A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(43)

“I’m sorry, Damion,” I said, struggling to sound sincere. “I didn’t take your position into consideration. I was selfish.”

My apology took him by surprise, as he’d probably expected me to be even more belligerent and defensive. He nodded briefly, then looked me over from head to toe.

“You should worry less about other creatures and more about yourself,” he muttered. “That Lamia has already forgotten about you, while you’re stuck here with a chain on your leg.”

“Speaking of which,” I replied, pointing at the shackle. “When does this come off? I’ve been a model prisoner these past couple of days.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” he said. “Azazel is increasingly aggravated about your last visions and is currently mobilizing troops to search for your friends. He can’t sense the Oracles anymore, and he is in a foul mood.”

I kept my immense satisfaction at Azazel’s frustration to myself, raising my eyebrows instead.

“What does that have to do with me? All I did was tell him what I saw.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. On the contrary, he will soon demand another set of visions from you, as he wants to find out how he will die, in full detail. He’s asked me to tell you this so you can work and summon visions yourself. He dislikes having to do half of the work for you with the herb treatment.”

“Oh, poor Azazel, doesn’t like putting in the work.” I pouted.

Damion sneered at me. I thought it would be best to keep Azazel out of my room for as long as possible, as I didn’t want to risk foiling my imminent escape. Since I’d already told Azazel one half-truth, I decided to try a lie. This time I was serving it to Damion, whose people-reading skills were significantly inferior.

“I’ve already seen how Azazel dies,” I said, playing a wild card. It got me Damion’s full attention. “The Daughters will kill him.”

“That’s impossible,” he scoffed. “He’s got their little sister in here. They wouldn’t lift a finger against him.”

He stilled, realizing what he’d just said. I kept my face straight, unwilling to show any signs of surprise. I didn’t need him alarmed by his slip of the tongue; it could have repercussions for me, in the end. I shrugged in response.

“Whatever you say,” I replied. “Maybe he crosses a line and the Daughters decide to sacrifice one of their own to stop him. He should certainly take that into consideration and not rely on the Daughter he has for leverage. It’s how the mighty often fall.”

Damion frowned, then put his hands behind his back.

“Is there anything else?” he asked.

Enlightened by his confirmation of the little Daughter’s approximate whereabouts, I made it my next mission to find out exactly where she was being kept. In the meantime, while I still had him there, I decided to drill him about his former friends on Marton.

“What can you tell me about the young Druids you were with, before you were captured on the western shore of Marton?”

Damion’s expression went blank. His eyes flickered black, his mouth drawn into a thin line.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice barely audible.

“The Druids you escaped from the Grand Temple with, when the Destroyers first came for you,” I explained further, carefully analyzing his reaction.

He blinked several times before his shoulders dropped and he exhaled sharply.

“Please, tell no one about them,” he whispered, then winced. I had a feeling he was saying something Azazel’s control spell had conditioned him not to say. “I’ve gone to great lengths to conceal their existence. No one knows they’re there. How do you know?”

“I’m an Oracle, remember?”

He clicked his tongue in response, then went to the window. The pained look on his face told me he was fighting Azazel’s hold on him as well, but he hadn’t made it as far as Patrik. I wondered what motivated him. It couldn’t be an easy task without a powerful trigger.

“Tell me about them, then. I know about them and Jasmine. I know how they escaped, and I know they’re still alive, but nothing more,” I added.

“There were ten of us in the beginning. Thadeus was taken first. He’s here as well, on an upper level,” Damion said. “One of us died. Destroyers kept raiding the shoreline whenever we went looking for Jasmine. I figured it’s why Jasmine stopped coming to see us in the first place, but I didn’t lose hope. The last time I went, I was taken as well. I was given a choice: serve Azazel or die. I said yes to servitude, because I held out hope that one day I would break free and see Cayron again.”

“Cayron?”

“My brother, one of our group on Marton. We grew up together, and…”

His voice trailed off, his eyes flickering black. I assumed he was struggling with intense emotions.

“I love him. He’s the only family I have. And I’m not leaving this world until I make sure he’s alive, well, and happy.”

Aida had given me the names of the six young Druids who were left, but none of them were called Cayron. A pang in my heart brought me to the only possible conclusion— Cayron had been the second to get killed, after Damion was taken. I kept the knowledge to myself, not sure what effect it would have on him. Perhaps I’d be able to help him break Azazel’s spell by dangling the notion of seeing Cayron again in front of his nose.