Demon Slave (Shadow Quest Book 2) (4 page)

The edisdon let out a grunt as if protesting his sarcasm.

“
And I’m sure the smell would grow on me eventually. How you match her radiance, lady, the two of you must be sisters.”

Her posture straightened. “What a tongue you have.”

“
Oh, you have no idea what my tongue can do.” Marik smiled as he sensed her unease. His teasing backfired and he inconspicuously shifted in his pants.

“
Maybe we’ll see what it can do once I’ve ripped it from your head, hmm.”

“
You’ll need to put your finger in my mouth first.” Marik flashed a fanged grin. Her blue eyes flared with disdain, which only worked to encourage him. “Tell me, do all the females dress like you and Eddie here? It must be hard for the men to decipher between the two. I can imagine the awkward morning when they’ve found they’d been fucking the wrong species.”

After casting him a look of unmitigated hatred that seemed out of place in those blue depths, the woman rode away.

* * *

Nadua mentally scolded herself for letting him get to her so easily. The lying bastard was her prisoner, yet he was the one having fun. He must expect that his friends will come back for him. And perhaps they would, but her people would be ready. They were but two days from home.

“
Your Highness,” a voice called. Nadua slowed her speed to let Tamir catch up with her. “One of our sentries has spotted a rebel, just south of us.”

Nadua pulled back on the lead and Sweetie obediently stopped. The rest of the party did as well. “I want to find the rebels too, but don’t you think the threat of a demon invasion is more important right now?”

Tamir bowed his head. “Of course, Your Highness, whatever you think is best, but this could be our last chance to find the rebels. Surely they will move again with us being so close. And the demon is secure for the moment. I hardly think an extra day would hurt. Plus, I have already sent a messenger to the castle. They should already be prepared by the time we arrive.”

Nadua supposed he was right. Wren would have everything taken care of before they even set foot into town. “How many were spotted?”

“
Just one, but he could be a scout, not too far from the others.”

Nadua’s eyes followed the horizon. It was already midday. With a sigh, she pointed to a high bluff. “We’ll make camp there. After everything is set up, I’ll take half the men with me to search while the other half stays with our prisoner.”

“
I’ll go with you, Your Highness.”

“
No, I’ll need a leader to stay behind, in case the rebels attack.”

“
Of course. I’ll relay your wishes to the others.” Tamir bowed and rode ahead.

It took about an hour to reach the high ground. While Tamir supervised construction, Nadua gathered her group and headed out in search of the rebel outpost.

Silently, she prayed for Lidian’s safety.

Nadua sat in her warm tent waiting for a pot of ice chunks and packed snow to melt over the hot coals so she could wash away the grime from the day’s journey.

The firelight illuminated her red locks, staining them gold. If she were home at the castle, Ava would be fawning over it while they sipped warm tea. As with Ava, Cyrellians only had hair as pale as the world around them.

Nadua could relate to Ava’s envy. Back on Evlon, any gathering, no matter how minuscule, was always a spectacular feast for the eyes. Back then, she often thought her color dull and her curls wildly out of control compared to the elegant hairdos of the noblewomen.

Now, after four hundred years on Undewla, it was disconcerting every time she walked into a ballroom and her fiery curls stood out in a crowd of a thousand shades of white. By coincidence, Nadua’s eyes were the only aspect she shared with the Cyrellians. Icy blue. But Ava would still comment on their uniqueness.

The expedition had turned up nothing. If there had been rebels nearby, they were certainly gone now.

Nadua sighed heavily. They were no closer to finding Lidian, and she was battling a strong sense of failure. Once they returned to the palace, she would send Wren to continue the search. The only redeeming factor about the trip so far was the discovery of the demon presence. But she hadn’t been able to procure much information from their tight-lipped captive.

She knew he held important information about the coming invasion. And because of this, she was about to do something that would cause her great embarrassment—unless her plan worked.

The stubborn demon may not submit to questioning, but his earlier behavior suggested he could be tempted by other means. If she failed tonight, she would be forced to hand him over to her warden. And she didn’t want to think of all the ways Renzo got his prisoners to talk.

Choosing her outfit carefully Nadua tried to dress as nicely as possible. With a slight tremble, she slipped on her finest fur cloak, which spanned the length of her body and cinched at the waist. A small train brushed the floor.

The robe fell open in the front, and she usually wore her riding clothes under it. Not tonight. Tonight it would serve as a dress of sorts. Holding the bottom of the fabric up she glanced down at her bare legs. It was surprisingly elegant. She blushed and let the material fall back into place.

Was she really going to go through with this?

Accessories were scarce, of course. While packing for this trip, she hadn’t realized she’d be in need of finer adornments—who would pack for a fight and think,
where’s that necklace I love?
So she was stuck with a clean pair of gloves, and boots with laces to match.

It didn’t matter what her hair or face looked like, for it would remain covered, as usual, to protect her from the cold. Besides, it shouldn’t be her face the demon would be looking at.

