was all I could hope for. Getting to my feet, I eyed him. He watched me back.
“What is it?”
“You’ve been in the dungeons.” Disapproval dripped from the words.
Spare me from overprotective males. “I…I had a memory when I was sick.”
Something feral flickered in his eyes. “When you were dying.”
“I’m still here. It was from when I was taken. When Mama took me. From my real parents. I needed to see Demos. I can’t lose him, Lorian. I can’t lose any of them.”
My lungs seized, and for a long moment, I couldn’t breathe. So many people. And if I made one wrong move, they were all dead.
Lorian grabbed my hand and pulled me close. “If anyone can get them out, it’s you.”
I blinked. “You really believe that?”
He cocked his eyebrow. “The better question is, why don’t you?”
“There are so many things that could go wrong.”
“You’ll prepare for them.”
The way he looked at me sometimes, it made my knees weak. I still didn’t understand what was happening between us. I’d imagined I’d always loathe him, but the more I glimpsed the man behind the mercenary, the more I wanted to see.