Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(108)

Still, he was nothing if not arrogant, and with a smile he managed to flash his massive fangs.

“Nothing that need concern the Commission, I assure you.”

“I beg to disagree.” Siljar pointed a finger in Jaelyn’s direction. “This Hunter is under contract to me.”

Ah. So this was the Oracle who had put a contract out on him. Not that she seemed particularly interested in him now. Actually, she appeared far more concerned with Kostas than anyone else.

Thank the gods.

“She was,” the Ruah agreed, pressing a hand to his chest in a gesture of regret. “But, I fear that she has betrayed us both.”

Siljar didn’t blink. “Betrayed?”

“She has mated with the Sylvermyst.” The vampire’s voice dripped with disgust. Nasty worm. “Most unfortunate. However, I fully intend to see her punished and your contract completed.”

“By you?”

“Of course.”

The female tilted her head to the side, looking like an inquisitive bird.

If a bird could topple a city with a thought.

“But I don’t want you,” she at last announced. “I want Jaelyn.”

A stunned silence filled the room, and Ariyal’s heart remembered how to beat for the first time since Kostas made his over-the-top appearance.

Was it possible that the Oracle was actually here to help Jaelyn?

Dammit. They were due some luck.

“I ...” Kostas halted to consider his words. “I do not understand.”

Siljar moved forward, her robes brushing the wood floor that he had sanded and polished on Jaelyn’s orders.

“I was the one who insisted that she remain close to the Sylvermyst,” she informed the Ruah, not at all intimated by the vampire’s brutish size or the hint of cruelty etched into his features. “There was a vision that revealed that it would take both of them to prevent the Dark Lord from entering this world.”

Ariyal barely noticed when Styx released his bone-crushing hold and stepped back.

So that was why she’d ordered Jaelyn to remain at his side after she’d escaped from Avalon.

Not that he cared why. Her command had made sure that Jaelyn had stayed with him long enough for his charm to work its magic. In fact, if they survived this latest disaster he intended to send a bouquet of roses and a thank-you card to the magnificent Siljar.

Of course, he was less enthused about the vision of them being responsible for preventing the Dark Lord’s return.

It had been sheer chance that Jaelyn had drained the blood of the Dark Lord’s host body. And that her efforts had prevented him from following.

If the world had truly been depending on them ...

It made him shudder just to think what could have happened.

Across the room Kostas frowned, not at all happy with the direction of the conversation. He had obviously come there to get his ya-yas by condemning Jaelyn to death.

He wasn’t going to be pleased if he was forced to leave without her.

“Even so.”

“Are you having difficulty hearing me, Kostas?”

He shifted beneath that relentless black gaze. “No, of course not.”

“Then perhaps I am simply not making myself clear.” She took another step forward, her head tilted back to reveal her grim expression. “The Hunter is still under contract to me.”

Kostos was nothing if not determined.

“But she is mated.” He shot the silent Jaelyn an accusing gaze.

Siljar shrugged. “So much the better.”

“It is forbidden.”

“By whom?”

“By tradition.”

“Then perhaps you should reconsider your traditions,” the female suggested.

The vampire jerked as if he’d taken a blow. “With all respect ...”

A smile that sent a chill of alarm down Ariyal’s spine curled Siljar’s lips.

There was something unnerving about that sweet smile when it was combined with those razor-sharp teeth.

“Shall I have you brought before the Commission to discuss the issue?”

The air of superior confidence was at last shaken as Kostas took a hasty step back.

“No,” he barked out before he was battling to conceal his rampant fear. “That will not be necessary.”

“Good.” Siljar waved a hand in dismissal. “Now I believe your work here is done.”

“As you wish.”

Walking like he had a stick shoved up his ass, Kostas managed to make it to the door before Siljar halted him.

“Kostas.”

He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes cold with thwarted fury.

“Yes?”

“I will not be pleased if I learn Jaelyn has been harmed,” she warned softly. “Indeed, I shall take it quite personally.”

For a crazed minute, Ariyal thought that the vampire might do something incredibly stupid. Then, gripping his hands into tight fists, he gave a nod of his head.

“I understand.”

The Ruah disappeared from the room, and unable to deny his overwhelming instinct another second, Ariyal crossed the floor to pull Jaelyn into his arms, his gaze never leaving the Oracle.

Siljar might have protected Jaelyn from Kostas and the rest of the Addonexus, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to do something even worse.