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Sofie shivered. She didn’t like the thought of the male roaming the world without restraint. Not when he blamed her for the decade he’d spent in Styx’s dungeon.
“Leash him.”
“Nothing can leash a jinn.” He held her wary gaze. “Except you. I wouldn’t ask if there were any other options.”
His words held an edge of sincerity, but Sofie’s talent also allowed her to detect when another creature was lying to her.
“That’s not true,” she murmured. “At least not entirely.”
A wry smile twisted his lips as if he belatedly remembered her skill. “It’s true that you’re the only one who can help with the thief. But I’m not opposed to forcing you out of your lair.” He waved a hand toward the mountain range that was still coated in snow even though spring had supposedly sprung. “It’s fine to desire privacy, but this extreme isolation isn’t healthy.”
“It’s what makes me happy.”
“You can’t avoid the world forever.”
She stared at him in confusion. “Why not?”
His lips parted, but clearly deciding that he was wasting his time trying to convince her that the world wasn’t an utter trash fire, he gave a resigned shake of his head.
“Complete this task for me and you can return to your self-inflicted prison.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
Sofie clenched her hands into tight fists. She wanted to beat them against the nearest boulder. Instead, she tilted her chin to a defiant angle.
“Then let’s get this over with.”
* * * *
Ryshi sprawled on the narrow cot, twirling the tip of his finger to create wisps of smoke in the air. It was one of his few means to break the monotony of the long nights spent in his cramped cell. Not as fun as infuriating the guards who brought him his meals, but it was better than nothing.
The days were better, of course. The vampires had been careful to place a dampening spell in the cells, which meant that he couldn’t use his magic, but he was half jinn. That meant he could shift into his incorporeal form and float his way out of the lair. From there, it was a simple matter to use his imp magic to create portals that would take him anyplace in the world.
Eventually he was going to have to stop pretending to be a prisoner, he acknowledged with a faint sigh. It was slowing down his efforts. But for the moment, he was willing to choose caution over speed. The vampires were convinced he was safely locked away, so they had no reason to protect their lairs against a thief, and no reason to suspect him even if they did notice there had been a trespasser.
Besides, he’d enjoyed the knowledge that the leeches assumed they’d managed to capture him when he could disappear in a puff of smoke anytime he wanted.
Time, however, was ticking away. He didn’t want to waste any more by having to return to this cell each night. And there was a niggling voice in the back of his mind that warned the vampires were touchy about their security. If they discovered he could easily move in and out of their dungeons, he might find himself trapped in a place that he couldn’t escape.
An unacceptable risk.
As if the goddess had read his mind, there was the sound of heavy footsteps entering the dungeon. Ryshi recognized those size thirteen boots slapping against the stone floor. This wasn’t just another guard. It was the Anasso.
Rising to his feet, Ryshi ran his fingers down the long tunic he wore over loose silk pants. Then, lifting his arms over his head, he stretched out his lean, supple muscles. He’d inherited his slender form from his imp father, as well as his long copper hair. The haunting darkness of his eyes, however, had come from his jinn mother along with his ability to shift to smoke.
He was leaning nonchalantly against the wall of his cell when the door was thrust open and Styx stepped inside.
“Ah. It’s the big man himself,” Ryshi drawled. “What an honor. Shall I bow or do you prefer for your sycophants to drop to their knees and kiss your ass?”
The Anasso bared his fangs in warning. “You try to kiss my ass and I’ll chop off your head.”
“Always so violent.” Ryshi studied his nails, pretending to be unaware of the power thundering through the air. “I blame a lack of vitamin D.”
Styx cursed, but thankfully the vampire resisted any urge to stab Ryshi with his big-ass sword.
“I have a task for you.”
