“It was a long time ago, Sameya.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does. I see the hurt in your eyes.”
“It. Does. Not. Matter.” She rose to her feet, intending to walk away.
Kat caught her wrist. “I’ll erase myself from their life. That should make things easier for you.”
Was she for real? She heard the respect in her mates’ voices for this woman. She was their friend, no way would she ask them to forfeit Kat. There was nothing fair about that. “I would never hurt them that way.”
The witch released her hold on Sameya’s wrist. “Yet you have no problems rejecting their mating. That’ll damage them beyond repair. They’ll survive my withdrawal better.”
“I’m protecting them by leaving them.”
“No.” Kat shook her head. “It’s for your safety. You’re scared to let anyone into that cold, dead heart of yours.” The other woman pushed to her feet and looked down on her. In that moment, Sameya hated being short. “I pity your loneliness and inability to open your heart to love. I never want to know what it’s like to fear that much. Gabriel and Maximus are the best men I know. Gentlemen. Honorable. Goodhearted. Passionate. And they would do anything for you; worship you, love you, while asking nothing in return. I wish they were my mates.”
“I’m not afraid of letting them in.” But was that true? She’d never avoided anything except finding her mate. To discover she had two, both outside her species, well…that did kind of terrify her.
“Oh, you’re running scared. And they have too much honor to keep you against your will.” The witch made a lopsided grimace. “You can have all the power in the world, but allowing fear to defeat you…what a shame.”
Incapable of listening further, Sameya snatched the map off the table, spun on her heels and marched from the room. She didn’t miss the smirk the witch tossed her before she managed her exit.
No one in Atlantis would look at her that way, at least not in her presence. But as much as she was heartsick for her homeland, she didn’t miss it the way she should. She was lonely there.
She entered the dining hall where she’d left Gryphon housed within the steel cage. Where he’d staged his whipping of Maximus. The bastard! He enjoyed inflicting misery and death on those who didn’t deserve it.
As she walked toward the enclosure that contained Gryphon, she couldn’t help but compare Atlantis to her gilded cage. She had men here that wanted her. There wouldn’t be a single soul in her homeland that would miss her.
Gryphon scuttled to the corner of the cage and watched her warily. He had every right to fear her. She wanted to seek revenge against him for what he’d done to her men. She could make death painful, or leave him catatonic in a state of unending agony. But she’d do nothing until her Empress granted her permission. And they needed answers about the others that were involved in his terrorism.
“I need information about the coup you plan.”
He hesitated. Was he shocked by an Atlantian’s knowledge? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” She could rape his mind with her siren song and glean every minute detail he knew. But it was extremely painful for the recipient. “I’m partial to the hard way.”
He must’ve recognized the anticipatory gleam in her eyes. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
“Nah…I’ve changed my mind.”
She struck with her song, and he jerked in the cage. Digging through the first layer of his mental locks, Gryphon went into a seizure of sorts. The crate rattled as he flopped about inside and foamed at the mouth. Compassion low, she ripped through the remaining bolts like a scalpel sliced through flesh. His back bowed, and he shrieked. The evil of the man had Sameya stumbling backward. Like the icky texture of grease his wickedness left her feeling dirty, and she doubted a long, hot shower would suffice to clean away the taint of his misdeeds.
Snapshots of his vile exploits flickered through her mind. The families he’d destroyed. The multitude of children he’d culled to satisfy his pedophile fetish.
She wanted to kill him in honor of the innocent. It’d be easy to snap his mind and take his life. She was already in his head, but Empress E’Neskha worked with a different justice.
Visions of all the women he’d raped, abused and tortured for his revolting amusement sifted through her. There were thousands of them, and he’d grown fat feasting off their agony.
Sameya cringed, tears burning her sinuses.