Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(106)

“What is he?” Nim asked, curious.

Masculine lips turned up in a smile. “I think he’s a king.”

“Seriously?” Nim looked at Daniel with renewed interest.

“How do you know that?” I was deeply uncomfortable with the way that man stared at my husband. Very few people outside of vampire society understood what the word “king” meant in our world. This man seemed to grasp the term fully.

“I know everything about him, companion.” He reached up and touched Daniel’s face. I expected Daniel’s fangs to flash, but he went unnaturally still. I didn’t like the vacant look in his baby blue eyes. “I know he died in a vehicle seven years ago. You were his final thought before his human life ended and the first when his vampire life began. He has killed…oh, has he killed. He’s a death machine, as all kings are. What’s wrong with his heart?”

“How did you know?” I asked, my voice shaking a bit. “What are you doing to him?”

Danny was so still that I knew something was wrong. I struggled against the damn ropes holding me down. The man looked at me and there was no white left in his irises, just black orbs. I knew those eyes. I’d seen them before. They were emerald green when my husband’s god took over and brown when the Hunter was present. There was only one other ascended god I knew of in either sithein. He was the one who terrified me. I stopped struggling because it wouldn’t do me any good. I decided to see if Death had a heart.

“Please,” I begged. “Please don’t hurt him.”

Arawn, the Welsh god of the Dead, turned to me and smiled.





Chapter Twenty-Five





“My Lord, I have word that there is a small party moving toward our position,” a young man said from the doorway. He didn’t seem concerned that his master had a naked woman tied to the bed or a chained vampire in the corner. He didn’t give a damn that I’d been pleading for my husband’s life.

“That will be Herne,” Arawn explained shortly. “He’s on his way to discuss our current situation in regards to the Seelie. He’ll be joining us in our journey to the palace to meet with King Angus. See that his needs are met.” The black-haired Lord of the Dead frowned down at his servant as there was another long volley of barking from outside. “Is there a reason the dogs are so loud?”

“It’s not our hounds, My Lord.” The servant wrung his hands in defeat. “There’s a stray dog in the yard. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get the dog to go away, but he just comes back. He just stands out there looking at the house and barking.”

“I’m sure Nim fed him at some point,” Arawn said with a long-suffering sigh. “We’ll never get rid of him now. Well, perhaps if you let our hounds out he’ll be frightened off.”

The servant nodded and left, closing the door behind him. I wasn’t concerned with Arawn’s animal control issues. I had much bigger problems.

“What did you do to him?” I strained to see my husband. His head was slumped forward now and he was still.

Arawn sat down on the bed. He was on one side of me and Nim on the other. Unlike his girlfriend, he was respectful enough to keep his eyes on my face. “He’s only sleeping, companion, as he should be during the day. Even those with the power to daywalk must rest for a time. He was emotional. It cost him much to pretend to be all right with what Nim was doing to you.”

Nim stiffened. “I didn’t hurt her.”

Arawn ignored her. “I gave him respite. He will wake when the sun goes down and he will feel more like himself. It will be no more than thirty minutes.”

“We lost a whole day?” It had been night when Gilliana had taken us hostage and sent us into servitude. Every day we lost brought us closer to Devinshea being in battle and potentially killed. I was on a timer and it was moving fast. I had to find a way out of this cozy domestic situation I found myself in.

Nim smoothed back my hair. She seemed intent on calming me down. “It’s all right, Zoey. Arawn won’t hurt your vampire. As for losing a day, well, travel can be difficult. I know you had to come across the plains, and that is a long journey. Now you can rest and relax and know that I’ll take care of you.”

“Yes, you can relax and tell me what is wrong with the vampire’s heart,” Arawn commanded softly.

“So you can use it against him?”

Arawn shook his head and he and Nim shared a long look. “She’s not very trusting.”

Nim shrugged her slender shoulders. “She was sold into slavery. I suppose that could make you wary. Perhaps if I untied her she would believe me that we don’t intend her harm.”

Jet black eyes looked down at me and after a moment, he made his decision. “We’re going to unbind you, companion. Behave yourself. I would prefer to not have to punish you.” He sighed inwardly. “Yes, Roarke, I know you think it would be fun to spank her, but I have different objectives. There will be time for your games later. Can I trust you not to try anything?”

“For now,” I agreed, wanting much to get the feeling back in my hands. I was willing to bide my time.

Herne was on his way. Hopefully he wasn’t too pissed about the whole being-blamed-for-crimes-he-hadn’t-committed thing. He knew who I was and that I wasn’t a slave. Then, again, I knew the way the Hunter thought. He might advise Nim to wash her hands of the whole thing. She couldn’t get into trouble if no one could find our bodies.