“He is an adept warrior. One of our best. You do not have a Dragon that can tackle him.”
I could tell Xumi didn’t like that. Not by her expression, but by the wisps of rage that ran through her energy. The tall man must have felt it too. Bellatis were more sensitive to such things than I. But he ignored it.
“If you feel that way, why do you need me at all?” she demanded. Then she waved a taloned hand in the air. “Oh. Right. You need my Dragon as bait.” Her brows drew down. “MyDragon.Mypalace.Myrules. And you will pay me what this caper is worth, or you can leave.”
I would have admired the brave bitch if she wasn’t such a monster.
The Bellati didn’t seem flustered by her insistence. “I will pay you what this is worth. I have been waiting for an opportunity to get my hands on this particular individual.”
My pulse raced. They really thought Sebastian would come for me. I could hardly believe it. But if he did, they would have a trap ready for him.
I knew that Sebastian was dangerous. But so was Xumi. And partnered with this guy, she might just be able to pull it off.
I could only hope the Seer was wrong. Because the light in the tall man’s eyes did not bode well for Sebastian.
I was helpless to stop this plan, or to warn Sebastian not to come for me. I could only hang here and hope the Seer had gotten it totally wrong.
The balding man stared at me for a moment, then he drifted his gaze around the room. I saw him shudder.
“Let us seal the deal,” Xumi stated. “Come to my office.”
The Bellatis turned and followed her as she walked toward the entrance, hips swaying. Who the shards was this guy? I had an idea, but I had toknow.
“Galeran,” I called after him.
The tall man froze. Then he turned and walked back to me. Straight into me, actually. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around my throat.
I fought to keep my expression totally unresponsive, but I’d seen, now, what he could do.
He closed his hand around his crystal. “You think you know me?” His voice was hardly more than a whisper, but the rage in it struck me to the core.
The red light licked fire from him to me, and his touch burned like acid. It penetrated through my scales and skin to the flesh beneath. I gritted my teeth as it scorched along the veins, surging along them to my heart...
“If you kill him, you will not have your bait.”
Xumi moved up beside Galeran, and her eyes flashed. But this time, she didn’t touch him. Galeran had, indeed, made his point.
“Unless you are willing to buy him from me, I am the only one permitted to make him scream,” she added through clenched teeth.
Yes, I was close to screaming. The Bellati’s eyes boiled with hatred. There was only one word for what I glimpsed in those crimson-tinged orbs.
Evil.
They pierced right through me, and they promised death.
For just an instant, I longed to embrace it. But then, he blinked. Pulled his hand away.
The sudden cessation of agony had me gasping. And to my humiliation, completely rigid.
The bodyguards scanned me with obvious disgust, before following their leader as Galeran walked away.
Xumi stepped close to run a talon along my swollen flesh. “Save that for later, my pet,” she purred, and then she trailed after them.
I watched them go, but I trembled. This was the Bellati Sebastian had almost followed to hell. The monster he had betrayed.
And the one who wanted revenge.
30
