“Wha—” She cleared her throat and tried again. “What am I doing here?”
He grinned and stepped inside the room. When Thorne rose from his chair and turned to face him, the dark fae speared him with his gaze. “Leave us.”
Thorne stiffened and then glanced back at her with something akin to alarm. “But I thought—”
“I said leave us.”
A crackle of electricity momentarily raised Thorne’s hair on end. He gave a little jump, then turned to give her one more, semi-apologetic look before he hurried from the room, passing by the fae as quickly as he could.
What a surprise, she thought drily. Once again, when push came to shove, Thorne was a total disappointment.
The door slammed shut behind Thorne, and she gulped, her attention shooting back to the imposing figure standing before her.
“My name is Belpheg,” he said, his hands disappearing beneath the voluminous sleeves of his robe. “I apologize for the circumstances behind our introduction.” Despite the smooth tone of his words, it was obvious he didn’t truly give a damn.
“What am I doing here?” Lina asked, forcing a thread of strength she didn’t feel into her voice.
Belpheg’s lips curved into a smile. He took a few leisurely steps forward. “Thorne has been watching you for months, of course. Ever since he first discovered you were living in the city.”
Watching her?
She fought the instinctive shiver that threatened to wrack her body. “I don’t understand. Why?”
“Because you were integral to my plan, dear.”
“I…” When she shook her head in confusion, he lifted one brow and smoothly stepped to the chair Thorne had abandoned then took a seat. “Allow me to explain. I owe you the courtesy of that.”
She forced her body into action and swung her legs off the bed so that they touched the floor. “No argument from me on that one.”
A flicker of amusement crossed his face. “You see, many years ago, the Elden Council took everything from me. They were threatened by my clan’s superior abilities, so they destroyed them. I alone escaped.”
“O-kay,” she muttered.
“I lived in hiding for many years,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Growing my powers and counting down the moments until I’d be able to take my revenge. The Council took everything from me, and now I’m going to destroy it.”
All right, so the dark fae had some serious issues with the Council.
“If the Council really killed your family, I don’t blame you for being pissed,” she managed. “But I still don’t see what that has to do with me. I’m not affiliated with the Council in any way.”
“But your adopted brother is,” he countered smoothly. “As are his half brothers.”
She stared at Belpheg, a sense of impending doom rising within her. “What are you saying?”
He hooked his right ankle over the opposite knee and leaned back in the chair. “The Detainors. I want them. And you’re going to be the bait that lures them to me.”
His words ignited a spark of fury in her gut that surpassed even the score sickness. He wanted to use her?
“Fuck you. I’m not bait!” She tried to lunge off the bed toward him, but all he did was raise two fingers on one hand, and she went flying back. Her head hit the headboard so hard she saw stars. And from the metallic tang in her mouth, she’d also gotten a good bite of her tongue.
Great.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice here, my dear,” Belpheg countered smoothly, his dark eyes taking on an eerie light. “You’ve been bait from the very beginning.”
She tried to move, but whatever he’d done to her had left her paralyzed and glued to the headboard. Swallowing the small pool of blood in her mouth, she asked, “From the beginning? What do you mean?”
One of his brows rose. “Who do you think hired you to kill Asmodeus?”
What? He’d been her mysterious employer? “Why?”
“To reunite you with your brother, of course. Thorne was kind enough to inform me of your connection to him. Once you ingratiated yourself back into his life, I knew you’d become the perfect tool.”
He grinned, and the simple act made her heart constrict in fear. Belpheg radiated power, true power, and something told her that if he were to desire it, he could kill her with a simple flick of his hand.
“Then your old associate Sam was kind enough to tag you for me.”
The invisible bonds holding her released, and Lina relaxed away from the headboard. Keeping her gaze firm on Belpheg, she raised her hand to her mouth and healed the biting ache in her tongue. For his part, Belpheg didn’t seem the slightest bit scared or on guard, and now she could see why. She wouldn’t make the mistake of foolishly attacking him again…not without some sort of trick up her sleeve.