When Darkness Ends (Guardians of Eternity #12)(71)

Chapter Sixteen

Cyn shoved the gargoyle out of his way as they exited the portal in front of Styx’s lair.

It was bad enough to be traveling through some magical rip in the fabric of space without having the aggravating creature constantly beneath his feet.

With a flap of his wings, Levet scurried out of his way, turning his head to send a glare in Cyn’s direction.

“There’s no need to push,” he groused, his eyes abruptly widening, his snout flaring as he took in a deep breath. “Ah, Darcy is home. And Abby. I must—”

“Stay where you are, gargoyle,” the large Aztec warrior commanded, stepping from the shadows of a nearby tree.

Levet placed his hands on his hips, his tail stuck out straight.

“You are not the boss of me.”

“Thank God,” Styx muttered, folding his arms over his chest as he glared at the gargoyle. “You, however, are going to do exactly what I say. Got it?”

Levet stuck out his tongue. “Bully.”

Cyn stepped toward his king, his body angled to put Fallon behind him. Not that he thought Styx had any intention of harming the Chatri princess, but there was no battling the primitive need to keep other males at a distance.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Styx admitted, offering a brief nod to Dante who had moved to stand on the other side of Cyn, his gaze constantly scanning the dark street for any sign of danger. “Before I came to your lair I’d discovered an imp sneaking around my estate.”

Dante gave a short laugh. “You’ve had a lot of fey loitering since the Chatri royalty decided to use your lair as their personal hotel.”

“Don’t remind me,” Styx growled, belatedly glancing in Fallon’s direction. “No offense.”

“What about the imp?” Cyn asked, skimming over the awkward moment.

Interspecies relationships were always challenging.

The temperature dropped as Styx bared his fangs. “He was related to Damocles.”

“Damn,” Dante drawled. “It was ballsy of him to come here.”

“My thought exactly,” Styx agreed, clearly still holding a grudge against the imp who’d helped to destroy the previous Anasso.

“Did you kill him?” Dante asked.

“I threw him into the dungeon.” Styx grimaced. “I wanted to know why he’d risked his life to spy on me.”

Cyn hid a smile. There was a time when Styx would have cut out the bastard’s heart without giving a shit what information he might have.

Becoming the leader of the vampires had given him at least a small amount of restraint.

A very, very small amount.

“Did you get answers?”

Styx gave a sharp shake of his head. “When I returned from your lair he was dead.”

There was a collective sound of astonishment.

It would be easier to sneak into a harpy’s nursery than Styx’s dungeon.

“How?” Cyn asked.

Styx flashed his fangs. “Magic.”

“Is that even possible?” Dante muttered, referring to the hexes that were etched into the walls.

Styx shrugged. “That’s what the Pestilent Prince claimed.”

Dante lifted his brows. “Pestilent?”

“Magnus.” Styx’s tone revealed his opinion of the Chatri royal. “He said that witches used to have the ability to activate a death spell in an assassin that remained dormant until they set it off with a word of power.”

“You think a witch killed the imp?” Cyn asked with a frown. It didn’t make sense to send an imp that was already on Styx’s shit list to try and kill him.

An assassin had to blend into the shadows, not piss off the mark and get themselves thrown into the nearest dungeon.

Of course, the creature might have just been there to spy on Styx.

“I don’t know,” the king admitted. “I assume it could have been anyone capable of magic.”

Cyn glanced toward Styx’s lair. “Where’s the prince?”

“He was supposed to track whoever had killed the imp then return here.” Styx’s jaw tightened. “He never showed.”

Cyn shrugged. It was hard to give a shit what happened to the annoying twit.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“He has Tonya with him.” Styx’s lips twisted into a humorless smile. “Viper has threatened to have me disemboweled if she isn’t returned.”

Cyn glanced toward the silent woman who’d moved to stand at his side.

“Would Magnus kidnap an imp?”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. A Chatri male is trained from birth to treat females as mindless creatures, but they would never, ever bring harm to one. It would go against everything he believes in to hold her against her will.”

Cyn grudgingly nodded. He might think Magnus was a silly ass, but he didn’t truly believe he’d hurt Tonya. And he doubted that Styx did either.

He studied the Anasso’s grim expression. “You’re worried about more than Tonya.”

“I don’t like coincidences,” Styx rasped. “You were nearly killed by a human magic-user and now one has just destroyed my prisoner before I could question him.”

“You think this is connected to what’s happening with the Oracles?” Cyn demanded.