A mirror wasn’t necessary for her to realize this was a lackluster attempt at dressing for seduction. Everything she wore was made, in some part, from edisdon fur—it was the only material that could keep her warm—and he’d already expressed his distaste for it. But it would have to do.

* * *

Marik leaned back against the familiar stake, hands behind him once more, with the same flimsy rope in place. A soldier entered, carrying a stool and set it down next to the dimming fire pit. With shaky hands, he added a few logs and then rushed away, sparing Marik an uneasy look as he went.

The day had been fairly productive—as productive as a day in captivity could be, anyway. He’d been able to learn quite a bit of the language by the simple act of observing those around him. Not enough to decipher complete sentences yet, but he could at least gather the gist of a conversation. It was sure to be useful, since no one spoke any other language that he could understand. Except that woman, of course.

She had proven distracting while she was near him, though. Even while they were silent he was too focused on her, rather than keeping to his task.

His curiosity had driven him mad. What was her name? Why does she speak a language of the stars when no one else could? What the hell was under that cloak?

Getting rid of her had been easy enough, but then keeping her in his sights had been a full time occupation. He didn’t know why, but if she disappeared from view—which she managed often—Marik couldn’t concentrate till he knew where she was in the group. To keep tabs on his enemy, he reminded himself. Not because he feared for her life. The two guards had also been out of sight most of the day.

After his crude remarks to her earlier, Marik was genuinely surprised when the woman entered his tent. Oddly, something in the pit of his stomach relaxed at the sight of her.

She was still covered from head to toe in that fluff, but something was different: her outfit was tighter, revealing her figure and giving him an even better idea of what her body might look like under that damn fur.

Tempting.

A thick scarf tucked into her hood and hid her features. Her lovely eyes glimmered in the glow of the flames as she sauntered to the fire.

A chair had been placed close to the flames and he expected her to take it immediately, but she remained standing. She looked a bit uneasy. By her swift glances to the exit, he had the feeling she was contemplating leaving without a word, and the thought bothered him.

“
Are you here to continue our conversation about how talented my tongue can be? I assure you it...” Marik trailed off as she finally sat. The fabric of her outfit parted around long shapely legs, coming together again just below the apex of her thighs.

His cock jerked at the sight and he wished she’d move this way a bit, only an inch more. She crossed her legs with a deliberate motion, causing the fabric to fold elegantly closed, but one slender thigh was revealed instead. Marik’s mouth went dry, while other parts of him sprang to life.

Her eyes gleamed with amusement and that alone gave her away.

Saucy chit
.

Marik composed himself and tried to keep his eyes off her succulent pale skin.

Pale?

“
Your skin isn’t blue, like your male counterparts.” He shrugged and gave her a leering smile. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m not really partial to blue.”

* * *

“
How convenient for you.” Nadua had been nervous when she’d first walked in into the demon’s tent. So much so that she hadn’t been able to speak at first.

How could she have thought this was a good idea?

She felt like a fool coming here. It was unlikely the demon would be tempted by her. And this jaunt could end up being incredibly embarrassing if any of the guards discovered her plan. Doubts continued to swirl in her head and she had almost left without a word.

Then she’d seen lust in the demons eyes and knew she could pull this off.

“
Is that why you females need to cover your bodies? You haven’t adapted to your environment properly?”

Ass
.

“
Oh th...we’ve adapted just fine.” She tried to make her voice sensual, but feared she was doing a poor job of it. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?” She rubbed her crossed legs together for effect.

With alarming intensity, his gaze went directly to where she intended it to.

“
Well, let me think,” he began. “You already know I’m a demon, and I’m sure you’ve heard of the dangers of teasing one such as I.”

Nadua swallowed, but kept her back straight and suppressed her rising alarm. She could do this.

He continued. “I’m a great warrior...and a genius when it comes to preparing food. My favorite color is clear. And I love your legs. Why don’t you come closer so I can sink my teeth into them.”

Irritation flashed though her, but she tamped it down. “You are a very good fighter. My men can attests to that. You’ve been trained, obviously. I find that attractive.” Nadua was surprised at how steady her voice was as well as the accuracy of the statement. She rubbed the back of her fingers over her thigh. “I find myself wanting to know more about you. Perhaps we can...chat a little?”

He gave a slight nod, eyes riveted to her caressing movement. She could see by the bulge in his pants that her actions were inspiring the exact response she was going for.

Easy
.

“
Can you tell me about the craft that brought you here?”

“
A shuttle’s a shuttle. What else do you need to know? It gets you where you’re going, and in many cases back again.”

“
And why did it bring you here?”

“
Look, I know what you’re doing.” His voice went guttural. “And you have no idea what you’re tempting here.”

“
Don’t I?” She was growing warm from the anxious rushing of her blood, induced by the knowledge of what she was about to do next. Somehow, she needed to calm herself down, but she was making progress with the demon. Stopping now was not an option.

She began removing her gloves, pulling at each finger and making sure he was watching as they slipped down her arm. Next came the shawl pelt that covered her shoulders and hid the deep V-neck of her outfit.