The Third King held his hand up. “Leave us.”
The three demons looked unwilling to follow that order until the king growled at them. They glared at Loren and Bleu and disappeared one by one.
The king’s order strengthened his position, giving Loren reason to believe he spoke the truth and hadn’t come here because Vail had sent him.
“How did you know?” Loren bit out, finding it hard to speak as he struggled with his feelings, the crushing weight of losing Olivia too much to bear. His knees weakened, threatening to give out, and it took all of his willpower to stop himself from collapsing and crying out for her.
His heart plagued him, torturing him with images of Olivia held at the mercy of Vail and his worst nightmares coming true, all because he had again failed to protect her. He should have kept one hand on her. He should have kept her safe.
He had vowed to do that and he had failed again, and now his brother had her and it was only a matter of time before he realised that Loren had completed the bond. When Vail discovered that, he would act out his vengeance.
He would destroy Olivia and in turn destroy Loren.
He couldn’t allow that to happen. The demon had information and he would give it to Loren, at sword point if necessary.
The hunters around the room closed in by a few inches, their weapons at the ready, all aimed at the demon king.
Sable flicked Loren a glance that asked whether she could kill the demon and he shook his head. He could feel her pain on his senses and see it in her eyes. She was hurting because of the disappearance of her friend and wanted to hold this demon to blame, just as he did. If the demon king didn’t manage to convince him completely that he wasn’t working with Vail and Kordula, Loren would turn the little hellion loose on the male. The demon’s desire for her would force him to hold back and that was a weakness Loren had no qualms about exploiting.
Loren growled and picked up his sword. He stalked across to the demon male, set his jaw and narrowed his eyes on the demon’s red ones.
“Speak of what you know and how you came to know it.” Loren flexed his fingers around the hilt of his sword, his desire to retrieve Olivia before she came to harm shortening his temper and wearing down his patience.
“We met with a magic bearer, seeking to see the future of my kingdom. She had a vision, but not of my war. She saw your future and that is why we knew what would happen to your fated female,” the demon king said and Loren snarled at him, exposing his fangs.
“Describe this witch.” It had to be Kordula. She had tricked the demon king into creating a distraction that had left Olivia open for Vail to capture her.
“The female is small, of pale skin and white-blonde hair, with large blue eyes. She is young and lives near this city. Her people call her Rosalind.”
Sable immediately rushed around the room, drawing the demon’s gaze to her. It brightened again and his breathing turned laboured, his horns growing at an alarming rate. He definitely desired Sable, and it was making Bleu twitchy. His friend was on edge, his purple gaze pinning the demon with a murderous glare as the male’s eyes followed Sable around the room.
She picked up something silver and rectangular, and came hurrying back to Loren. It was some sort of monitor or computer, but none like he had seen before. It was thin and had no wires attached to it. Merely a small flat screen no bigger than his two palms side by side. She flicked her fingers over the bright display and images of people appeared. She skimmed down them, her gaze darting around the screen, and then tapped one of the pictures.
Sable turned it towards him and the demon king. “Is this her?”
Loren peered at the image of a young, blonde woman. The information beside her picture stated her name and last known address, and other details such as her documented powers and her threat level, which was apparently green. Did green mean not a threat?
“This is her.” The demon king stared at Sable with blatant heated desire in his eyes and flexed his fingers. Loren knew the feelings running through this male. He had experienced that undeniable need to touch Olivia when they had first met and had barely leashed it himself. Sable would probably rip the demon’s arm out of its socket if he dared to touch her.
The female in the picture was not Vail’s ki’ara.
Loren focused on Olivia again, desperate to feel her. It took all of his power to form a fuzzy connection between them, but it relieved him nonetheless. Olivia was alive, for now.
“I can help you, Elf,” the demon said, his deep voice gaining a hard edge. “If you agree to help me.”
Loren nodded. He would do anything to retrieve his ki’ara, even lead his people to war with another demon realm.