Cadeon's actions."
"All my brother had to do was answer my dispatch, journey to the castle, and remain within its walls until I returned from the front line against the vampires. Instead, he turned his back on me, choosing to remain with his foster family. I know you won't understand the impor' tance, but there needed to be a royal presence there."
"Oh, I do understand the importance-whoever con­trols Tornin controls the kingdom. Omort did as well. That's why he had five hundred troops, lying in wait to assassinate Cadeon."
Rydstrom had grown still. "What did you say?" "It didn't matter how many guards you'd assigned to Cadeon. If your brother hadn't ignored your dispatch, he never would've made it to the castle alive." "How do I know you're telling the truth?" "Why would I lie about that?" When he'd left her, he'd looked like he'd just been clocked with a gauntleted fist.. ..
Now he was readying to leave her yet again. The demon was wearing a dark green tunic that brought out the color of those remarkable eyes of his. The woven material hugged his broad shoulders and defined chest. His jet-black hair was as tousled as ever.
Had Sabine been one of those women who sighed, she would have right now.
"Where are you going this time?" she asked.
"Hunting."
"Uh-huh. With whom? Durinda?" She sounded like a scorned housewife. All she was missing was a ciga­rette stuck to her bottom lip and a squalling kid on her
hip.
He strapped his sword belt around his waist. "That's
right."
"You mean females are allowed to ride horses here?" She blinked in feigned amazement. "Can they touch weapons, too? Or will they be banished from the Clan of the Cavebear like Ayla?" When he wouldn't rise to the bait, she asked, "What is so interesting about that
demoness anyway?"
"I like that she cares about others above herself," he said. "I admire that she's noble minded and virtuous."
Sabine gave a scoff. "I could be virtuous, if I wanted to be."
In an incredulous tone, he said, "You don't know the meaning of virtue!"
"Of course I do-it means your thong must be white."
He gazed upward, inhaling for patience, then said, "Look, I enjoy merely talking to her, actually having a conversation that doesn't devolve into fighting."
"Ah, you like her conversation?" Sabine walked on her knees over to where he stood. "Then I'm sure with enough of it, you'll forget what / did with my mouth." She gazed up at him. "Dialogue always trumps exquisite o**l s*x. You'll hardly remember how hot my mouth was and how hungry I'd been for you." She licked her lips.
He swallowed, growing erect right before her eyes. "Sabine, I do remember. I think about it constantly. But there's a lot to be said for comfort with another, for ease and companionship. If I could have all that with you. . ."
"Companionship?" Her eyes narrowed. "You've slept with her!"
"No, I haven't! Why would you say that?"
"Because of the way she looks at you. And at me."
"What's bothering you most about this situation? How quickly the boy is growing on you or how much I'm enjoying spending time with another female?" As he exited, he said, "I'll be back near sunset."
Excellent. She'd sent her husband off aroused and angry on a date with another woman.
She had nothing to do but stare at the roof of the tent and ponder her situation. What would she do if she could escape Rydstrom ? The tales of the beasts that lived in Grave Realm and her recent Teegloth abduc­tion definitely gave her pause about setting out on her own. But she wondered if anything could be worse than facing the morsus withdrawal?
If she somehow made it back to Tornin, with no pregnancy and no demon, Omort might prey on her at once. He could even withhold the poison until she sur­rendered to him.
Yes, that would be the reason why she would hesitate to flee from the demon-not because she was growing attached to him. And not because she thought about kissing him nearly every time she looked at his firm lips.
It took another hour before Puck, the demonling, entered the tent. And he'd brought her another present.
"A lizard. Just what I've always wanted."
When the creature leapt from his hand into her hair, Sabine gave a cry and shook her head violently until it hopped away.
Puck laughed, and it wasn't like that weird high-pitched giggle she'd heard out of children before, the one that begged the question: why would one possibly tickle a child just to elicit that noise?
He had a real chuckle, and she kind of smiled in response. He began scampering around after the lizard, continually glancing over his shoulder with a little wave at her, as if giving her reassurance that he would catch her gift again.
She frowned. He's the only one here that's nice to me.
At Tornin, her Inferi were always fawning. Courtiers kissed ass for concessions. Everyone here openly hates me. Luckily that didn't bother her. At all.
"Hey! Just sit, kid. You're making me dizzy." He hesitated, so she gave a deep nod at the floor beside her. "Sit." When he plopped down, she said, "If you're to be my only friend in this gods forsaken place, I need to get you working for me. And I was only half kidding about the shank."
Incomprehension. He shyly began speaking in Demon-ish, or, as she liked to call it, Gibberish.
"Blah, blah, blah. Demon boy, I can't speak that language. Furthermore, I don't want to pollute my brain by learning it. So it's time for you to learn mine. First lesson-I'm Say-been. I'm oft described as byoo-tee-full and mah-jest'ick."
"Ai-bee," he said.
She stilled. My name the way my little sister has always said it. The sister I'm missing like a lost limb. "Don't you call me that again!"
His eyes went wide. Great, she was about to lose her only entertainment. "Ha-ha. Sabine was kidding."
The little demon tilted his head. She waited for him to bail....
But he didn't. And she frowned to realize she'd actu­ally been holding her breath.
33
"Ah, gods'. It's going to kill them!" someone screamed a few hours later.
Whatever it was, Sabine wished it all the luck in the world. She was stewing, the demon's words going round and round in her brain. How much I'm enjoying spending time with another female. . . .
Bastard.
Rydstrom had gone off with Durinda hours ago, and eventually Puck had left to eat dinner with others.
The sun had set, gloaming heavy upon the sky. And Rydstrom still wasn't back. The moon would be beauti-ful tonight. Romantic even.