Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(102)

I gritted my teeth and slowly pulled my gun out and laid it on the ground. There were too many of them to try taking a shot and Daniel was a big target. I pulled the knives out and gave them up, too. “What do you want, Gilliana? Killing me isn’t going to endear you to Devinshea.”

She sighed. “Yes, I’m afraid I got caught in that little web of Miria’s. Who would have guessed a mortal could be that good in bed? Trust me, if I had known what that fluffy piece of impurity could do to me, I would have begged Miria for a betrothal earlier.” She shrugged. “Some things do not work out the way we could hope. I had planned on getting him back with a baby. You ruined that. Father came up with a much better plan. I lose Devinshea, but at least you do not get to keep him.”

“Turn the Seelie against the Unseelie.” It was exactly what I had decided they were doing.

“That was the easy part,” she admitted. “The common folk hate the Unseelie. So does that idiot prince. Getting the queen and our good priest to agree to a war was the difficult part. Father is clever, you see. He knew the only way the priest would ever push for war was to engineer a very personal loss for him. He tried to take you out, but the baby proved easier.”

Rage pulsed through my system, and the only thing that kept me from tearing her throat out was the fact that Daniel was vulnerable. I wanted to, though. She’d taken my child, killed my baby. Dev had asked me if I wanted revenge and I did, but I couldn’t risk Daniel. “I’m going to kill you, bitch.”

“I am sure you would try.” Gilliana looked back at her guard. “Wrap the vampire in the silver chains. I would be careful if I were you. It might be best if one of you held a knife to his wife’s throat to ensure his compliance.”

I quickly found myself hauled against a body with cold steel at my throat.

“I’ll cooperate,” Daniel promised tightly.

“I know you will.” Gilliana turned back to me. “I would rather kill you, but I am afraid Father needs you alive. Even as we speak, Devinshea is weakening. The people will listen to him. The army will listen to him. I have to make sure he wants this war. He will be incensed when he realizes the two people he is closest to in the world have been taken as slaves by the Unseelie. I hope you like it rough, Your Grace.” Gilliana walked right up to me and slapped me as hard as she could. I tasted blood but refused to show it to her. “That was for humiliating me.”

“All of this for money?” I had visions of slicing her open and playing in her entrails going through my head.

She looked down at me. “This is not about money, Your Grace. This is about power. Father has been trying to kill Miria for decades. That guard of hers is good, but things happen on the battlefield. We will take out Devinshea and Declan, and then we will make certain that Miria meets an accidental arrow. The battlefield is chaotic. When we win, my father will take the throne and we will rebuild the Seelie into a pure haven for the sidhe.”

She glanced back at something I couldn’t see. I saw only that Daniel moaned as they pulled his body off the arrow and quickly bound him in heavy silver chains. He remained still, though he could have fought. His flesh smoked where his skin met the metal.

“I hand you off to your Unseelie hosts, Your Grace,” she said to me before addressing someone behind me. “I think you will find these two will get you a good price on the slave block. The vampire is exotic and can do the work of ten men, though precautions must be taken, of course. As for the girl, consider her a well-trained pleasure slave. She kept a sex god satisfied, so I think she can be called an expert.”

The voice behind me was scratchy, as though it hurt him to speak. “They’ll never make it to the auction house. I’ve already secured a private buyer to take them both.”

“Excellent,” Gilliana said. “I hope he is well satisfied with the purchase. I will make sure that the tale makes the rounds on this side of faery.”

“I have no doubt,” the voice said. “It may be time to up the rhetoric, my lady. King Angus is talking about negotiating.”

“He will have no choice but war after news of Her Grace’s enslavement is known. It is better than merely giving them a dead body.” Gilliana turned back to me. “I wish you joy in your new profession. I assure you serving that vampire of yours has not prepared you for the roughness of an Unseelie lord. They are barbarians. I will be surprised if you survive the night. Knock her out.”

Something hard came down on the back of my head, and I was down for the count.





Chapter Twenty-Four





I came back to consciousness gradually, having the most delicious dream. My body was warm and safe. There had been no confrontation with Gilliana and no one was going to take me to an auction house. Dev was with me, his tongue laving my nipples with the greatest of affection. My breasts were heavy, the nipples taut as they stood up begging for his attention. I didn’t have to do anything but let him pleasure me.

He sucked gently, more sweetly than ever before. Usually with Dev there was a certain amount of domination. He liked to show his strength and I got turned on by it so we all won. This was a new side to him and I sighed into his gentle touch. I would have thought Bris was with me, but I didn’t feel the rush of lust roll over my skin. There was a laziness to his tongue, like he had all the time in the world and he was content to play forever.