“No, I don’t care about treasure.”
Impatience flared through him. What was wrong with the female?
“Of course you care,” he told her. “You are my daughter. We are judged not only by our beauty, but by the wealth we have accumulated.”
She snorted, indifferent to his careful explanation. “Then I’m destined to be low man on the totem pole.”
“You have a totem pole?” he demanded in confusion.
She shook her head. “No. What I mean is that I don’t care how you judge me.”
Sariel stiffened. Among his people such a response could have the offending person thrown into the dungeons, if not killed outright.
“You’re tired so I forgive you for your heresy,” he said stiffly. “We should leave this place.”
The vampire tightened his arm around Sally’s shoulders. “That’s the first intelligent thing you said.”
Sally grimly dug in her heels. “What about the people the Nebule mentioned?”
Sariel arched a brow. “People?”
“He called them your people.”
“Oh.” Sariel shrugged. He’d already forgotten the Nebule’s desperate attempt to avoid his painful death. “Raith and his partner would capture a group of fey and keep them imprisoned until they could arrange an auction on their world.”
“Where are they?”
He gestured behind him. He’d heard the screams of the latest prisoners just before Sally’s timely arrival.
“Somewhere in the portal.”
“Can you find them?” she pressed, ignoring the glares of her vampire.
“If I wanted to.” He curled his lips. “Which I most emphatically do not.”
“Why not? You’re their king.”
He clicked his tongue, running his hands down the rare silk of his gown.
“I am King of the Chatri,” he corrected.
“And the fey are still your people,” she ridiculously insisted.
He peered down the length of his long nose. A gesture that would have sent most of his court scurrying in fear.
“I sense you have some expectation of me.”
Not only did his daughter not scurry, she stepped away from her vampire to stab him with an impatient glare.
“I want to find the fey and take them back to our world.”
Roke and Sariel spoke in unison.
“No!”
Sally planted her hands on her hips, refusing to be quelled by the two men who were studying her as if she’d gone nuts.
And maybe she had.
It wasn’t like she could explain why rescuing the fey was important.
They were, after all, mere strangers.
But over the past weeks, Roke had taught her that she could no longer hide.
Not from her enemies. Or the world.
Or even herself.
She didn’t know who she was becoming, but she wanted it to be someone who could be proud of the choices she made.
Someone who could walk down the street with her head lifted high, not cowering in the shadows.
“I’m not leaving without them,” she announced in stubborn tones.
“Sally.” Roke cupped his fingers beneath her chin, tilting her head to meet the stunning silver of his gaze. “I didn’t like your insistence on rescuing your father.”
“Understatement of the century,” she muttered.
His expression was grim as he no doubt battled the urge to toss her over his shoulder and force her to leave.
“But I understood that you felt it was your duty,” he continued.
“It was,” she agreed.
His thumb stroked the line of her jaw. “Now that you’ve done what was necessary, we have to get out of here.”
She wanted out of there as much as Roke and her father.
The swirling lights of the portal were making her dizzy and the weird smell of the smoldering Nebule remains was turning her stomach.
But she knew that if she gave in to Roke’s urgings, she would never forget that she’d sacrificed the lives of others because she couldn’t be bothered to save them.
“And leave behind innocents?” she asked, holding Roke’s gaze.
“You made sure that no more fey will be captured,” he rasped. “You’ve done enough.”
Her father couldn’t resist intruding into their conversation.
“As much as I hate to agree with the leech, he is right.”
She stepped around Roke to meet her father’s bored gaze. “So you intend to just abandon them to an eternity of being trapped in hell?”
He blinked at her unexpected attack. “It’s doubtful they will survive an eternity.”
“Good Lord,” she breathed. She was quickly discovering her father was a coldhearted narcissist who rarely considered anything but himself. Still, the knowledge he would easily abandon people who considered him a god was a breaking point as far as she was concerned. “Fine,” she rasped, moving before either man could react. “I’ll find them myself.”
She had taken less than two steps when Roke was at her side, his hand on her arm.
“Sally, you’re not thinking clearly,” he said, the words setting her teeth on edge.
She sent him a scowl. “Don’t tell me what I’m thinking.”
He growled in exasperation. “Why would you risk your life for a bunch of fey you don’t even know?”
“And if they were vampires?”
They both knew the answer.
Roke was a clan chief who was programmed to do whatever necessary to protect his people.
Not that he was going to concede defeat gracefully.
“Don’t do this,” he said in low, urgent tones.
“Roke, you aren’t going to condemn those poor demons to a life of misery.” She lifted a hand to press it against his cool cheek. “It’s not who you are.”
He covered her fingers with his hand, his expression somber. “I would abandon everyone and everything if it meant protecting you.”
“Listen to your leech, my child,” her father urged. “The worth of the fey is negligible when compared to you.”
Sally made a sound of disbelief as Roke flashed his fangs toward Sariel.
“You’re not helping.”
The Chatri sniffed. “I speak the truth. We need to get her out of here.”
Sally narrowed her gaze. “Leave if you want, but I’m going to find the prisoners and free them.”
Brushing past a frustrated Roke, Sally headed down the portal.
What had started as a mere obligation was now a full-blown quest.