“I will protect you with my life,” he swore.
A smile of satisfaction touched her lips. “Yes, you will.”
Chapter 5
Louisiana wetlands
Santiago’s seething frustration was briefly forgotten as he glared at the pale face that flushed with anger. Her quiet, aloof perfection was transformed into a vivid, blazing beauty that seared through him, changing him on some fundamental level.
The odd thought had barely time to form before Nefri was smoothly returning behind her frigid barriers, her emotions retreating to a place he couldn’t reach.
Santiago’s hands clenched, a snarl caught in his throat. He didn’t know why her icy composure set his teeth on edge, but the sight of her rigid expression made him want to smash through her defenses. She could play the ice princess with everyone but him.
Never him.
Ignoring his power, which sizzled through the air and stirred the silken curtain of her ebony hair, she squared her shoulders, as if preparing herself for some unpleasant duty.
“Can you find Gaius?” she at last demanded.
He studied her with a brooding gaze. “He’s moved far enough away that I have only a general direction, but once I’m closer I won’t have any trouble cornering the bastard.”
“Then I will allow you to lead me to him.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ll allow me?”
She gave a regal nod. “Yes.”
So, not just an ice princess, but Queen-of-the-freaking-Universe.
“No.”
She went predator-still at his blunt refusal. “I don’t understand.”
“Then let me make it easy.” A humorless smile touched his lips. “N. O. No.”
She frowned. “You just demanded that you be included in the search.”
“I told you that the rules have changed.”
“And I told you that you don’t make the rules.”
“And if you want my help you will not only plead nicely—”
“Never.”
He ignored her interruption, reaching to run his fingers down the cool silk of her hair. “But you will tell me what you know.”
He expected her to knock aside his hand; instead she turned smoothly away, offering him a view of her rigid back.
“Levet,” she murmured.
With a smug twitch of his wings, the aggravating pest waddled forward. “Oui, ma chérie?”
“We’re leaving.”
Santiago was moving to block her path before his brain was fully engaged. “Don’t be a fool, Nefri.”
The gargoyle made a choked sound, stepping behind Nefri to avoid being damaged in the crossfire. Not so stupid as Santiago had assumed.
Nefri arched a dark brow, the temperature dropping by several chilling degrees. “Do you think because I’m a female I won’t hurt you?”
His brain jerked back into gear, forcing him to halt and actually consider his words. “I think that you will do anything to prevent another massacre,” he said, not hesitating to use her horror at the brutal slaughter to his advantage. There was no way she was leaving this house without him. Not because Styx had ordered him to discover what was going on with Gaius. Or because he had a score to settle with his sire. But because. That was it. Just because. “Even endure my distasteful company.”
Levet sent Santiago a raspberry, but his expression was resigned as he glanced back at Nefri. “Ma chérie.”
“Yes, I know, Levet,” she said, her words coated in ice, her gaze never wavering from Santiago. “It appears we must be temporary allies.”
“I—”
“Don’t speak,” she overrode his response. “That doesn’t mean I will be treated with anything less than respect. Is that clear?”
He stepped back in her personal space. “The one thing you will always have, cara, is my respect,” he said with a blunt sincerity she couldn’t miss. Even when she was driving him nuts he respected everything about her. Her strength, her intelligence, and her obvious loyalty. “But you’re not my clan chief and I will never take commands from you.”
“Do you take commands from your own chief?” she demanded.
Santiago shrugged. “When I agree with them.”
“I pity Viper.”
“He’s always been pleased with my service.” His gaze skimmed down to her cherry lips. “You would be even more pleased if you would give me the opportunity to service you.”
Something hot and wild flared through her midnight eyes before she was giving a sharp shake of her head and firmly skirting past his large form. “This will never work.”
He muttered a curse as he once again moved to block her path. “Wait.”
Her lips thinned. “For what?”
“A truce.”
Her expression was predictably wary. “I beg your pardon?”
He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “I will try my best not to be excessively annoying and you will treat me as a partner, not your minion.”
“You will halt your crude innuendos?”
“No.”
“Santiago . . .”
“I won’t make promises I can’t keep,” he admitted, knowing his gnawing need to break through her ice wouldn’t allow him to back off. “But I do swear that I’ll do everything in my power to track down Gaius.”
She considered his promise for a long minute. “And your demand that I reveal my private business with the Oracles?”
“Keep it private.” He grimaced. “I have a horrible premonition I’m going to discover for myself why they’ve decided to meddle after standing on the sidelines during the battle against the Dark Lord.”
“Someday that tongue of yours is going to get you in deep trouble,” she smoothly warned.
He snorted. “I’ve been there, done that, and have the scars to prove it.”
Her dark, piercing gaze studied the bitter twist to his lips. “Is there a reason you don’t learn from your mistakes?”
“Survival in the pits means never giving ground, even when the result is a beating.”
“The pits?” A shadow touched her face. “You were a Gladiator?”
His jaw tightened, the memory of the vampires who’d caged him like an animal and forced him to fight for his life every night searing through his mind. “Not by choice.”
“I . . . see,” she said softly, and Santiago had a terrible sensation that she did. More than he wanted. “How long were you forced to fight?”