Jaral stayed where he was, mentally following the magic trail his father left. It wouldn’t do to have Darcy come out only to find his father wanted to give an encore performance.
The magic ties dissipated into the air but still Jaral didn’t move. Darcy had thought using her kin against her a betrayal. If she found out his new mission, she’d do everything in her power to put a knife through his heart.
And that would only lead to a dead hunter in his arms.
Jaral closed his eyes. He’d never intended to keep her forever but if he did as his father commanded, her future would be bleak and bloody. As would the fate of every other mortal. He had no love for the humans, but mass genocide was evil even by his skewed standards.
“Power,” he murmured. Absolute power over his brethren. Surely such a prize was worth some bloodshed.
But was it worth the woman who could be his mate?
Chapter Seven
She knew what she should be doing. What any decent hunter in her position would do. She needed to find a way around whatever spell Jaral had cast on the door and listen in on what might very well be the most important conversation in recent hunter history.
Instead she paced the room, her heart racing and the blood thundering in her ears. Adrenaline surged through her veins as she tried to fight down the survival instinct demanding she run for her life.
Her demon partner was a freaking prince of the realm. A creature so shrouded by myth and secrecy the majority of her brethren would never believe he existed. But exist he did. He’d been by her side, in her bed. Abaddon’s loyal son had kissed her with more passion than any man she’d ever known.
Lusting for a demon was bad enough, but this demon? It was inconceivable. What sort of twisted nightmare had she landed herself in?
Darcy tunneled her fingers through her hair. On a scale of one to bad her choices lately had been off the charts. At least one thing was certain. She needed to get away from Jaral as fast as she could and never look back. Desiring him had been a slip, one she might have continued had he been a nameless soldier, but this was too much. Abaddon was her greatest enemy. She couldn’t have any sort of relationship with his son.
The thought made her pause in her pacing. Jaral was loyal to his father and smart enough to survive a brutal, dangerous world. What if he had seen her desire as one more way to bend her to his will? He was a prince, after all. He didn’t need her.
Pain stabbed through her, startling her with its intensity. Jaral was a clever man. He could easily have been using her lust against her. It was a good plan. Turn her head with seduction and move her around the chessboard as he played out whatever his true purpose in her world was. His perfect human toy.
She forced herself to face the facts, despite the unexpected pain they inspired. Jaral was never to be trusted. Not even his kiss. The most spectacular embraces of her life were no doubt ordinary for an immortal prince. The lust in his eyes could have been artifice. What soldier, especially one of his caliber, would waste his time on seduction when there was work to be done? She knew the answer all too well. Jaral wasn’t the kind of man to be distracted by her meager offerings. That left only one option.
He’d been playing her.
“I need to get out of here,” she said aloud, taking comfort from the sound of her own voice. She’d been enough of a fool over the demon already. She wouldn’t make the mistake of allowing ridiculous feelings to overcome common sense.
It was time to break up this mockery of a partnership. Jaral had given her an unbelievable advantage when he’d healed her. His magic wouldn’t work on her and for a time, at least, she was immune to his flames. That meant she was the one hunter in the area able to take risks that would get anyone else killed. It came down to her. She needed to find out how to get Kerilyn’s blood and close the rift without Jaral. Hopefully she could finish everything before her magical protection wore off.
Darcy felt a little ill at the thought of what he’d do to her when she was vulnerable once more. Having one of the most powerful demons in history gunning for her was a frightening prospect.
She pushed aside the dark thought. The life of one hunter was a small price to pay for saving humanity. But first things first. She needed to get out of this hotel without him.
Glancing around the room, she spotted her bag abandoned in the corner. Had he searched through its contents? she wondered as she moved closer. If so, how thorough had he been?
She grabbed the bag and carefully emptied it onto the bedspread. Her weapons were gone but her cell and other odds and ends tumbled onto the blue comforter. When she saw her glasses case fall out of the bag, however, a smile curved her lips. She had perfect vision, always had.