AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Honestly though, all they needed were some loyal staff who knew their way around. My stomach turned at the idea of any of Dex's staff working for the hemitheos. Of course, many would work for whoever paid them, but if Dex's staff turned their back on him so quickly, who could he trust?
"Is the Keeper alive?" Bain asked.
He surprised me with his question, but I should have asked it already.
"And the Alpha," I added. Hopefully it didn't seem like an afterthought. Technically, those loyal to the Alpha should have asked after him first. Anyway, it was done now.
None of our captors answered. They did little more than give us a glance and press their lips together harder.
"Either they don't know, or they don't want to tell us," I said.
Bain nodded. "Those would be my guesses." Stony faced Bain, the man of few words and fewer smiles, was back. He seemed to be focused hard on something.
I presumed he was taking in every detail of our captors, maybe reading their thoughts. Assessing their weaknesses. Determining whether or not they could shift, and what into.
I could find out that last, but I decided to conserve my strength. Unless they were Dragonesque, Bain and I could deal with them. I suspected Kayley and the rest of the dragon shifters stuck to themselves. If that was the case, it might work in our favour.
"I hate stairs," I commented. I hated elevators more, but I was hungry and still tired. Mostly though, I was using idle chit chat to distract the hemitheos from whatever Bain might be planning.
I glanced at him. He was planning something. Right?
"Get used to them," Bain said. "If I train you, you'll be running up and down them a lot."
I twisted my mouth to the side. I hoped he was planning more than to torture me with stairs. His expression gave away absolutely nothing.
"If I'm too out of breath to tell you later," I said, "you suck."
The faintest smile flitted across his face. "Yeah, I've heard that before."
I snorted.
"Quiet," the leader snapped over his shoulder. He had dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He might be considered attractive under other circumstances. Not enough to bring him into a harem, but pretty enough.
"Are you hemitheos?" I asked. He sounded threatening, but I wasn't intimidated. They weren't likely to go to all that effort, only to push Bain and I down the stairs. At least in theory.
"Silence, or you'll be silenced," the woman said. Her tone was devoid of all expression. If she wasn't hemitheos, I would eat my hat. The way she held herself and looked down her nose was so like Helene they could be twins. Attitude twins. Physically, they looked nothing alike. If anything, this woman looked more like Luther.
I also knew she meant what she said, and how she'd do it. Helene used her power to gag me for a time. This woman might not hurt us, but it was no idle threat.
I pressed my lips together and shot her a look to say I was doing as she asked. For now. I hadn't ruled out pushing her down the stairs. If I could be sure the men weren't hemitheos, I might consider it. The problem was, I couldn't.
I chewed my lip. If I could tell who was a shifter, then maybe I could tell who was a hemitheos? There must be an easier way than provoking them. If there was, it would require power. That being the case, it would have to wait. I needed to save my energy.
The lead dude, I decided to nickname him Blue because of his eyes, knocked on the door at the top of the stairs.
After a minute or two, it was eased open and a guard gestured us through.
Bain made a sound in the back of his throat. His face looked like thunder before he schooled it back to his usual stone.
"One of yours?" I guessed.
"Yeah." Even with a stony face, he looked like he wanted to pull out a knife and stab the man in the groin. Okay, probably the heart, but the groin would hurt more and for longer.
I scowled at the guard as I passed, but he ignored me. He did have the grace to look slightly embarrassed.
Yeah, so you should be, asshole, I thought. This wasn't going to end well for anyone who turned against us. Although, Dex might forgive him if he asked nicely enough.
Bain—well, he didn't look like he'd be so understanding.
