“I’m sorry to disappoint you, my lady,” Sebastian said, “but that’s not quite right. You see, I am willing to trade myself to you… for all eternity, myself and the Rings of Jubai… only on the condition that you release Max Pesaro. If you aren’t willing to do so, then we’ll both be dead in a moment… and not only will you not have either of us, but you won’t have the Rings nor any way to retrieve the pyramid at the bottom of the pool.”
“How do you know about the prism?”
“Mercy told me. She had to be persuaded to tell, of course, when I declined to reach my hand back in and search for it. But when she saw that I could not remove the rings, and that she and her companion-did I forget to mention that the Guardian found himself skewered by a stake shortly after we retrieved the orb? As for Mercy and the other… well, they annoyed our Illa Gardella. So they are no more, I regret to say. But now you might have me to replace them, if you choose to negotiate.”
“What’s to stop me from forcing you to go there now and get it for me?”
“This.” Sebastian produced a small tube no wider in circumference than the stem of a flower. A simple weapon that had aroused no suspicion in the guards who’d relieved him of his stakes and sword. “I’ll shoot the poison dart the moment you move to call for your guards, or do something other than what I ask. Pesaro will be dead immediately… for I won’t miss. And as for me, I also have my own poison ready. Both us will be dead before you can blink.”
“But the rings… I can remove them from your fingers after you’ve died,” Lilith said dismissively. Yet he saw wariness in her eyes.
“Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Or perhaps you might attempt burning them off my flesh after I’m dead… but then again, the rings might be destroyed in the process. Are you willing to take the chance?” He stepped closer. “And indeed, why would you? I’m offering myself to you… Beauregard’s grandson. What a coup that will be for you. And, quite frankly, I’m much more entertaining than that brooding sod in the corner. I’ve never been able to comprehend what attracted you to him. He cannot be entertaining in the least. While I… Well, you were acquainted with Beauregard.”
The words tripped off his tongue with ease. Sebastian had seduced and wooed women for years, and it was simple to fall back into the pattern. He tried to forget that this was different; that the result of this tкte-а-tкte would have far-reaching, eternal effects.
He could make it through… one day at a time.
One day at a time of his long promise. And at the end of it, he’d know it was for Giulia… and for Victoria… that he’d sacrificed.
“So it is you or neither of you?”
“Indeed. You have little choice, but I do believe you’ll get the better end of the bargain.”
Lilith rose from her chaise and paced the chamber. When she walked over to Pesaro, her hand strayed down his dark head and over his bowed shoulders. He made no acknowledgment of her touch, remaining still and quiet as if in a stupor. “And I’m to believe that you can dispatch my darling pet at a moment’s notice?”
Quickly, he put the tube to his lips and blew sharply. The dart shot through the air and embedded itself into the front of Pesaro’s shoulder, just below Lilith’s own hand. Max gave no indication he’d been struck, but she looked at him in surprise… and delight.
“Indeed. I trust that was merely a warning? An example of your… shall we say… alacrity?”
Sebastian nodded, praying she wouldn’t call his bluff. In fact, none of the darts were poisonous. He brandished the little tube. “I have three more in here, all of which do carry the poison. The next one will kill him, and then me.”
“You give me an impossible choice,” Lilith said, thrusting her fingers deep into the back of Pesaro’s hair. She jerked his face up toward her and bent to nibble languidly at his chin and jaw. “I don’t wish to let him go.”
Sebastian swallowed, but bestowed one of his most charming smiles. “A difficult choice, but not nearly as impossible as one you gave him only a few days ago. Come now, Lilith… you know you will be the better off. That prism alone must be worth giving up the presence of a man who does little but brood and cause you problems. And aside of that… you’ll have Beauregard’s grandson. A Venator. To do with what you will.”
Her eyes flickered to him, and again he felt the tug of her gaze trying to wrap warmly around him. She walked back to her chaise and settled back onto her place. “Very well, then. You’ve convinced me, Sebastian Vioget. I’ll accept your trade.”
Sebastian felt a wave of relief, but he remained impassive except for the trace of a smile on his lips. He brandished the hand that held the tube. “I’m delighted, but I must ask that you remain in your place until we’ve finished the details. I wouldn’t want any sudden move of yours to be misinterpreted by me, and there to be an accident.” He smiled and recognized the begrudging respect in her face.
“Very well. Tell me how this is to proceed.”
He kept the tube near his lips as he ordered one of Lilith’s lurking guards to unchain Pesaro. She moved to the blank-eyed, bloodied, nude figure of Pesaro and helped him to his feet.
The man staggered, and took a moment to find his bearings. But when he looked up at Sebastian, the cloudiness in his eyes had disappeared, leaving Sebastian to wonder how much of it had been an act to keep Lilith bored and away from him. And he wondered how much he had understood of the conversation.
“What are you doing here?” Pesaro mumbled.
Sebastian understood the question he was really asking-whether Victoria was still alive-and for a moment, one last bit of jealous perversity nearly kept him from answering. The sod would find out soon enough, and be able to spend the rest of his days with her, while he-
But no. This was a sacrifice, and he’d not taint it by base emotions, so he responded, “I’m here in exchange for you. The others are traveling to the portal, and Lilith has agreed to release you in exchange for me.”
“Vioget.” Max’s word sounded like a simple thank-you to anyone who might be listening, but Sebastian saw the sharp question in his eyes. What is the plan?
Sebastian merely shook his head, letting the truth show in his own expression. Then, for the first time in his memory, he recognized bald shock-and then gratitude… from Max Pesaro?-in his face. The contempt that had long been in his eyes was gone, replaced by something one might think was respect and admiration.